AdaptNet for 10 March 2009

1. Draft Sea Level Rise Policy – NSW, Australia
2. Climate Change Resilience in Ten Asian Cities – An Assessment
3. The Washington Climate Impacts Assessment – Final Draft
4. Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries
5. Children Speak Out: What We Need to Adapt
6. Workshop on the Cool Cars Program – ARB

1.    Draft Sea Level Rise Policy – NSW, Australia         

The government of New South Wales, Australia, request comments on a draft policy dealing with sea level rise. It outlines the support that the Government will provide to coastal communities and local councils to prepare and adapt to rising sea levels. The policy statement is accompanied by a supporting technical note. Comments are required by 3 April 2009.                     

Draft Sea Level Rise Policy Statement, Urban and Coastal Water Reform Branch, Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW, Sydney South, Australia, February 2009 [58.1 KB, PDF]  

Scientific Basis of the 2009 Sea Level Rise Benchmark: Draft Technical Note, Urban and Coastal Water Reform Branch, Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW, Sydney South, Australia, February 2009 [250 KB, PDF]  

2.    Climate Change Resilience in Ten Asian Cities – An Assessment  

This paper examines how to manage climate-related impacts in an urban context by promoting planned and autonomous adaptation. It presents the findings of the assessments of ten South and Southeast Asian cities (Bangkok, Chennai, Chittagong, Cochin, Dalian, Da Nang, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Ningbo and Surat) and the characteristics of a climate resilient urban governance assessment framework.               

Urban Governance for Adaptation: Assessing Climate Change Resilience in Ten Asian Cities, Thomas Tanner Et Al., IDS Working Paper 315, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, January 2009 [628 KB, PDF]  

3.    The Washington Climate Impacts Assessment – Final Draft       

This draft report discusses the implications of climate change on several of the Washington state’s sectors including; agriculture, coasts, energy, forests, human health, urban storm water infrastructure, salmon, and hydrology and water resources. It highlights the role of adaptation (adaptation policies, measures and instruments) in addressing some of these potential impacts.                 

The Washington Climate Change Impacts Assessment (Final Draft), Climate Impacts Group, Center for Science in the Earth System, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, February 2009 [27.3 MB, PDF]

4.    Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries    

The paper maps the estimated needs for adaptation funding in developing countries. It presents the status and delivery of the current financing efforts at the multilateral level. The paper points to some of the possible alternative mechanisms that can be implemented in order to generate additional adaptation funding.                      

Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries: Current Picture and Future Possibilities, Karoline Haegstad Flåm and Jon Birger Skaerseth, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norwegian Church Aid, Oslo, Norway, 2008 [295 KB, PDF]    

5.    Children Speak Out: What We Need to Adapt           

The report provides a platform for Nepalese children to speak out on climate change and their adaptation needs. It finds that children living in poor areas of Nepal understand the need to change their lives in response to climate change. The report makes a number of recommendations for upholding children’s rights in the context of climate change.                  

Child Voices: Children of Nepal Speak Out on Climate Change Adaptation, Dhruba Gautam and Katy Oswald, Children in a Changing Climate, November 2008 [2.95 MB, PDF]

6.    Workshop on the Cool Cars Program – ARB       

This Air Resources Board (ARB) workshop will take place on March 12, 2009, in El Monte, California, to discuss draft regulations to reduce emissions from mobile air conditioners. The proposed control measure would require manufacturers to equip new vehicles with technologies that will reduce the solar heat gain of vehicles parked in the sun.       

Workshop to Consider Requirements to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Vehicles Caused By the Use of Mobile Air Conditioners, Air Resources Board (ARB), California, USA, March 12, 2009