Core Partners

  • Global Environment Facility

    Found in:

    The adverse impacts of climate change affect core development needs, including access to drinking or irrigation water, food security, and public health. Adaptation is, therefore, part of development and cannot be addressed in isolation. The Global Environment Facility supports interventions that increase resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change on vulnerable countries, sectors, and communities. As the financial mechanism of the Climate Convention, GEF allocates and disburses about $250 million dollars per year in projects in energy efficiency, renewable energies, and sustainable transportation. Moreover, it manages two special funds under the UNFCCC — the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund.

    The Global Environment Facility and Adaptation

  • United Nations Development Programme

    Found in:

    UNDP recognizes that climate change poses great challenges to society. The effects of climate change will constrain the ability of developing countries to reach their sustainable development objectives under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As the UNDP mission includes safeguarding the MDGs, its Strategic Plan makes a commitment to integrating adaptation to climate change in all UNDP work.

    For more information: UNDP and Adaptation

    AFRICA ADAPTATION PROGRAMME: UNDP, with funding from the Government of Japan, recently launched a new programme that uses an innovative approach to climate change adaptation in Africa.

    For more information: Africa Adaptation

    COMMUNITY BASED ADAPTATION: The UNDP-GEF Community-Based Adaptation Project pilots building the resilience of communities and the ecosystems they rely upon.

    For more information: Community-based adaptation

    CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT: A joint UNDP-UNEP programme promoting adaptation and reducing vulnerability in sub-Saharan Africa.

    For more information: Climate change and development

    MDG ACHIEVEMNET FUND: Through the MDG Achievement Fund countries can seek support for activities to reduce poverty and enhance capacity to adapt to climate change.

    For more information: MDGIF

  • The World Bank

    Found in:

    The World Bank is helping developing countries and their people find ways to adapt to the changes that have begun. Traditional development activities often enhance adaptive capacity, but some can worsen problems. Adaptation is thus not a standalone issue, but needs to be integrated throughout national, sectoral, regional, and local planning processes, as well as at the project level. Developing drought-resistant crops, managing scarce water supplies, protecting forests and coastal ecosystems, and improving access to energy will all help vulnerable groups survive in coming decades.

    The World Bank and Adaptation

  • UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

    Found in:

    Over a decade ago, most countries joined an international treaty - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Adaptation to climate change is vital in order to reduce the impacts of climate change that are happening now and increase resilience to future impacts. The UNFCCC webpages on adaptation highlight the negotiations and action being carried out on adaptation by governments and stakeholders as guided by the Convention.

    UNFCCC and Adaptation

    More recently, a number of nations approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures. The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process, particularly the COP, the subsidiary bodies and their Bureau. For more information: UNFCCC UNFCCC Adaptation Fact sheet

  • United Nations Environment Programme

    Found in:

    UNEP, established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. In the area of adaptation UNEP facilitates the development of better local climate data and its use in determining possible impacts of long-term climate change and short-term increased variability; it contributes to improving scientific methods and assessment tools, with a view to advancing the understanding of climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation needs; and it supports the improvement of the science and policy communities’ ability to undertake adaptation planning and cost effective preventive action, including that linked to disaster prevention efforts.

    UNEP and Adaptation

  • The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

    Found in:

    The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations mandate is to “raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy” guides its work on climate change. Based on its multidisciplinary activities FAO applies an integrated approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation. FAO promotes a large number of adaptation options and assist rural communities in applying them. FAO’s climate risk management seeks to identify anticipatory strategies for managing both short-term climate variability and longer-term climate change impacts in climate-sensitive agriculture sector.

    FAO and Adaptation.

  • Gateway to the UN System's Work on Climate Change

    Found in:

    The Gateway to the UN system's work on Climate Change is a useful resource that has information about work that is being carried out by the different UN systems on Climate Change.

    Climate Change Gateway

Co-sponsors

  • The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

    Found in:

    The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of development activities and cooperation with Eastern Europe, as well as for humanitarian aid. Switzerland is committed to combating the negative impact of climate change by supporting the efforts of the most vulnerable countries to develop policies that will enable them to adapt in an effective way to this global phenomenon. The main objective is to promote development in a way that integrates climate considerations.

    SDC and Adaptation.

  • The Institut de l’Énergie et de l’Environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF)

    Found in:

    The Institut de l’Énergie et de l’Environnement de la Francophonie (IEPF) is a subsidiary body of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. IEPF’s mission is to initiate and support capacity-building initiatives at the national level and to promote partnerships in the fields of energy and environment.

    IEPF