Adaptation & Technology GapsAnne Olhoff
Head of Programme Climate Resilient DevelopmentUNEP Risø Centre
UNEP Adaptation Knowledge Day V, Bonn, 9 June 2014
Outline
Drawing on:• UNEP's forthcoming Adaptation Gap Report 2014 • Experience from Technology Needs Assessment project• Climate Technology Centre and Network involvement
• Adaptation gaps: why, what and where• Gaps in the context of technologies for adaptation• Adaptation technologies and country priorities
The concept of adaptation gaps• Broad: a lack of and need for, for example, additional
finance, policies and legislation, capacity, knowledge, and technology
• Precise: the difference between a climate resilience target and the level achieved with current adaptation efforts:– Targets or preferred levels of climate resilience and action
differ across countries, districts and communities– Have the potential to make adaptation more 'actionable'– Can support NAP and other country processes, UNFCCC
discussions (Global Goal for Adaptation and Loss & Damage)– At various levels: global, regional, national and sub-national– At various levels of detail: aggregate or specific
Conceptualising adaptation gaps: the IPCC
• IPCC WGII Glossary: Adaptation deficit defined as "the gap between the current state of a system and a state that minimizes adverse impacts from existing climate conditions and variability"
• IPCC AR5 WGII: Potential now and in the future for additional adaptation and mitigation to reduce risks compared to risk levels with current adaptation
Risk Level withCurrent Adaptation
Potential forAdditional Adaptation to Reduce Risk
Risk Level withHigh Adaptation
Risk-LevelVeryLow Med
VeryHigh
4°C2°C
Present
Long Term(2080-2100)
Near Term (2030-2040)
Source: IPCC WGII AR5 slides
Illustration of gaps: Key regional climate risks and risk reduction potentials
Africa: Key climate risks and adaptation risk reduction potential
Source: IPCC WGII AR5 SPM
Adaptation technology gap - Africa example on crop productivity
The part of an adaptation gap that can be filled through additional adaptation technology action, including:• Hard technology (physical elements, including machinery and
equipment): Drought tolerant crops; irrigation systems• Soft technology (information, knowledge and skills): Early warning
systems/weather forecasting; agricultural management practices• Organisational technology (re-organisation or establishment of
networks and institutions): Agricultural extension services
Definitions of technology and technologies for adaptation:"a piece of equipment, technique, practical knowledge or skills for performing a particular activity." (IPCC Special Report 2000)"The application of technology in order to reduce the vulnerability, or enhance the resilience, of a natural or human system to the impacts of climate change’"(UNFCCC, 2010)
Adaptation, technology and gaps
• Technology only one of the determinants of adaptive capacity and must be seen in the context of economic, social, institutional, and equity
• Broad perception of technologies for adaptation facilitates holistic approach but illustrates need for coordination across adaptation planning and implementation
Adaptation technology priorities of countries: The Technology Needs Assessment Project
• Country-driven activities to identify and determine the mitigation and adaptation technology priorities of countries– Technology needs assessment – Barrier and enabling framework analysis– Technology action plans – Training, methodology development, guidebooks,
'TechWiki'/databases
• 36 countries in Africa, Asia & CIS, and Latin America & the Caribbean (first phase 2009-2013); 24 new countries (second phase starting 2014)
• Key component of the Poznan Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer supported by the GEF and Implemented by UNEP Risø Centre and UNEP
Water35%
Agriculture31%
Coastal Zone9%
LULUCF & Forestry4%
Infrastructure4%
Observation, Measurement & Modeling
4%
Public Health4%
Tourism3%
Natural Disasters3%
Energy1%
Waste management1%
Biodiversity1%
Education1%
Adaptation technologies prioritised (by sector)
Adaptation technologies prioritised (by type)
Total distribution
• Adaptation and technology gaps are explicitly or implicitly related to targets or goals
• These can potentially be established at all levels ranging from local to global
• Technology needs assessment processes in countries illustrate gaps and potentials
• Addressing gaps requires careful consideration of all aspects of adaptive capacity
Summing up
http://tech-action.org/
Online database Guidebooks
Country information
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