Coping with climate change- building resilience for the future

What is adaptation to climate change?

Adaptation is the process of reducing the adverse effects of climate change on human and natural systems. It refers to the efforts made to cope with actual change as well as of adjusting to expected change. In practice, adaptation is climate-resilient development and natural resources management. In recent years, adaptation has emerged as a top priority on the international development agenda.

At the 2010 climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) affirmed that adaptation must be placed on a par with climate change mitigation. In the Cancun Adaptation Framework, parties committed to “reducing vulnerability and building resilience in developing country Parties, taking into account the urgent and immediate needs of those developing countries that are particularly vulnerable”.

What is the role of the GEF in adaptation? 

1. The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)
2. The Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)
3. The Strategic Priority on Adaptation (SPA), under the GEF Trust Fund

The LDCF and SCCF now hold the largest and most mature portfolios of adaptation projects in the developing world. These Funds are a relevant source of practical operational knowledge as they have provided vulnerable countries and communities, as well as the GEF Implementing Agencies, initial resources to finance a pioneering adaptation portfolio.

Relevant Links

• Accessing Resources Under the LDCF
• Accessing Resources Under the SCCF
• Adaptation Monitoring and Assessment Tool (AMAT) Guidelines and Tracking Tools
• Decisions on LDCF and SCCF: COP 7 Marrakesh
• Operationalization of the LDCF (Decision 3/CP.11, COP 11 Montreal)
• Programming Paper for funding the implementation of NAPAs under the LDCF (GEF 28th Council meeting - June 2006)
• Programming Paper for SCCF (GEF 24th Council meeting - November 2004)