IMCORE

ClimSea 2011 Conference on adaptation to climate change

CoastNet — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:17:58 +0000

ClimSea

http://www.climsea.eu/

As part of the restitution of their work on “the adaptation of coastal areas to climate change”, the draft Regional Natural Park of the Morbihan Gulf and the University of Brest (UMR AMURE) invite you to the conference ClimSea 2011.

International Conference The Hague

CoastNet — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:01:01 +0000

Read all information here

New cluster: SIC adapt!

CoastNet — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:24:25 +0000

SIC adapt! is a Strategic Initiative Cluster (SIC) of the INTERREG IV B North West Europe (NWE) Programme dealing with adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Eight approved transnational projects originating from seven Member States of the NWE Programme with around 100 partner organisations involved joining public authorities from all levels, scientific institutions, non profit and private organisations.

Climate Assessment incorporation into EIA/SEA processes for local authorities: Countries reviews

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:08:19 +0000

Countries reviews

Australia
- Northern Territory Government Environmental Impact Assessment Guide: Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change. This Guide aims to assist proponents in providing the information needed by the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport (NRETAS) to assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from proposed projects and assess other potential impacts from proposed projects under projected future climatic. The Guide can also be access on-line at the following link. It was prepared by the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport of the Northern Territory Government on July 2, 2009.
Canada
- Incorporating Climate Change Considerations in Environmental Assessment: General Guidance for Practitioners. This document provides environmental assessment practitioners with general guidance for incorporating climate change considerations in environmental assessment at the project level. It includes methods that can be used to obtain and evaluate project’s GHC emissions and impacts of climate change on a project; key information to address climate change considerations in EA; and methodology to promote consistent approach when considering climate change in the EA process. The Guidance can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Assessment, and issued in November 2003.
- The Canada Environmental Agency web-page features a number of complete research reports that have contributed towards the advancement of knowledge to integrate climate change considerations into the Environmental Assessment. The web-site can be accessed at this link.
- Incorporating Climate Change into the Environmental Impact Assessment Process – Practitioner’s Guide. This Guide was developed by a group of members of ClimAdapt, a Nova Scotia Climate Change Initiative launched in 2001, to assist practitioners to incorporate climate change considerations into the environmental impact assessment process. The document does not address issues related to GHG control. The Guide can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by Alan Bell, Norval Collins and Robert Young and issued in June 2003.
- Evaluation of the ClimAdapt Guide to Incorporate Climate Change into the Environmental Impact Assessment Process. This report summaries the results of a study to evaluate the utility of the ClimaAdapt Guide (see above reference) by applying it to six case studies in Canada covering a wide range of project types and climate areas. The report can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by Alan Bell, Norval Collins, Cameron Ells, George de Romily, Alison Rossiter and Robert Young for The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency; and issued in March 2003.
- A Guide for Incorporating Adaptation to Climate Change into Land Use Planning. This Guide aims to help land use planners to incorporate adaptation to climate change within municipal land use planning strategies. The Guide can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by CEF Consultant s Ltd and CBCL Limited, and issued in November 2005.
New Zealand
- Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment: A Guidance Manual for Local Government in New Zealand. This Guidance aims at helping local governments identify and quantify opportunities and hazards posed by climate change to their functions, responsibilities and infrastructure. The Guidance can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by the Ministry for the Environment, and issued in May 2008.
- Scoping Report for an Environmental Assessment of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and Closely Related Measures. This non-government report aims to identify potential environmental impacts of the emissions trading scheme over the period 2008 to 2020, identify possible response measures to address these impacts, and identify areas where further environmental assessment is warranted. The Guidance can also be accessed on-line at this link. It was prepared by Jim Sinner, Judy Lawrence, Roland Sapsford and Paul Blaschke for the Emissions Trading Group; and issued in April 2008.
The Netherlands
- The Netherlands Climate Change Impacts and Spatial Planning Decision Support Guidance presents a series of tools, which can be used to assist planners in carrying out their own climate change risk assessment. It puts emphasis on climate change adaptation rather than climate change mitigation. This guidance document applies the UK Climate Impact Program (UKCIP) decision-making framework and illustrates how it can be applied to the ‘climate-influenced’ decisions that need to be made by spatial planners at a variety of different spatial scales (local, regional and national). This high level screening tool helps spatial planners to consider the potential impacts of climate change in their appraisal process focusing on constraint mapping, tipping points (or threshold analysis), high level risk assessment and decision pathways. The Netherlands Climate Change Scientific Assessment and Policy Analysis identifies adaptation strategies both for the public and private sectors while exploring some of the synergies that may exist amongst the various policy options. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is continuously assessing new adaptation options to impacts of climate change in the Netherlands. Four major programs are currently being implemented on climate change, which include: the Delta Program, the National Programme for Spatial Adaptation to Climate Change (NPSACC), the Knowledge for Climate Program (KCP) and the Rotterdam Climate Initiative (RCI).
United Kingdom
- Strategic Environmental Assessment and climate change: Guidance for practitioners. This Guidance suggests how climate change issues can be considered in SEA in England and Wales. It presents information on the causes and impacts of climate change and how they can be described and evaluated in SEA. It also describes how adaptation and mitigation measures can be developed through SEA. The Guidance and other interesting documents related to SEA and climate change can also be accessed on line at this link. This Guidance was prepared by the Environment Agency, Countryside Council for Wales, English Nature, UKCIP, Levett-Therivel Sustainability Consultants, CAG Consultants and the Environmental Change Institute, and issued in 2007.
United States of America
- Draft NEPA Guidance on consideration of the effects of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. This draft guidance memorandum, dated February 18, 2010, has been issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to obtain comments from the public on ways in which the Federal agencies can improve their consideration of the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change in their evaluation of proposals for Federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Guidance can also be access on-line at this link.

Adaptive Governance and Climate Change

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:03:45 +0000

This book argues that we need to take a new tack – moving away from reliance on centralized, top-down climate approaches. It shows how adaptive governance fosters the necessary diversity and innovation for climate adaptation. The book focuses on the real-life climate issues faced by Barrow, Alaska – and analyzes how the policies developed to address those issues could be adopted by other communities.

Adaptive Governance and Climate Change, Ronald D. Brunner and Amanda H. Lynch, AMS Books, pp. 424, 2010 [payment of $35 required]

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?isbn=9781878220974

Participatory Scenario Development for Climate Adaptation

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:02:27 +0000

The paper provides discussion on the benefits and challenges of stakeholders’ involvement in developing scenarios – referred to as participatory scenario development (PSD). Based on the experiences of a case study in Lake Balaton, it argues that the PSD provides opportunities to integrate development priorities and plans with adaptation needs to address climate change and climate variability.

Participatory Scenario Development for Climate Change Adaptation, Livia Bizikova, Thea Dickinson, and László Pintér, Vol. 60, Number 1, pp. 167-172, December 2009 [102 KB, PDF]

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iiedpla/pla/2009/00000060/00000001/art00017

Framework for Adaptation: Implications for the Government

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:01:34 +0000

The paper focuses on climate adaptation in the UK. It provides a framework for analysing the role of Government in helping people and businesses adapt to projected changes in climate. The paper provides an analysis of market and other barriers to adaptation by theme, while presenting some options to address those barriers.

Adapting to Climate Change: Analysing the Role of Government, Fererica Cimato and Michael Mullan, Defra Evidence and Analysis Series, Paper 1, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, UK, 2010 [645 KB, PDF]

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/documents/analysing-role-government.pdf

Institutional Challenges to Climate Risk Management in Cities

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:59:28 +0000

The article reviews current research and debate on climate risk management in cities, focusing on the institutional capacity of cities to facilitate planned adaptation.

It identifies four key barriers to effective adaptation: understanding scientific information about climate change hazards and their impact on cities; understanding how socio-economic processes influence urban vulnerabilities; integrating information about climate risk into local planning and development processes; and the lack of suitable governance frameworks for urban climate risk management.

Institutional Challenges to Climate Risk Management in Cities, Hartmut Funfgeld, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 201

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B985C-50PJJGW-1-1&_cdi=59095&_user=10&_pii=S1877343510000564&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2010&_sk=999979996&wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkzk&md5=1b448f9b248507ea0592703a48c8cd5c&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

Envisioning Futures for Climate Change Policy Development: Scenarios Use in European Environmental Policy Institutions

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:54:19 +0000

This paper explores the use of scenarios by policy-advisors within three institutions: the European Environment Agency, the European Commission and Scottish public bodies

Download PDF (100k)

New Guide “The Essential Principles of Climate Science” Aims to Improve Public Climate Literacy

CoastNet — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:36:14 +0000

“The Essential Principles of Climate Science” presents important information for individuals and communities to understand Earth’s climate, impacts of climate change, and approaches for adapting and mitigating change. Principles in the guide can serve as discussion starters or launching points for scientific inquiry. The guide can also serve educators who teach climate science as part of their science curricula.

http://downloads.climatescience.gov/Literacy/Climate%2520Literacy%2520Booklet%2520Hi-Res.pdf