Participating in a United Nations session on climate change adaptation plans
At the end of March, IDOM participated in a session on the role of data availability for the development of climate change adaptation plans, organized by the Adaptation Committee of the UN FCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) within the framework of NAP Expo Chile 2023.
The objective of the session “Enhancing data availability for climate change adaptation planning and implementation in collaboration with the private sector” was to highlight the importance of the availability of specific and reliable data on the effects, threats and vulnerabilities, real and potential, linked to climate change, for a better definition and implementation of adaptation measures. According to the UN, one of the keys to achieving this information is collaboration between the private and public sectors.
The private sector has extensive knowledge of technologies and tools for data collection and processing, with which it can support the public sector in decision-making. In the same way, companies from the public sector can benefit by scaling up their adaptation measures, as this can help them to better understand their specific risks and act accordingly.
Our colleague Asier Rodriguez, head of IDOM’s Environment area for LATAM, participated in this session by explaining, from the private sector perspective, the limitations faced by the private sector when it comes to quality information to enable the implementation of climate change adaptation processes. To illustrate this problem, he analyzed some real cases, such as IDOM’s collaboration in the development of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plans (NAP) of Peru and Costa Rica, and presented the problems that had to be faced, our strengths and the lessons learned to achieve good information gathering and involvement of key actors in the process.
From the perspective of information generation, two additional case studies at the local level were detailed: in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and in Bogota (Colombia). The first one consists of the development of an urban heat island study for the city of Buenos Aires, where, by combining meteorological modeling with urban parameterization criteria, different scenarios have been developed for decision-making processes in the city. In the case of Bogota, the project focused on developing, through modeling with different software, a portfolio of projects focused on Nature-Based Solutions so that the Bogota Aqueduct Company could guide the prioritization of its investments.
- The lack of country-specific information to characterize climate-related hazards.
- The private sector must be involved in adaptation processes in order to learn and share valuable information that many companies generate and currently do not share.
- Technology should be a strategic ally in the implementation of climate change adaptation at the local level.
For more information about the session, click here.
You can also download the IDOM presentation by clicking here.
