The report summarises the findings of an international events series hosted by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) last year in the run up to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
The COP26 ‘adaptation and resilience events series’ showcased collaborative, locally-led, and globally relevant research aligned to the UK COP26 presidency’s adaptation loss and damage theme.
It focused on how we can respond to and prepare for the impacts of climate change in a wide range of locations across the globe.
International participants, comprising governments and policy makers, funders, businesses, and researchers from a range of disciplines concluded that:
Eighteen events were co-hosted with 12 partner countries and international research teams.
The events highlighted the importance of taking multidisciplinary approaches to future climate adaptation research and ensuring equitable research partnerships.
Embedding local knowledge throughout the research and enabling co-design of solutions by local stakeholders from a range of sectors is fundamental to achieving effective and inclusive adaptation.
Monitoring, evaluation, and data sharing, with input from local communities were also cited as crucial for assessing the success of climate adaptation interventions.
The launch event took place in the UK in June 2021, with nine subsequent events co-hosted by partners across:
A further nine thematically-focused events were organised by the research community, covering topics such as:
Dr Sarah Webb, Associate Director, International at the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UKRI, said:
“This events series has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the challenges of adapting to climate change. It recommends a way ahead to help governments worldwide turn COP26 commitments into action.
“There is a clear role for UKRI to meet demand for relevant, accessible climate adaptation data and evidence. We are also embedding adaptation, collaboration and equity across all our research.”
Read the report: NERC-160322-TacklingClimateChange-AdaptationAndResilienceOpportunies-GlobalEventsReport.pdf (ukri.org)
Watch the highlights video: NERC-COMPILATION-1310.mp4 on Vimeo
Tackling Climate Change: Adaptation and Resilience Opportunities
17-Mar-2022