Our Agenda 9th - 10th November 2021

Themes: Five pathways to a climate-resilient future

  • 1 Building resilient agriculture and food systems
    FAO/GRP: Sylvie Wabbes & Roman Malec (FAO)/ Anastasia Brainich & Ameil Harikishun (GRP)

    Transformative actions are urgently needed within agriculture and food systems to tackle the colliding climate, biodiversity, pandemic and food crises. From smallholders to large agri-food businesses, field to fork, climate resilience actions must be just and include the entire food value chain. This theme will explore food governance, locally-led climate and nature-friendly solutions, access to climate finance for the most vulnerable and risk management capacities for building climate-resilient agriculture and food systems.
  • 2 Early warning, early action to leave no one behind
    RCCC: Carina Bachofen & Dorothy Heinrich

    Early warning early action (EWEA) is key to reducing the impacts of natural hazards, weather extremes, and climate change more generally. Recognising that too many people are left behind by global, national, and subnational efforts to build EWEA systems, this theme explores how we can improve the framing, governance, financing, and flexibility of EWEA to build equitable and effective disaster risk reduction locally and at scale.
  • 3 Financing a resilient future
    IIED: Paul Steele and Barry Smith

    Climate finance must address the demands of poor women and men at the frontline of climate impacts. This theme examines this demand side local focus combined with the need for a supply of climate finance provided by a combination of external financing, including debt restructuring linked to climate, as well as domestic public finance and private finance. We will bring together key stakeholders from government, civil society, the private sector and international organisations to make commitments on how they can together finance a climate resilient future.
  • 4 Establishing resilient cities and infrastructure
    IIED: David Dodman and Aditya Bahadur

    For the first time in the history of the planet most of the world is urban and cities are at high risk of experiencing the impacts of climate change. Sessions in this theme examine how different shocks and stresses, such as those from COVID-19, and climate interact, showcase ways of forging novel partnerships and collaborations for enhancing resilience, and demonstrate innovative approaches for supporting adaptation to extreme heat - a major hazard increasingly impacting our cities.
  • 5 Working with nature to build resilience
    IIED/IFRC: James Mayers (IIED) & Ninni Ikkala-Nyman (IFRC)

    This theme explores the importance of working with nature to build resilience now and in the future, in the face of climate change. As support for and uptake of nature-based solutions in climate policy and practice grows, we will look at widely shared challenges and opportunities faced by local organisations working in forest and farm landscapes to strengthen resilience, and specific contexts of climate-related hazards, such as droughts and floods.
Plenary
Parallel Session

1A: How can we make climate finance work for the most vulnerable food system actors?

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Numerous studies have shown that investing in smallholders is key to achieving global goals, whether in terms of climate, gender, or rural economic growth.

This session will look at climate-smart models in dire need of being scaled up, such as shea agroforestry or high-value, small-plot vegetable cropping systems. It will discuss different types of investment into these models and examine the gap between the potential and what is happening. We will share examples regarding some of the roadblocks and the legal and logistical challenges that exclude smallholders from finance.

1B: Unprecedented, widespread, and rapid: Is climate change being adequately accounted for in early warning early action?

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Climate change is already having a tremendous humanitarian impact, notably due to its impact on the frequency, intensity, and magnitude of extreme weather. Anticipatory action increasingly been recognized as a robust tool to reduce humanitarian impacts of climate-related disasters. However, in order to be effective and sustainable, these systems must take into account current and future risks of extreme weather in a rapidly changing world.

This session builds off voices from the frontline of the climate crisis, and brings experts from scientific and humanitarian sectors to explore how EWEA can and should better take into climate change into account.

1C: Which financing mechanisms can contribute to inclusive locally led adaptation?

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This session will continue to explore the concept of “delivery mechanisms” for locally led adaptation, with a specific focus on the enablers and challenges in conflict-affected and fragile states. It will also highlight the importance of resilience and preparedness more broadly, focusing on community-led innovations.

Join us for a discussion that will address a number of challenging questions, including: Where have locally-led adaptation “delivery mechanisms” helped facilitate effective climate adaptation in conflict situations, even helping overcome local conflict, and, what are the unique challenges for effective “delivery mechanisms” in conflict-affected and fragile contexts that need to be considered?

1D: How can local actors innovate effectively for inclusive climate resilience in informal settlements?

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An inclusive approach to people-centred and inclusive climate resilience requires the combination of all the strengths, attributes, and resources available within a society to manage and reduce risks and strengthen its capacities, including the support from local governments and the active participation of the urban poor.

Focusing on four innovative approaches from Africa and Asia, this session will elaborate further on mechanisms to engage the ecosystem for an inclusive urban development and the challenges and opportunities to mobilize communities, civil society organizations, private sector and local governments to inspire action for climate adaptation in informal settlements.

1E: Lessons from the frontline– how can NbS deliver development and climate benefits?

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The world is facing a triple emergency of climate change, nature loss, and rising poverty and inequality. These interdependent emergencies do not just represent three pressing challenges to humanity; they are interconnected in their causes and consequences, but therefore also in their solutions.

The session shares evidence on how nature-based solutions (NbS), when done well, can help address those interconnected challenges. Building on case studies from the ‘frontline’ and engaging with session participants, the session will highlight key ingredients for success and challenges and opportunities for NbS to deliver development and climate benefits on the ground. 
Break

Networking

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Join us for a virtual coffee in our networking area.
Plenary

2: OPENING PLENARY: Global Ambition. Local Action. Climate resilience for all. Setting the scene for Development and Climate Days 2021

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In the context of the five D&C Days themes we will set the scene for this year’s event. Opening with a reflection on what has happened during the first week of COP26, and sharing insights on what can be expected from week two, with a particular focus on the LDC perspective of the negotiations.

We will introduce the five themes that anchor the programme and give some background on their importance at the grassroots level, and how they relate to UNFCCC plans and priorities.

➊ Building resilient agriculture and food systems - Sylvie Wabbes-Candotti, FAO
➋ Early warning, early action to leave no one behind - Dorothy Heinrich, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
➌ Financing a resilient future - Paul Steele, IIED
➍ Establishing resilient cities and infrastructure - David Dodman, IIED
➎ Working with nature to build resilience - Ninni Ikkala-Nyman, IFRC

We will close with an outlook of D&C days and a few beacons of hope in plenary.

Break

Networking

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Join us for a virtual coffee in our networking area.
Parallel Session

3A: What are the critical actions needed to build climate resilient food systems in vulnerable and fragile regions?

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Recently, three action areas have been suggested to advance a global food system transformation that prioritises the realities and needs of vulnerable and fragile regions: 1) Halt agricultural land expansion but invest in local food security; 2) Put resilient landscapes at the heart of transformation; 3) Build conflict- and climate-resilient food systems.

In this session, we will focus on approaches and instruments that are already available and being tested to support these three action areas. Join this frank dialogue on the potential advantages and drawbacks of different policy instruments that aim to support transformative change towards just and sustainable food systems in vulnerable and fragile contexts.

3B: Leave no one behind: how can we build equitable early warning systems that enable effective early action?

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This session will galvanise discussion to support the building of an equity approach to early warning early action. It will challenge participants' understanding of "protect the most vulnerable" and "leave no one behind", exploring the theoretical and practical frameworks of equity, and its application to anticipatory action, showcasing examples in which EWEA is being made equitable. It will highlight the barriers often faced in striving for equity and explore solutions to overcome them.

Through a combination of self-reflection, thoughtful presentations and commentary, and solution building, we will aim to create actionable ways it can be integrated into policy and practice.

3C: How can climate vulnerable countries benefit from debt instruments for climate and nature: Launch of a How to Guide

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The pressure of growing debt on emerging economies has severely impacted efforts to tackle the climate crises and biodiversity loss. The economic recovery from the pandemic therefore requires bold, innovative, and sustainable responses that address the triple crises of debt, climate change and biodiversity destruction.

This session will explore emerging approaches to address the triple crises, why they are needed and what lessons are being learned, alongside the roles of different actors in these approaches. There is also the opportunity to be part of the launch of a new How to Guide on Linking Sovereign Debt with Climate and Nature Outcomes, targeted at debt managers and environmental decision makers.

**This session will be simultaneously interpreted into French and Spanish 

3D: Hot Hot Hot: How can cities adapt to rising heat?

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The latest IPCC AR6 report makes it clear that extreme heat is affecting all land areas and it’s here to stay, regardless of emission reductions, and will get markedly worse without reductions. The urban heat island effect only amplifies these realities in cities where the most vulnerable people also experience highly differential impacts. And yet, heat remains an “under-the-radar” hazard that does not get the same attention or funding as other, more eye-catchingly deadly, hazards.

The session will focus on 1. Understanding heat risks in cities, 2. Assessing barriers to action, 3. Exploring adaptation options and ways to incentivize action.


3E: What are the opportunities and challenges of using green/gray infrastructure to increase flood resilience?

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In the face of climate change and increasing environmental threats the traditional gray infrastructure, to support the smooth and safe functioning of societies, alone can no longer provide the climate resiliency and level of services required now and in the future.

This session seeks to develop an understanding of what hybrid and green infrastructure options are available for addressing climate-related floods, identify the opportunities, challenges and limitations for hybrid and green infrastructure, and showcase the potential for partnerships and collaboration on Nature-based Solutions for flood resilience in disaster management context.
Break

Networking

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Join us for a virtual coffee in our networking area.
Plenary

4: PLENARY: Out the box: How can we reimagine our online interactions through serious fun?

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How can we harness our collective courage and creativity when we’re together but apart? Can videoconference constraints be turned into opportunities for reinventing interaction? Is it possible to deepen our networks and expand our knowledge while acquiring new tools for taking collective action?

In this intensely participatory session we will help you re-imagine virtual engagements to radically enrich climate events at-a-distance, promoting a low-carbon, low-budget, high-energy way to stimulate creative engagements and co-production of knowledge and action. We will build on recent online sessions for the Red Cross, the World Bank, NASA, the German Government, the Green Climate Fund and beyond, addressing climate & development topics ranging from disaster preparedness to geoengineering and from risk financing to anti-racism.

Join us to learn how serious-yet-fun tools that foster an honest and open dialogue, helping you awaken the attention and imagination of your event participants – including during online, face-to-face, and hybrid events. 
Plenary

Day 1 Closing remarks

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Closing reflections by Maarten van Aalst, Director, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre