This is the fourth 2015 report from the climate change team at HQ in Limerick. The report provides a tool to up-date Missions and Partners as part of the Climate Change and Development Learning Platform and we hope to use this opportunity to drive our key theme for 2015 - linking community based adaptation into national and global climate processes.

November 2015 Climate Change - Resilience Policy Team | Humanitarian Unit

Climate Change & DevelopmentClimate Change – ResilienceQuarterly Report

2015 – 4th Report

Contents

Climate Change - Resilience

Quarterly Reporting

Update on UNFCCC COP 21 Paris

Climate Diplomacy Action Plan

Lunchtime Seminar on

‘To COP21 & Beyond’

Launch of the Country Climate Action

Reports

Case Study on Approaches for Climate

Change Integration into Development

Programming in Tigray, Ethiopia

In 2015 COP21, also known as the ParisCOP21, also known as the Paris 2015 Climate Change Conference,2015 Climate Change Conference, will, for the first time in over 20 years of UNfor the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legallynegotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement onbinding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping globalclimate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.

France holds the Presidency of the UNFrance holds the Presidency of the UN Framework Convention on ClimateFramework Convention on Climate Change and COP21 will be the largestChange and COP21 will be the largest international conference ever held ininternational conference ever held in the country. The conference is expectedthe country. The conference is expected to attract close to 43,000 participantsattract close to 43,000 participants including 20,000 official delegatesincluding 20,000 official delegates from governments, Multilateral organizationsgovernments, Multilateral organizations and UN agencies in addition a furtherand UN agencies in addition a further 20,000 civil society organisations are20,000 civil society organisations are expected to attend a parallelexpected to attend a parallel conference.

In the lead up to COP 21, states have been asked to submit their Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) the primary means for governments to communicate internationally the steps they will take to reduce Green House Gases in their countries. INDCs will reflect each country’s ambition while taking into account of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) in light of different national circumstances.

To date, 148 INDCs have been submitted reflecting 175 countries (including EU MS), and covering around 93% of global emissions in 2010 (excluding LULUCF) and 94% of global population. All of Irish Aid’s KPC have submitted INDCs which can be found here.

Key Events this Period

21 st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Federation Convention on Climate Change (COP 21/CMP 11) Paris, France

Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum Paris, 14 th - 15 th December

Update on UNFCCC COP 21 Paris

2

Climate Smart Hillside Development: Enhancing productivity and Adding Value to Enclosures Tigray, Ethiopia. Photo taken by Irish Aid, 2014

Discussion group of farmers, Debrebirhan and Megab regions, Ethiopia Photograph taken by IIED (2015).

Feedback

We hope that this update has been of interest

and we’ll be happy to provide any additional

information on any of the above areas

mentioned.

We’d also hope in the New Year to link in with

individual missions to provide information for

the 1st Quarterly Report for 2016 issues.

The 12th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) concluded late last Friday night in Ankara after two weeks of intensive negotiations. More than 6,000 delegates attended the session, including more than 75 high-ranking delegates who attended the high level session, which was officially opened by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ireland (the undersigned) was appointed by the Parties as Chair of the Committee of the Whole (COW) for the duration of the COP in Ankara.

COP12 managed to firmly locate the UNCCD in the context of the 2030 Agenda for

The Country Climate Action Reports were officially launched on the Climate Change and Development Learning Platform on November 20 th, 2015. Each report covers five elements; Country Context, Case Studies, Key Partner Countries Bilateral Projects & Programmes, Irish Aid Funding to Civil Society Programme Partners and Mapping of Bilateral Expenditure.

The Country Context provides information on key statistics within the country such as the Human Development Index, whilst also highlighting other key statistics in terms of climate change. It also provides information on recent climate trends and future projections from the International Panel on Climate Change’s 5th report (2014). A section on country mitigation and adaptation efforts are also mentioned here, in combination with a synopsis of countries Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

Each report highlights work Irish Aid is supporting in our KPCs through partners such as the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the World Resources Institute (WRI), Concern Universal and others. These Case Studies form an evidence-base to inform our integration of climate change into our development programming.

A full list of climate relevant KPC programmes and projects, verified by Missions is listed within the report with a brief synopsis of each. In addition, civil society programme partners work is depicted within our reports but this information and financing is not included within our reporting to the UNFCCC. Lastly, each report includes mapping of Irish Aid’s bilateral spend to depict our funding in terms of the different Rio Markers; Mitigation, Adaptation, Cross-cutting, Disaster Risk Reduction etc. All reports are now on the Learning Platform

Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. It succeeded in providing clarity on the concept of land degradation neutrality thus proving a framework for countries on how to achieve SDG target 15.3. COP12 also acknowledged that land degradation occurs not only in arid, semi-arid and dry sub humid areas and as such the UNCCD must provide guidance to all parties on how to achieve target 15.3.

Many countries have come to realise that desertification, drought and land degradation are intrinsically linked to biodiversity, climate change and food security and are looking firmly to the UN system to help them translating the 2030 Agenda into reality on the ground.

Lunchtime Seminar on‘To COP21 & Beyond’

Land Degradation Neutrality

Mark Robinson (WRI), Simon Anderson (IIED) and Gemma O’Reilly (Climate Finance Consultant) met with Irish Aid in Limerick on 20 November 2015 to discuss how Irish Aid are Integrating climate change into development programming in the lead up to COP21 in Paris and beyond. WRI presented on the Adaptation Finance Accountability Initiative which looked at tracking climate adaptation finance from international funding funds to national and local levels. IIED presented on how Irish Aid are integrating climate change into our development programming. Naomi Campbell (Irish Aid) presented on the newly launched Country Climate Action Reports and Gemma O’Reilly (Climate Finance Consultant) presented on the importance of climate finance within the climate negotiations at COP21 in Paris.

Mark Robinson’s presentation highlighted that climate finance commitments have been increasing rapidly since 2006 and along those lines, although adaptation finance is still low, it is increasing, and will increase more rapidly as climate change intensifies. The work done by WRI also demonstrated that in 2010, the largest donors were the UK, Germany and the GEF who provided adaptation finance that was in the 100,000’s. Whereas, in 2012, the CIF, Germany, Norway, EU and LDCF were the largest funders providing millions to Zambia in adaptation finance.

Simon Anderson from IIED presented on Case Study work IIED have completed in Tigray, Ethiopia which highlighted technologies that have been adopted in the region and why, the Internal Rate of Return switching from local to improved varieties and local perceptions of the benefits from adopting improved varieties. IIED are also conducting Case Studies in Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique as part of the Climate Change and Development Learning Platform. Gemma O’Reilly presented on the importance of climate finance in the lead up to COP21 referring to the mobilisation of €100 billion per year by 2020 as a ramp up points in terms of climate finance. Irish Aid’s contribution to Ireland’s climate finance is demonstrated in our Country Climate Action Reports which are now available on the Learning Platform.

Launch of the Country Climate Action Reports

Case Study on Approaches for Climate Change Integration into Development Programming in Tigray, Ethiopia

Farmers, Debrebirhan and Megab regions, Ethiopia. Photograph taken by IIED (2015).

The Ethiopia programme of Irish Aid has been on the first to set about integrating climate change into development programming. This makes Ethiopia a priority country case for Irish Aid and others to learn from. The Irish Aid support to the work of TARI in Tigray is identified as an important first case of climate integration. Therefore a case study has been developed with colleagues in TARI, Irish Aid and iied that focuses on key questions of how climate has been integrated into the research into use work and how effective this integration has been.

Following discussions with Irish Aid Ethiopia staff in Addis Ababa and with TARI staff in Mekelle, a proposed design for the case study was generated. It was agreed that the case study should add value to the Irish Aid supported initiative that TARI is implementing. The case study would collate evidence and learning and document this for wider sharing within the Irish Aid Learning Platform, with organisations involved in the implementation of the Agriculture component of the Climate Resilience and Green Economy strategy, and more widely. The case study is not an evaluation – it identified and generated evidence and is to share learning.

The main objective of the case study was to understand the TARI Operational Research programme and technology adoption process from perspectives of smallholder farmers and the researchers. The process studied is encapsulated in the diagram below that uses the TAMD framework to map out the process.

The case study found evidence that:

• Climatic variability is increasing and there are demonstrable trends toward warming and drying, particularly in the short rainy period of the year.

• Soil and water conservation measures through social mobilization have been very effective in creating better conditions for agriculture and as a precursor for the adoption of improved varieties of crops and livestock.

• The OR initiative has provided improved crop varieties and livestock breeds that farmers want to adopt.

• Widespread adoption of new technologies has contributed to greater productivity and food security for a large proportion of the population during a period of increased climatic variability.

Adrian FitzgeraldClimate Change Policy LeadAdrian.Fitzgerald@dfa.ie+353 61 77 4149Ben Siddle –Household EnergyBen.Siddle@dfa.ie+353 61 77 4119

Naomi Campbell – Resilience AdvisorNaomi.Campbell@dfa.ie+353 61 77 4013

Mags GaynorResilience Team LeadMags. Gaynor@dfa.ie+353 61 77 4065