AdaptNet for 20 April 2010

1. Australia’s Fifth National Communication on Climate Change

2. Coastal Zones and Climate Change – A Collaborative Volume

3. Competitive Cities and Climate Change

4. Adaptation in Integrated Assessment Modeling: Where Do We Stand?

5. Climate Change and Hazardscape of Sri Lanka

6. Documentary Series – Climate Change and Urban Areas

Australia’s Fifth National Communication on Climate Change             

This is the latest in a series of reports that the Australian Government has submitted to the UNFCCC. It presents Australia’s comprehensive strategy to address the challenge of climate change and reflects the considerable progress made since the submission of its Fourth National Communication in 2005. 

Australia’s Fifth National Communication on Climate Change, Report under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Department of Climate Change, Commonwealth of Australia, March 2010 [6.23 MB, PDF]  

 Coastal Zones and Climate Change – A Collaborative Volume     

This volume examines various climate and environmental stresses on coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. It assesses the risks to coastal ecosystems and infrastructure, and evaluates the opportunities and obstacles for technological innovations and climate adaptation strategies. The volume explores how policies and institutions must evolve to ensure the sustainable management of coastal resources. 

Coastal Zones and Climate Change, David Michel and Amit Pandya (editors), the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC, 2010 [3.87 MB, PDF] 

 Competitive Cities and Climate Change     

Based on statistical data from the OECD regional and metropolitan databases, this report discusses the relationships between cities and climate change, the rationale for taking action at the urban scale, the effectiveness of some local strategic and sectoral policy tools in addressing climate change issues as well as local finance and growth and job opportunities from the green Economy.

Competitive Cities and Climate Change, Lamia Kamal-Chaoui and Alexis Robert (editors), OECD Regional Development Working Papers, OECD Publishing, 2009 [2.07 MB, PDF] 

Adaptation in Integrated Assessment Modeling: Where Do We Stand?     

This paper analyses how modelers have chosen to describe adaptation within an integrated framework, and suggests ways they could improve the treatment of adaptation by considering more of its bottom-up characteristics. The paper suggests that existing efforts to model adaptation overestimate the amount of adaptation that will occur and therefore also overestimate the benefits obtained from adaptation. 

Adaptation in Integrated Assessment Modeling: Where Do We Stand? Anthony G. Patt et al., Climatic Change, DOI 10.1007/s10584-009-9687-y, Published Online: 15 October 2009 [subscription required] 

Climate Change and Hazardscape of Sri Lanka

Through applying a combination of ‘actor-network theory’ and the concept of ‘hazardscape’, this paper examines how climate change policies have been translated in Sri Lanka in order to identify vulnerable places and social groups. It suggests that the concept of resilience needs to be highlighted within international climate change policy, as it offers more opportunities to smaller developing countries. 

Climate Change and Hazardscape of Sri Lanka, Akiko Yamane, Environment and Planning A: advance online publication, vol. 41, no. 10, 6 August 2009 [1.39 MB, PDF]

Documentary Series – Climate Change and Urban Areas   

This eight-part documentary series (developed by the Rockefeller Foundation) explores the impact of climate change on urban areas, ranging from health and water management to food security and migration. It documents the threats climate change presents to a variety of cities such as Lagos, Shanghai, Durban, Surat and Los Angeles. 

Hot Cities, Rockefeller Foundation’s Landmark Documentary, Multimedia, the Rockefeller Foundation, 2010