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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Poster: APN Climate Adaptation Framework

Climate change adaptation is receiving increased attention, particularly among developing countries party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as highlighted in the recent series of COP meetings from Cancun (2010) to urban (2011) to Warsaw (2013), that led to the development and formation of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee and the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (L&D). In March 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its Working Group II report of its 5th Assessment on Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (IPCC-AR5-WGII). The WGII report indicates that “In recent decades, changes in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems on all continents and across the oceans”, and states that future risks on climate change in Asia will include adverse impacts such as: increased riverine, coastal, and urban flooding leading to widespread damage to infrastructure, livelihoods, and settlements; increased risk of heat-related mortality and increased risk of drought-related water and food shortages causing malnutrition. In order to adapt to climate change, the IPCC/AR5/WGII stresses that “Decision support is most effective when it is sensitive to context and the diversity of decision types, decision processes, and constituencies. Organizations bridging science and decision-making, including climate services, play an important role in the communication, transfer and development of climate-related knowledge.”