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ADVISORY: WRI Honors Darren Walker and Feike Sijbesma at "Courage to Lead" Dinner

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ADVISORY: WRI Honors Darren Walker and Feike Sijbesma at "Courage to Lead" Dinner

Dinner in New York City recognizes innovative leaders of Ford Foundation and Royal DSM; featured speakers President Felipe Calderón, Christiana Figueres and Tony West

WASHINGTON (September 29)—World Resources Institute (WRI) is celebrating 35 years of impact at its biennial Courage to Lead dinner honoring Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation, and Feike Sijbesma, Chairman and CEO, Royal DSM, on Thursday, October 12 at Cipriani 25 Broadway in New York City. President Felipe Calderón, former President of Mexico, Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC and one of the vital players in the creation of the Paris Agreement, and Tony West, General Counsel of PepsiCo and former U.S. Associate Attorney General, are featured speakers.

Co-chairs for the event are Stephen M. Ross, Chairman and Founder, Related Companies; Afsaneh M. Beschloss, Founder and CEO, The Rock Creek Group; and James A. Harmon, Chairman, Caravel Management LLC. Andrew Steer, WRI President & CEO, will highlight the transformative solutions the honorees have pioneered to protect the planet and improve people’s lives.

Ford Foundation is one of the world’s leading philanthropies. Under Darren Walker, Ford is putting all its tools to work, including $1 billion from its endowment over the next 10 years toward Mission-Related Investments, including the drivers of inequality. This bold move seeks to spur more foundations to do the same and help the capital markets become accelerators of justice and fairness.

Royal DSM, originally a state-owned coal company, is a Dutch multinational corporation now active in the fields of health, nutrition and materials. Royal DSM ranks #2 on Fortune’s annual Change the World list and its Chairman and CEO Feike Sijbesma is a global leader on climate action and malnutrition. Mr. Sijbesma is Climate Leader for the World Bank and co-chairs the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition. In addition, he co-leads the CEO Climate Alliance of the World Economic Forum of over 60 companies catalyzing corporate action to reduce GHG emissions and help drive the global transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy.

WRI’s Courage to Lead events honor leaders and organizations that share WRI’s dedication to tackling today’s urgent global environment and economic development challenges. The dinner will raise funds to advance WRI’s mission of turning big ideas into action on climate change, energy, food, forests, water and sustainable cities.

There will be a photo opportunity at the event.

All media must RSVP to ally.friedman@wri.org

WHAT
WRI’s Courage to Lead 35th Anniversary Dinner

WHO

  • Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation (honoree)
  • Feike Sijbesma, Chairman and CEO, Royal DSM (honoree)
  • President Felipe Calderón, Former President of Mexico; Honorary Chair, Global Commission on the Economy and Climate; and WRI Board Director (featured speaker)
  • Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and WRI Board Director (featured speaker)
  • Tony West, General Counsel, PepsiCo and Former Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (featured speaker)
  • Afsaneh M. Beschloss, Founder and CEO, The Rock Creek Group and WRI Board Director (co-chair)
  • James A. Harmon, Chairman, Caravel Management LLC and Chairman, WRI Board of Directors (co-chair)
  • Stephen M. Ross, Chairman and Founder, Related Companies and WRI Board Director (co-chair)
  • Andrew Steer, President & CEO, WRI

WHEN
Thursday, October 12, 2017
6:30 – 9:30 p.m. EDT

WHERE
Cipriani
25 Broadway
New York, NY 10004

RSVP
All media must RSVP ahead of time to Ally Friedman, ally.friedman@wri.org, (202) 279-7719

Contact

Advisory

The Two Degree Initiative Listening Sessions: Conference Proceedings

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Conference Proceedings

This paper highlights key findings from over 50 listening sessions held with farmers, herders, fishers, NGOs and CSOs, and the private sector, meant to inform the CGIAR's Two Degree Initiative, a flagship effort to transform the global food system for a climate-smart future.

Global Commission on AdaptationAfricaBrazilIndiaIndonesiaLatin AmericaMexicoGovernanceCreative CommonsOpportunities for Crop Research, Development and Adoption to Drive Transformative Adaptation in AgricultureApplying Climate Services to Transformative Adaptation in Agriculture

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Rebecca Carter56

As part of the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Year of Action, WRI and the Global Center on Adaptation partnered with CGIAR to conduct over 50 listening sessions to inform the Two Degree Initiative — a proposed flagship effort within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural...

These conference proceedings summarize the following emerging findings from over 50 listening sessions, meant to inform CGIAR's Two Degree Initiative, a flagship effort to transform the global food system for a climate-smart future:

  • Reform research-development-deployment pathways toward climate resilience and strengthen co-creation so that a broader range of stakeholders receives solutions that are beneficial. This will require new ways of working, including more co-production of knowledge, as well as faster, more inclusive, and more climate-informed and risk-tolerant innovation systems.
  • Employ an interdisciplinary, intersectional food, land, and water systems approach to building climate resilience by working across silos and together with under-engaged groups, from the regional to the national to the local level. This will require addressing in a coordinated manner climate-related vulnerabilities and opportunities that may occur across value chains, policy and institutional innovations, and ecosystem-based approaches to address systemic bottlenecks that reinforce vulnerabilities.
  • Improve tools for and communications with policymakers, civil society, and advocacy groups so that they have the climate-related data they need and are motivated, incentivized, and held accountable to enact change. This requires collaborating with decision-makers at local to national levels to understand and address their information needs and incentives.
  • Strengthen collaborations and innovative partnerships with the aim of unlocking private and public finance to enable sustainable investments to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity. Such partnerships are key to increasing impact by accelerating innovation, deploying solutions more quickly and equitably, and improving finance and information delivery for greater climate resilience at scale, while making the case for higher returns on investment.
  • Engage with policymakers, regional bodies, and global processes in the design of new policies and frameworks to ensure that regionally led action is well aligned with global efforts and yet reflects local contexts and priorities.
  • Leverage the power and expansion of climate-informed digital technologies to provide real-time and context-specific advisories and critical market services to growing numbers of small-scale producers. These advisories and services should also contribute to livelihoods, job creation, conservation of agrobiodiversity, and food and nutrition security.
  • Prioritize transformative approaches (e.g., shifting value chains, transitioning livelihoods, gender and social inclusion) where the impacts of climate change are the most severe, especially for the most vulnerable. This requires understanding where and when potential transition opportunities are likely to arise and how these transitions can be made efficiently, effectively, and equitably. Additionally, this requires assessment and prioritization of actions that encourage producers, business owners, researchers, investors, and policymakers to innovate in ways that promote gender equality and opportunities for youth.
Featured ResourceCustom Tabclimate resilienceresilienceadaptationclimate changefoodgovernancesustainable development
Rebecca Carter
Delfina Grinspan
Tyler Ferdinand
Cristina Rumbaitis del Rio

Locally Led Climate Adaptation: What Is Needed to Accelerate Action and Support?

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Working Paper

This working paper examines the existing literature on locally led adaptation, looking at efforts that have optimized finance through direct and consistent collaboration with local actors and identifying initiatives that embody locally led principles rather than traditional stakeholder consultation or participation. In line with the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Year of Action, the authors sought to identify specific projects and designs that aim to catalyze accelerated action and support for locally led adaptation.

Global Commission on AdaptationAfricaIndiaLatin AmericaGovernanceFinanceClimateWRI Ross Center for Sustainable CitiesCreative CommonsReshaping Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Locally Led Adaptation

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Stefanie Tye28
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Stefanie Tye
Isabella Suarez
https://doi.org/10.46830/wriwp.20.00039

Reshaping Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Locally Led Adaptation

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Working Paper

This paper discusses opportunities to support locally led adaptation to climate change through monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). It outlines steps throughout the MEL cycle to balance power, promote mutual accountability, elevate local knowledge and priorities, and create value for local actors, in the interest of more effective and equitable locally led adaptation interventions. The paper recommends a systemic shift toward MEL that is locally led, context-aware, and itself adaptive.

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Tamara Coger24
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Tamara Coger
Sarah Corry
Robbie Gregorowski
https://doi.org/10.46830/wriwp.20.00060

RELEASE: 40 Governments and Leading Institutions Commit to Support Locally Led Climate Adaptation

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RELEASE: 40 Governments and Leading Institutions Commit to Support Locally Led Climate Adaptation

Climate emergency threatens to push 130 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, yet local people are often left out of decisions and funding; Momentum emerges to shift status quo

Forty governments, leading global institutions and local and international NGOs, including the United Kingdom and Irish governments, UN Development Programme, Climate Investment Funds, Zurich Investment Group, BRAC and Slum Dwellers International, have committed a new set of principles to ensure climate adaptation is led by local people. ‘The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation’ are launched today at the start of the Climate Adaptation Summit (25 January).

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), World Resources Institute (WRI), and International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) facilitated the Principles’ development with over 50 other organisations under the Global Commission for Adaptation, steered by commissioners Sheela Patel of Slum Dwellers International and BRAC executive director Dr Muhammad Musa.

The Principles are being released as vulnerable populations face devastation from the climate emergency, COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, which are expected to push more than 150 million people into extreme poverty by this year. With climate change potentially pushing 130 million more people below the poverty line by 2030. Yet people living in poverty rarely have the power and money to build resilience to these crises.

‘The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation’ are informed by the voices and priorities of women and men who are most affected by the impacts of the climate emergency in developing countries. Local actors have the experience and knowledge to inform which solutions will enable them to develop and thrive in the face of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates local actors are often the first to respond to crises. 

‘The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation’ provide a guide on how to change the standard ‘business as usual’ top-down approach for how climate finance is currently directed, to a ‘business unusual’ model, where decisions are made at the lowest appropriate level on where and how this money and support are used.  

Under ‘The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation’, signatories commit to eight principles: Devolve decision making to the lowest appropriate level; address structural inequalities faced by women, young people, children, disabled, displaced, Indigenous Peoples and marginalised ethnic groups; provide more patient, predictable and accessible funding so it is long term, flexible and does not come with numerous strings attached; invest in local capabilities to leave an institutional legacy; build a robust understanding of climate change impacts, risk and uncertainty; provide flexible programming and learning; ensure meaningful transparency and accountability; and enable collaborative action and investment.

Even though households and communities in vulnerable countries can often spend  significant money on adaptation, according to IIED’s research on household spending on climate impacts in Bangladesh, and have critical insights into how to build resilience into the future appropriate to their context, IIED found that less than 10% of global climate finance is dedicated to local action. It is even rarer for investment reaching the local level to be locally led.

Andrew Norton, Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development, said:“The world is facing the interconnected crises of a climate emergency, rapid biodiversity destruction and entrenched poverty – all on top of the severe impacts of COVID-19, which is causing massive stress to communities worldwide. Climate adaptation is central to being able to prepare, adapt and transform societies, economies and ecosystems — ensuring it is locally led is key to its being effective. For too long vital climate finance and support have been directed by distant, uninvolved institutions led by their priorities rather than being determined by the people on the frontline who know most what is needed. These Principles are an opportunity to change that, particularly in this super year of climate and biodiversity action, and put the most affected and informed voices front and centre of climate action.”  

Christina Chan, Climate Resilience Practice Director at World Resources Institute, and Global Commission on Adaptation Co-Director, said:“The past year has exposed the systemic inequities that poor and vulnerable populations have long faced, as they grapple with the triple crisis of the pandemic, economic collapse, and the climate crisis. While these crises devastate local communities, the communities themselves are often left out of decisions and funding fails to reach them. These Principles represent a potential landmark shift in the status quo, from top-down to locally led decision-making. The diverse organizations who have committed to these principles — from national governments and international institutions to grassroots groups and local NGOs — shows the widespread demand for supporting adaptation led by local actors. We look forward with great enthusiasm to working with these organizations as they put their commitments into action.”

Sheela Patel, Chair of Slum Dwellers International and Global Commission on Adaptation commissioner, said:“These Principles for delivering sustainable local adaptation practises will ensure serious and ongoing financing for adaptation. Both state and non-state organisations need to endorse them and publicly announce that their practices will be guided by them. Their action needs to be accountable, transparent and committed to embracing collectively the risks that poor communities face while exploring development investments. Through them, those who give the finance and those who receive it will work together to design, deliver and monitor their adaptation work together. This is a collective journey of learning and transforming design, practises and monitoring frameworks that will produce holistic and sustainable solutions for the people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

Dr Muhammad Musa, Executive Director of BRAC and Global Commission on Adaptation commissioner, said: “The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation comprehensively capture the constructs that promote local communities to lead adaptation to climate change and its associated challenges. These principles empower communities with the ability to make decisions and act on climate vulnerabilities in a locally compatible manner, drawing on their unique local and indigenous knowledge and skills. At BRAC, we are excitedly adopting the principles into our program design, implementation, monitoring, as well as holding ourselves accountable to promote locally-owned climate change programming. We are eager to support governments, donors, and other implementing partners to help channel resources, including financial and otherwise, to reach local communities and support them in developing locally appropriate approaches to the diverse challenges that face them.”

List of endorsing organisations includes:
Act Church of Sweden; The Adaptation Fund; BRAC International; Climate Action Network South Asia; Climate Investment Funds; Climate Resilience Justice Fund; DanChurchAid; Friendship; Global Center on Adaptation; Global Environment Facility (GEF); Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR); Global Resilience Partnership; Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics; Hivos; Huairou Commission; InterAction; International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD); International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED); International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent (IFRC); Irish Aid; ISET International; Islamic Relief Worldwide; Media Awareness and Justice Initiative (MAJI); Mercy Corps; Mutual Trust Bank of Bangladesh; Oxfam; Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA); Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA); Practical Action; Save the Children; Slum Dwellers International; Tebtebba; UK Foreign, Cooperation & Development Office; UN Capital Development Fund; UN Development Programme; Water Aid; Women's Climate Centers International (WCCI); World Resources Institute (WRI); WWF International; Zurich Foundation; Zurich Insurance.

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Media enquiries 
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: 
Nate Shelter, WRI Communications Manager, Global Commission on Adaptation on Direct: +1 (202) 729-7776 or email Nate.Shelter@wri.org

Notes to editors

  • The Principles or Locally Led Adaptation were informed by a year-long stakeholder engagement process led by IIED and WRI as part of the Global Commission on Adaptation. The UK and US-based think-tanks brought together grassroots organisations, donor governments and international institutions, and civil society groups to understand what is needed to shift power to local actors. The principles were also informed by years of research by IIED and WRI on this issue. To see more about how these principles were developed please see ‘Principles for locally led adaptation: a call to action’https://pubs.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2021-01/10211IIED_Embargoed.pdf
  • This year marks a super year for environmental action with the Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China in May and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November in Glasgow, United Kingdom. 
  • IIED estimates that less than 10% of the US$17 billion climate finance committed from international climate funds between 2003 and 2016 was dedicated to local action. This analysis is of dedicated climate funds, which is only 7% of total climate finance over this period, as the rest of the climate finance is not sufficiently transparent to be analysed. Greater transparency is needed to be able to track the effectiveness of climate finance. See ‘Delivering real change: getting international climate finance to the local level’https://pubs.iied.org/10178IIED
  • Climate change could push up to 132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, according to research by the World Bank
  • International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is a policy and action research organisation. It promotes sustainable development to improve livelihoods and protect the environments on which these livelihoods are built. IIED specialises in linking local priorities to global challenges. Based in London, UK it works in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, with some of the world's most vulnerable people to strengthen their voice in the decision-making arenas that affect them – from village councils to international conventions. See https://www.iied.org
  • World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organization that spans more than 60 countries, with offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States. Its more than 1,000 experts and staff work closely with leaders to turn big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. More information on WRI can be found at www.wri.org or on Twitter @WorldResources.
  • Slum Dwellers International is a network of community-based organisations of the urban poor in 32 countries and hundreds of cities and towns across Africa, Asia and Latin America. In each country where SDI has a presence, affiliate organisations come together at the community, city and national level to form federations of the urban poor. These federations share specific methodologies, which are enumerated below. See https://sdinet.org/
  • The Global Commission on Adaptation aims to inspire heads of state, government officials, community leaders, business executives, investors and other international actors to prepare for and respond to the disruptive effects of climate change with urgency, determination and foresight. By accelerating climate adaptation, we can ensure that people benefit from cost-effective options, reduce risks, and come out stronger. Composed of 35 Commissioners and convened by more than 20 countries, the Global Commission on Adaptation brings together leaders from political, business, multilateral and scientific worlds to identify solutions and drive action.

Contact

  • Nate Shelter

    Communications Manager, Global Commission on Adaptation
Press Release

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Nature for Adaptation: Mobilizing Climate Finance to Support Nature-Based Solutions

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Join the conversation: #AdaptOurWorld

Nature-based solutions offer a range of adaptation and resilience benefits and have been generating increased attention worldwide. But according to a new WRI working paper, public international funding that flows to nature-based solutions for adaptation is still relatively small.

This event will explore findings from the new WRI paper and highlight recommendations to address key barriers and maximize opportunities to scale up funding for nature-based solutions. Speakers will discuss the current landscape of global climate finance related to nature-based solutions for adaptation, highlight successful efforts to fund and support these approaches and identify opportunities to strengthen this agenda in the lead-up to COP26 and beyond.

Speakers

  • Manish Bapna, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, WRI
  • Patricia Fuller, Ambassador for Climate Change, Government of Canada
  • Jonathan Cook, Senior Associate, Climate Resilience Practice, WRI
  • Stacy Swann, CEO and Founding Partner, Climate Finance Advisors
  • Cristina Rumbaitis del Rio, Action Track Co-Manager, Global Commission on Adaptation, WRI (moderator)

Panelists

  • Alex White, e, Team Leader, International Nature-based Solutions Policy and Finance, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
  • Mathias Bertram, Advisor, Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
  • Chizuru Aoki, Lead Environmental Specialist, Global Environment Facility
  • Rosa Morales Saravia, General Director of Climate Change and Desertification, Ministry of the Environment, Peru
  • Ulrika Akesson, Lead Policy Specialist, Environment and Climate Change, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Global Commission on Adaptation
March 15, 2021

Follow @WRIAdaptation

Emma Pearlstone

Public International Funding of Nature-based Solutions for Adaptation: A Landscape Assessment

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Working Paper

This paper assesses the landscape of public international funding for nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, covering both climate finance and Official Development Assistance. It seeks to help donor countries, multilateral institutions, and developing countries better understand the current state of funding, and provides recommendations to address barriers hindering public donor funding support for nature-based solutions for adaptation.

Global Commission on AdaptationAfricaEuropeIndiaLatin AmericaGovernanceClimate ResilienceCreative Commons

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Jonathan Cook48

This paper provides the first assessment of the landscape of public international funding for nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, covering both climate finance and Official Development Assistance (ODA). It seeks to help donor countries, multilateral institutions, and developing...

  • Overall, the amount of public international funding flowing to nature-based solutions (NbS) for adaptation is still relatively small, accounting for only US$3.8–8.7 billion, or approximately 0.6–1.4 percent of total climate finance flows and 1.5–3.4 percent of public climate finance flows, in 2018.
  • Funding for NbS for adaptation (NbSA) in 2018 was driven by a handful of major bilateral donors, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Sweden. The European Union, Asian Development Bank, the Green Climate Fund, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development were among the largest multilateral donors and channels of funding. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central Asia receive approximately 50 percent of total public NbSA funding.
  • In 2018, funding came primarily through grants. Though grants may play an important role, utilizing a broader range of instruments for NbSA may increase the opportunities to crowd in and catalyze private capital with public concessional finance.
  • The absence of clear definitions, guidelines, and metrics and methodologies to track, quantify, and value NbSA benefits may significantly inhibit the development and financing of a robust pipeline of NbSA-related investments.
  • Some NbSA projects do not provide reliable revenue streams, making it important to find other ways to fund long-term operational costs. To scale up and mobilize additional sources of funding, the full economic and financial case for NbSA—including cobenefits—needs to be clearly communicated.
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Mainstreaming Climate Adaptation Planning and Action into Health Systems in Fiji, Ghana, and Benin

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Working Paper

This paper shares case studies from Fiji, Ghana, and Benin, three countries making progress with mainstreaming climate change adaptation into planning and implementation in health systems. The authors outline the enabling factors, challenges and lessons learned across these three countries, followed by recommendations to mainstream climate adaptation and build climate resilience in the health sector.

Mainstreaming AdaptationAfricaBeninFijiGhanaIndonesiaLatin AmericaGovernanceClimateCreative CommonsBuilding Coastal Resilience in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Colombia: Country Experiences with Mainstreaming Climate AdaptationFrom Planning to Action: Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation Into Development

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Climate change is impacting human health and straining heavily burdened health services everywhere. Recognition of the linkages between climate change and health systems, such as shifts in vector-borne diseases and decreased access to services, is growing, yet many countries are still struggling...

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https://doi.org/10.46830/wriwp.19.00119




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