A mechanism has been established to improve integration of international cl
imate-related programmes. Known as the Climate Agenda it outlines a program
me, that in a cost-effective way, responds to national obligations to respo
nd to international agreements as well as their national needs for social a
nd economic development. The paper briefly describes the Climate Agenda and
the incorporation within it of studies of climate impact assessments and r
esponse strategies to reduce vulnerability The need for increased emphasis
on climate impact assessment and for the development of effective adaptatio
n measures is emphasised following the elaboration of a Kyoto Protocol to t
he United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNEP's e
fforts to identify national programmes contributing to the Climate Agenda a
re described.
The response from developing countries has, however, been very disappointin
g, even from countries where we know work is ongoing through funding by GEF
or US Country Studies Program and other bilateral programmes. Initial comp
ilation of information available so far shows that many developed countries
are putting a lot into the area of impact assessment of not just climate c
hange, but also climate variability. There remain some research gaps, espec
ially in the area of assessment of climate impacts on ecosystems, hydrologi
cal systems, etc. Considerable efforts are presently being directed at redu
ction of emissions of greenhouse gases and in the case of developing countr
ies, most efforts are being directed towards completing national communicat
ions and providing baseline data for future studies.
The paper refers to early activities by UNEP in cooperation with other inte
rnational organizations to undertake integrated assessments of the impacts
of climate change on important socio-economic sectors and the later incorpo
ration of lessons teamed into the IPCC Guidelines for Assessing Impacts of
Climate Change.
Later sections outline the development of a handbook on methods for climate
change impact assessment and adaptation strategies as a practical approach
to national assessments and the development of appropriate and cost-effect
ive response to climate change.
The initiation of a GEF-funded project to apply the methods contained in th
e handbook and improve the results based on national studies is also descri
bed for both developed and developing countries.
Working in collaboration with a team of international experts under the coo
rdination of the Institute of Environmental Studies at Vrije University (Am
sterdam), the goal of this ongoing project is to develop a valuable methodo
logical tool that Parties to the UNFCCC may apply to develop national clima
te change impact and adaptation assessments. Development of these guideline
s was linked to a series of country studies in Antigua and Barbuda, Estonia
, Cameroon and Pakistan funded under a UNEP/GEF project. The application of
the first version of the UNEP Handbook by national study teams in these fo
ur countries is making valuable technical and practical contributions and w
ill ensure that the next version of the Handbook will be a more useful tool
for experts in developing countries undertaking similar studies in the fut
ure. The methods contained in the Handbook are also the basis for similar a
ssessments funded under bilateral development programmes in other countries
. These and similar studies elsewhere are coordinated with the UNEP program
me and will eventually aim to create reliable and comparable assessments, a
compatible set of tools for such purpose and the identification of realist
ic adaptation options for incorporation into national planning for adapting
to climate change. The paper also addresses how climate impact assessment
and response strategies are undertaken as part of national enabling activit
ies carried out in co-operation with UNEP.