AdaptNet for 26 June 2007

1. Plan for Fulfilling Sydney’s Future Water Needs
2. Risks and Costs of Climate Change for Cities
3. Supporting Climate Change Adaptation by Research
4. Developing Countries – Costs of Climate Change Adaptation
5. Climate Change Adaptation Framework for Cape Town
6. Climate Change Summit – 2007

1. Plan for Fulfilling Sydney’s Future Water Needs

The presentation provides a summary of the Metropolitan Water Plan (MWP) for Sydney. The MWP assesses climate change impacts and determines impacts on both the supply side and demand side. Appropriate policy responses are developed in a portfolio context. Focus is on diversifying water supplies to meet Sydney’s needs beyond 2015.

Sydney’s Water Balance – Adapting to Climate Change, Jane Gibbs, Water for Life – A Water Plan from the NSW Government, NSW Climate Change Summit, 23 February 2007 [PDF]

 2. Risks and Costs of Climate Change for Cities

The editorial addresses the risks faced by cities due to climate change. Flooding, extreme weather events, change in rain cycles, inappropriate urban planning and state apathy towards climate change all place cities at greater risks. Absence of support for climate friendly urban planning places residents at greater risks.

Editorial: Reducing Risks to Cities from Disasters and Climate Change, Saleemul Huq, Sari Kovats, Hannah Reid and David Satterthwaite, Environment & Urbanization, Vol. 19 (1), April 2007 [PDF]

3. Supporting Climate Change Adaptation by Research

The paper highlights key lessons for climate change adaptation from scientific research and assessment. It lays out priorities for an adaptation science agenda targeted at the needs of adaptation planning, decision-making and implementation. The paper proposes underlying principles for implementation of an adaptation science agenda.

A Plan of Action to Support Climate Change Adaptation through Scientific Capacity, Knowledge and Research, Neil Leary et al., Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) Working Paper No. 23, January 2006 [PDF]

4. Developing Countries – Costs of Climate Change Adaptation

Oxfam estimates that the costs of adapting to climate change for developing countries will be at least $50bn each year (well above the World Bank’s widely cited estimate of $10-20bn annually). Countries responsible for producing excessive emissions, and capable of providing assistance, should bear the costs. On its own adaptation is not enough, cut in gas emissions by rich countries is necessary too.

Adapting to Climate Change: What’s Needed in Poor Countries, and Who Should Pay, Kate Raworth et al., Oxfam Briefing Paper, Oxfam International, May 2007 [PDF]

5. Climate Change Adaptation Framework for Cape Town

The document presents a Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change in the City of Cape Town – a city-wide consolidated and coordinated approach to reducing vulnerability to climate impacts. It assesses current climate trends and future projections, undertakes a vulnerability assessment, formulates strategy, develops adaptation options and evaluates priority adaptation strategies.

Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change in the City of Cape Town, Pierre Mukheibir and Gina Ziervogel, Energy Research Centre and Climate Systems Analysis Group, University of Cape Town, September 2006 [PDF]

6. Climate Change Summit – 2007

Climate Change Summit – 2007 is being held on 25 and 26 July 2007 at Darling Harbor, Sydney. The summit brings together executives to discuss how they are taking action to tackle the effects of climate change, and the ongoing importance of effective communication with key stakeholder groups. For further information, please visit the website below.

Climate Change Summit: Are You a Friend of the Earth? Frocomm Australia, Dockside, Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia, July 25 – 26, 2007

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AdaptNet is a free weekly report produced by RMIT University Global Cities Institute’s Climate Change Adaptation Working Group. It is produced in partnership with the Victorian Government’s Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society at Melbourne University, Australia.

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For further information, please contact the editor, Saleem Janjua.