From 8 to 18 May 2017, regional governments represented by the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) will be in Bonn, Germany, for the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference presenting their contributions to address the goals of the Paris Agreement, specially advocating for multi-level governance and the significance of regional governments in climate adaptation. 

The Conference, which also prepares for the COP 23 in November, will serve to further finalise the Paris Agreement rule book, which is needed to make the Paris Agreement operational and fulfil its ambition to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. , With former international agreements prioritising mitigation over adaptation, the Paris Agreement and its global goal on adaptation reflect the great importance given to adaptation for the first time in the history of climate negotiations. The Agreement further “recognize[s] that this challenge is a global challenge faced by all with local, subnational, regional and international dimensions”. While adaptation strategies are often first adopted at the national level, estimates from the UNDP show that “up to 100 percent [of the investments for adaptation] take place at the subnational and local level”, indicating to the importance of regional governments in this regard.

Adaptation plans of regional governments are fundamental to complement national efforts, since these governments are at the forefront of reducing the vulnerability of their territories to climate change. They are strategically well positioned between the national and local levels and are assigned with legal responsibilities and policy tools that are pivotal to this global effort. Regional governments are able to transmit their populations’ needs to the national level, as well as to translate the national strategies and policies to their inhabitants and implement them on the ground. Also, regional governments mean a crucial support to local initiatives, especially to small or isolated human settlements often in rural areas, where such local governments do not have the necessary means in terms of human, technical or budgetary resources and regional governments act in their subsidiary capacity. In that sense, regional governments are responsible for the homogeneous, sustainable and fair development of territories as a whole, and act as guardians to ecosystems and other territorial services provided to medium and large cities. In doing all of this, regional governments implement the policies that directly contribute to national governments’ climate adaptation efforts. 

To demonstrate and reinforce the importance of regional governments in climate adaptation, on 8 May from 4:45pm to 6:15pm, the nrg4SD will present the side event “RegionsAdapt: Regional governments as key actors in climate adaptation” in the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, Plenary Building, Room Berlin. 

Authorities of regional governments like Mr. Gamini Thilakasiri, Minister of Agriculture, Agrarian Development, Irrigation, Industries and Environment of Western Province Government, Sri Lanka, will be at the event presenting the RegionsAdapt Initiative and the “RegionsAdapt 2016 Report: An assessment of risks and actions”. The report is the first to reflect on the level of ambition shown by 27 regional governments members of the initiative in their adaptation strategies. 

 Other important stakeholders will discuss the need for further engagement of regional governments in the formulation and implementation of climate change policies and in international negotiations. Ms Joana Setzer, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at London School of Economics, member of the Board of Advisors to nrg4SD and Ms Idil Boran, Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, York University, will discuss the role of multi-stakeholder dialogue and governance, as well as the importance of international networks in this regard. 

nrg4SD will also participate in other side events such as “Marrakesh Partnership: Building trust and inclusiveness in non-Party stakeholder engagement” organised by the York University and Colorado State University on 13 March – 11:30am to 1:00pm. 

The network will also be present at the 2017 Interconnections Conference “Interconnections between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement” on May 12th and 13th. At the occasion, Lombardy, nrg4SD member, represented by the Lombardy Foundation for the Environment (FLA) will present ‘The experience of mainstreaming climate change adaptation at subnational level in Lombardy, Italy: lessons learnt, instruments and possible pathways for the implementation of the SDGs agenda at the local level.’ 

These events are excellent opportunities to know more about the efforts and challenges of regional governments in climate adaptation. Climate change amplifies and creates new risks for natural and human systems, which are associated with a wide range of impacts already observable, making climate adaptation an increasing need. Regional governments have a crucial role towards efficient and coherent climate change adaptation. 

ENDS 

Media contact
Thais Ferraz, Communications Officer, nrg4SD
M: +34 633 235 432
tferraz@nrg4sd.org 

About nrg4SD – Secretariat of RegionsAdapt 

The Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development – nrg4SD – was established in 2002, and currently has 57 members from 29 countries in four continents. The Network acts in three main fields: sustainable development, biodiversity and climate change, and seeks greater international recognition of regional governments, especially in the context of the global agendas at UN and EU levels. In addition, nrg4SD promotes cooperation among members, fostering exchange of information, know-how and best practices. In the field of climate change, nrg4SD runs RegionsAdapt, an initiative to inspire and support regional governments to act, collaborate and report efforts on climate change adaptation. Launched at UNFCCC COP 21, the initiative expanded from 27 founding members to over 60 members from all continents. 

For more information: www.nrg4SD.org / regionsadapt@nrg4sd.org / #RegionsAdapt 

Download the “RegionsAdapt 2016 Report: An assessment of risks and actions”