NAP Expo 2018: Advancing National Adaptation Plans
Submitted by esther.lake@undp.org on 06 April 2018
4 April 2018, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt: Leaders and policymakers are gathering in Egypt to share experiences and to advance their National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes.
Countries across the world are initiating climate actions to reach the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through advancing their adaptation planning. NAPs support the achievement of these goals and are a key implementation vehicle to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement.
This is the fifth consecutive NAP Expo, an event organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) in collaboration with various organisations. The event promotes the exchange of knowledge and experiences on NAPs, with the aim to foster partnerships and advance NAPs. Representatives from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and various United Nations agencies are gathering, as well local networks, scientists and climate change practitioners – to share experiences on NAPs.
Ms. Beth Lavender, LEG member, said, ‘The NAP Expo 2018 is a promise to share adaptation stories from all around the world.’
With a total of 180 participants and 76 countries represented, the 2018 edition – the first in a developing country – is one of the biggest NAP Expos organised thus far.
At the opening session in the morning of 4 April 2018, Mr. Youssef Nassef, Director of the Adaptation Programme at the UNFCCC, said, ‘On behalf of the UNFCCC, I welcome participants to this year's NAP Expo in Sharm el Sheikh – a coastal city which is feeling the impacts of sea-level rise and water shortages induced by climate change.’
The Chair of the LEG, Mr. Naresh Sharma, said, ‘This NAP Expo is a crucial opportunity to empower Parties to advance their NAP processes.’
The Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), Mr. Emmanuel Dlamini said, ‘Ambitious adaptation measures require adaptive capacity. It is important to consider linkages between climate change adaptation, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Disaster Risk Reduction.'
Mr. Khalid Fouda, Governor of South Sinai, Egypt, said, ‘We encourage participants to find solutions and recommendations that will help tackle and adapt to the challenges of climate change. It is essential to include local governments in the NAP process, to fully address local needs.’
He also announced that the next UN Biodiversity Conference, held in Sharm el Sheikh in November 2018, will also discuss climate change given its severe negative impacts on ecological systems.
Climate change risks in Egypt include sea-level rise, which is projected to particularly impact the densely populated low-lying lands in the Nile Delta. Efforts are underway to leverage improved adaptation planning and policy support to mainstream and accelerate climate actions. One example of this work comes from a new UNDP-supported project financed by the GCF designed to enhance climate change adaptation in the North Coast of Egypt.
Discussions at the NAP Expo take place in plenary or parallel sessions, supplemented by late afternoon classrooms and demo sessions. Several areas of adaptation are being addressed this year, including: accessing funding; climate information services, climate data and scenarios; monitoring and evaluation; consideration of gender in NAPs; lessons learned from the national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs); long-term adaptation planning and transformation; adaptation in the agriculture sectors; water crises and other climate shocks; adaptation in human settlements; and appyling traditional and indigenous knowledge. Emerging topics such as big data and artificial intelligence are also discussed.
The Joint UNDP-UN Environment National Adaptation Plan Global Support Programme (NAP-GSP) has been actively involved in the preparation of the event, and has organised a session on ‘Gender and NAPs’ for Day 3, Friday 6 April. In addition, representatives of the NAP-GSP are presenting or facilitating in several other sessions.
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