Building resilience: The urgency of Global Early Warning Systems in the face of climate change challenges
Climate change is no longer a threat of the future. It is happening now. The question is, how do we adapt to the increased likelihood of extreme events? Part of the solution is putting ample and early warning systems into place that allow all communities and sectors across the globe to know when, where and how to act.
At the recent COP28 meetings in Dubai important steps were taken towards bringing the issue of adaptation to the fore, moving on from the almost singular focus on mitigation which has tended to characterize the UN climate process. The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) has long been a key concern for climate-vulnerable nations and in Dubai parties came together to finally agree on a “framework” that would guide adaptation efforts.
Gaining momentum for adaptation has been a crutch in the UN climate process for a long time, not least of which because — in contrast to emissions reductions projects — adaptation focused measures tend not to generate revenue and hence fail to attract private investment. Although COP28 failed to provide a specific agenda to bring forward GGA, one area in which progress was made was developing a key tool in adaptation efforts: early warning systems.
The 2023 Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems report launched at COP28 brings together and assesses the latest data emerging from the Early Warnings for All Initiative whose objective is to create global coverage by 2027, including the development of an interactive Early Warnings for All Dashboard which is already available online.
A key player in reaching the UN goal to have early warning systems for everyone on the planet by 2027 is the Adaptation Fund.
Mikko Ollikainen, who heads up the fund, recently commented, “many of our projects are helping to reduce and avert further loss and damage,” adding that “the fund is committed to supporting developing countries to build resilience to climate disasters. With the global urgency for adaptation expressed in recent international reports, such as the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report, we must accelerate and scale up our collective adaptation activities, including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Early Warning System (EWS). We have seen several instances where Adaptation Fund projects were successfully scaled up to create transformational DRR/EWS systems in countries.”
Through its financing of projects and programmes aimed at vulnerable communities in developing countries the Adaptation Fund works towards ensuring that climate change adaptation is based on the specific needs and prioritise of countries, including when it comes to developing adequate early warning systems.
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