dws-ienm-gceca-graph-dust-storm-680px
The Netherlands, Japan and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will lead the establishment of a Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation in the Netherlands.

Together with the global partners, Dutch state secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and the Environment signed a Statement of Intent on 6 February.

The centre will support countries, institutions and businesses to deal with climate change adaptation issues, such as natural disasters and economic disruptions.

dws-ienm-gceca-siging2-350px  Signing ceremony on the establishment of a centre on climate adaptation, in the Netherlands.

Multitude of risks
On occasion of the signing, state secretary Sharon Dijksma said: “Failure of dealing adequately with climate change will increase a multitude of risks such as natural disasters, social and economic disruptions and increasing political tensions.”

“Many people are looking for good practices and guidance with regard to climate change adaptation”, Dijksma continued. “I am convinced the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation can help addressing these challenges.”

The Dutch government will decide on the location of the centre at short notice.

dws-ienm-gceca-graph-global-temp-350pxA warming planet leads to more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.

Hotter planet
“Even with the Paris Agreement on climate change, our planet is heading for a global warming of around 3 degree Celsuis,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy chief of UN Environment.

“Our survival depends on learning to live on a hotter planet with more extreme weather, erratic rainfall and rising sea levels. This Centre is a welcome step, but other countries need to follow this example and urgently invest in climate adaptation.”

Paris agreement
The historic Paris Climate agreement has made climate change adaptation a top global priority. The Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation, an initiative of The Netherlands, Japan and UN Environment will contribute to building a climate resilient world.

The centre will support those that struggle to put climate adaptation effectively into practice, in all parts of the world. It will collect lessons from recently executed policies, programmes and projects and use those to develop guidance to accelerate climate adaptation.

Support countries and communities
The resulting pool of global knowledge and know-how to understand what works and what doesn’t will be used to support countries, communities and companies to successfully integrate climate adaptation into their investment decisions. In that way, every new road, every construction, every crop field becomes an opportunity to become more resilient.

dws-ienm-gceca-farming-350px  Irrigation and soil management to counter drought are important climate adaptation issues for agriculture.

Parties that are involved in the establishment of the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation include: 
● UN Environment Programme
● National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
● Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)
● Acclimatise
● Delft University of technology
● Delta Alliance
● Deltares 
● European Investment Bank
● Global Environment Facility
● Kingdom of Morocco
● Munich Climate Insurance Initiative
● Municipality of Rotterdam
● NAP Global Network
● Netherlands Water Partnership 
● Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)
● S&P Global 
● SNV Netherlands development organisation;
● Stockholm Environment Institute;
● UNEP DTU Partnership
● Unesco IHE
● Wageningen University and Research
● World Resources Institute
● World Meteorological Organization

This news item was originally published on the website of Dutch government and UNEP.

Read also on this website
COP22: Provision of beehives as a way to decentralise climate adaptation funds, 18 November 2016
Stockholm water week 2016: High level panel on water takes complexity of global water issues on board, 3 September 2016
Adaptation Futures 2016: Climate adaptation costs for developing world to hit 500 billion dollar annual, 13 May 2016
Adaptation Futures 2016: Where is the business case for climate adaptation?, 11 May 2016
COP21: Adaptive planning for river deltas calls for flexible strategies, 10 December 2015

More information
Ministry of Infrastructure and the environment
The Hague, the Netherlands
+31 70 456 00 00
www.government.nl/ministry-of-infrastructure-and-the-environment