AdaptNet for 16 June 2009

1. Enhancing the Resilience of Australia 
2. International Funding to Support Urban Adaptation
3. Adaptation: Towards a European Framework for Action
4. Assessing Economic Impacts of Climate Change at City Scale
5. Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change
6. Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change – Ecuador

Enhancing the Resilience of Australia              

This report is a follow-up to a working paper, How Resilient is Australia? It comprises a series of essays covering a range of issues in which resilience plays a key role. Aspects of resilience covered relate to climate change, security, peak oil, population health, economy, ecosystem, and governance in a complex world.                       

Brighter Prospects: Enhancing the Resilience of Australia, Steve Cork (editor), Australia21, ACT, Australia, 2009 [1.29 MB, PDF]

International Funding to Support Urban Adaptation    

The paper explores the opportunities and challenges for financing adaptation through the UNFCCC mechanisms and considers some of the recent proposals that could help bring these funds closer to the amounts that are required. It pays attention to channeling funding to the most vulnerable urban stakeholders for enhancing their adaptive capacity.                

International Funding to Support Urban Adaptation to Climate Change, Jessica Ayers, Environment & Urbanization, vol. 21(1), pp. 225-240, SAGE publications, 2009 [subscription required]

Adaptation: Towards a European Framework for Action        

The paper sets out proposals covering actions to reduce the European Union’s (EU) vulnerability to the impact of climate change. It is accompanied by three sectoral papers on agriculture, health and water, and coasts and marine issues. The paper builds on consultation launched in 2007 by the Green Paper on Adapting to Climate Change in Europe.                    

Adapting to Climate Change: Towards a European Framework for Action, White Paper, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium, April 2009 [78.8 KB, PDF]

Assessing Economic Impacts of Climate Change at City Scale

The paper presents a methodological roadmap to assess the economic impacts of climate change in cities. It describes global socio-economic and emission scenarios and identifies methods to downscale these scenarios at the city scale. The paper assesses how changes in local conditions may translate into economic impacts and the role of adaptation in limiting these impacts.                         

The Economics of Climate Change Impacts and Policy Benefits at City Scale: A Conceptual Framework, Stéphane Hallegatte, Fanny Henriet and Jan Corfee-Morlot, Environment Working Paper No. 4, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), December 2008 [586 KB, PDF]     

Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change               

The report presents information regarding the current and projected future impacts of climate change on forests and people. It assesses the ability of forests to adapt to climate change. The report provides knowledge for enhancing the adaptive capacity of both forests and people to the impacts of climate change.

Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A Global Assessment, Risto Seppälä, Alexander Buck and Pia Katila (editors), IUFRO World Series Volume 22, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), 2009 [3.52 MB, PDF]

Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change – Ecuador

This symposium will take place in Quito, Ecuador from 8-10 July 2009. It will highlight and discuss various issues that could help address the problem of climate change, including the policy frameworks of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and climate change adaptation and mitigation issues. For more information, please go to the website below.   

ITU Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Quito, Ecuador, 8-10 July 2009