Adapting to climate change for a more resilient future

Global temperatures will continue to rise even if countries deliver on their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. Extreme events resulting from climate change are already occurring and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that it is “virtually certain” that their magnitude and frequency will increase. Hence, there is not only an urgent need for climate mitigation but also for climate adaptation.
 
Ricardo has considerable and wide-ranging experience of supporting international and bilateral development partners, the European Commission, national, subnational and local governmental bodies, and the private sector in relation to all aspects of climate adaptation planning, policy development, and implementation. This includes consideration of co-benefits and trade-offs between climate adaptation and mitigation, and links between climate adaptation, sustainable development, biodiversity, and disaster risk reduction and management. 

Our services

Drawing upon Ricardo’s in-depth knowledge of science, policy and practice across many sectors, we develop and implement multidisciplinary services, with international, national, and local partners, often through extensive stakeholder engagement, regarding:
 
National adaptation planning

• Identifying and prioritising climate vulnerabilities, risks, and adaptation options and assessing co-benefits and trade-offs to support countries’ national adaptation plan (NAP) processes.

• Linking NAP processes to NDCs, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Sendai Framework.

• Developing climate adaptation elements of Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategies (LTS).

National programme design, support, and harmonisation of funding

• Scoping, feasibility analysis, programme design and cost-benefit analyses.

• Developing costed implementation plans for adaptation actions, associated finance strategies and institutional arrangements.

• Facilitating convergence and coordination of funding.

• Programme reviews.

Sub-national adaptation planning

• Identifying and prioritising climate vulnerabilities, risks, and adaptation options and assessing co-benefits and trade-offs, including for the development of cities’ Climate Action Plans.

• Advising on urban environmental governance, peer-to-peer learning from city networks and smart cities.

• Supporting vertical integration of subnational and national adaptation planning.

Policy development

• Supporting the development of climate adaptation policies and strategies, including through undertaking formal impact assessments.

• Supporting mainstreaming of climate adaptation in legislation, regulation, statutory guidance and standards, national or sectoral policies and strategies, and incentives.

Monitoring, evaluation and reporting

• Supporting the evaluation of  climate adaptation policies, strategies and programmes.

• Developing policy, programme and technical monitoring and evaluation frameworks and associated indicators.

• Compiling Adaptation Communications.

Guidance and knowledge products

• Developing international guidance, tools and knowledge products associated with all aspects of climate adaptation planning and the development of policies and practices.

Our experience

National adaptation planning

• Assessing the co-benefits and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation for the UK’s Climate Services for a Net Zero resilient World (CS-N0W).

• Developing a climate and vulnerability assessment of the Maltese economy.

• Updating adaptation elements of NDCs for a range of countries and updating the State of Palestine’s NDC from an ‘adaptation first’ perspective.

• Developing Uganda’s LTS, and a roadmap for Jordan’s LTS from an ‘adaptation-first’ perspective.

• Developing the State of Palestine’s gender-responsive NDC implementation plans for the Agriculture, Energy, Transport, Water, Waste, and Health sectors.

• Analysing the adaptation-mitigation nexus across the Philippine National Climate Change Action. Plan, national development targets and SDGs.

• Supporting development of adaptation elements of Intended NDCs for 15 countries.

• Developing the State of Palestine’s NAP.

National programme design, support, and harmonisation of funding

• Developing the State of Palestine’s NDC Partnership Plan and NDC Investment Plan.

• Costing Jordan NDC Actions and assessing adaptation benefits.

• Evaluating costs and fiscal measures for Colombia’s NDC adaptation actions.

• Identifying climate vulnerabilities and targeting natural resource management options across three Indian states for the world's largest public works programme (MGNREGS).

• Economic analyses across seven sectors to substantiate costs of implementing adaptation elements of Zambia’s intended NDC and to support NAP development.

• Developing a donor harmonisation strategy for Bangladesh development partners supporting climate adaptation projects and programmes.

• Assessment and scoping for DFID’s climate change programme in Bangladesh.

• Designing a programme regarding small-scale renewable energy and the climate resilience of associated technologies for Nepal, leveraging finance from domestic and international sources.

Sub-national adaptation planning

• Identifying and prioritising climate risks and adaptation options for C40 cities, including Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Lagos and Nairobi.

• Developing adaptation elements of Belgrade’s Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan

Policy development

• Supporting development of the first EU Adaptation Strategy and the impact assessment for the new EU Adaptation Strategy.

• Improving gender mainstreaming within the UK International Climate Fund by enhancing inclusion of women and girls in adaptation and mitigation investments and strategies

• Assessing the implications of climate adaptation for EU employment

Monitoring, evaluation and reporting

• Preparing implementing acts for EU Member States adaptation reporting.

• Preparing the monitoring and evaluation framework for the EU LIFE Programme 2021-2027.

• Supporting evaluation of the first EU Adaptation Strategy.

• Preparing the ‘Vulnerability assessment, climate change impacts, and adaptation measures’ chapters for the EU’s 7th National Communication and the State of Palestine’s Initial National Communication Report to the UNFCCC.

• Designing South Africa’s monitoring and evaluation framework for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

• Mid-term review of the UK Government's programme on Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA), including in-country review of projects in Bangladesh and Nepal.

• Monitoring and evaluation of the long-term progress and impacts of the 100 Resilient Cities Programme.

Guidance and knowledge products:

• The role of the NAP process in translating NDC adaptation goals into action.

• Adaptation elements of the Quick Start Guide to NDC Implementation.

• Guidance on monitoring and evaluation of Kenya’s NDC and NAP.

• Guidance on update and enhancement of the Philippine Climate Change Action Plan.

• Supporting selection of modelling tools for climate vulnerability and impact assessment in Georgia and Azerbaijan.

• Learning materials on ‘leaving no-one behind’ and linking energy access to climate change adaptation for the UK Department for International Development.

• A format and process for harmonised communication of Country Level Impacts of Climate Change (CLICC).

• Climate adaptation training and peer-to-peer engagement in 21 European cities, as part of the Adaptation Strategies for European Cities project.

• Updating the Bangladesh Environmental Profile, including links between climate change impacts and livelihoods, poverty, migration, urban resilience, and environmental governance.

• Methodological guide for costing Colombia’s NDC adaptation actions.