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This analytical report provides a summary of the third workshop to further the understanding of the diversity of nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties, underlying assumptions, and any support needed for implementation of these actions. The workshop was held in Bonn, Germany, on 18 May 2012, during the first part of the fifteenth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention. The workshop addressed, through presentations, subsequent question and answer sessions and general discussion, the following issues: the diversity of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs); their underlying assumptions; methodologies, sectors and gases covered; the global warming potential value used; the support needed for NAMA implementation; and the estimated mitigation outcomes.

This activity report provides a summary of the third workshop on quantified economy-wide emission reduction targets by developed country Parties. The workshop was held in Bonn, Germany, on 17 May 2012, during the first part of the fifteenth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention. It addressed, through presentations, subsequent question and answer sessions and a general discussion, the following issues: clarification of the nature and level of the targets communicated by developed country Parties; assumptions and conditions associated with the targets; commonalities and differences of approach in measuring the progress towards the targets; comparability of emission reduction efforts by developed country Parties, and options and ways to increase the level of ambition of the pledges; relevant policies and measures to support the targets, and experience with low-emission development strategies; and possible ways forward.

This technical document addresses the question: what really is different about ‘climate-smart’ smallholder agriculture that goes beyond regular best practice in development? It suggests three major changes: 1) project and policy preparation need to reflect higher risks, where vulnerability assessments and greater use of climate scenario modelling are combined with a better understanding of interconnections between smallholder farming and wider landscapes; 2) this deeper appreciation of interconnected risks should drive a major scaling up of successful ‘multiple-benefit’ approaches to sustainable agricultural intensification by smallholder farmers; 3) climate change and fiscal austerity are reshaping the architecture of public international development finance. This calls for: (i) new efforts to enable smallholder farmers to become significant beneficiaries of climate finance and (ii) better ways to achieve and then measure a wider range of multiple benefits beyond traditional poverty and yield impacts.

This analytical report presents a set of grassroots women’s development innovations that build community resilience, including to disasters and climate change. Part I presents a framework through which to view grassroots women’s resilience building activities, illustrating the multiple entry points through which grassroots women approach resilience-building. Part II presents select case studies of resilience-building strategies led by grassroots women’s organizations.

This technical document explores the implications of climate change, its impacts on the world of work and the need for the work of the International Labour Office (ILO) to adapt to it. It takes stock of the relevant ongoing work and identifies the needs for further development.

This training module is the third of a series of modules on gender and climate change for a range of practitioners and policy makers in Africa. It provides basic information and learning tools needed to understand, advocate and influence climate change polices at the regional, national, and community levels so that they integrate gender perspectives. In particular it focuses on gender and energy, and covers the following themes: gender-differentiated aspects of rural energy production, use and distribution in Africa; climate stress on the energy sector and the gendered results of these changes; and the need and options for the integration of gender perspectives in energy policy and the development and deployment of sustainable energy technologies.

This training module is the fourth of a series of modules on gender and climate change for a range of practitioners and policy makers in Africa. It provides basic information and learning tools needed to understand, advocate and influence climate change polices at the regional, national, and community levels so that they integrate gender perspectives. In particular it focuses on gender, agriculture and food security, and covers the following themes: the different roles of men and women in agriculture and food security in Africa; climatic stresses on agricultural production, and food and nutritional security and the gender dimensions of these stresses; and the need and options for integrating gender perspectives in agricultural and food security policies. 

This training module is the second of a series of modules on gender and climate change for a range of practitioners and policy makers in Africa. It provides basic information and learning tools needed to understand, advocate and influence climate change polices at the regional, national, and community levels so that they integrate gender perspectives. In particular it focuses on climate change adaptation, both planning and financing, and covers the following themes: gender-differentiated impact of climate change in Africa; gender-differentiated impact of adaptation planning and financing; and need and options for the integration of gender perspectives in adaptation responses.

This training module is the first of a series of modules on gender and climate change for a range of practitioners and policy makers in Africa. It provides basic information and learning tools needed to understand and advocate for the integration of gender perspectives into regional, national, and community-level climate change initiatives. It covers the following topics: effects of climate change in Africa; basic facts on gender equality; gender-differentiated impacts of climate change; need and options for gender-sensitive responses to climate change.

This analytical report aims to help policymakers and their advisors wishing to initiate or develop policies promoting energy efficiency in buildings to assess the most efficient mix of policy measures for a given environment as well as to design new initiatives. In particular, chapter I presents and discusses international experience with policies and measures to promote energy efficiency in buildings and chapter II offers some guidelines for future initiatives on prioritising targets, choosing types of policies, and designing mechanisms. The report focuses on the building itself, its envelope, and major equipment for space conditioning (i.e., heating and cooling) and ventilation. 

This brochure argues that climate change is not gender neutral. Women are increasingly being seen as more vulnerable than men to the effects of climate change because they represent the majority of the world’s poor and are proportionally more dependent on threatened natural resources. Additionally, women tend to play a greater role than men in natural resource management – farming, planting, protecting and caring for seedlings and small trees – and in ensuring nutrition and as care providers for their families. The document also presents what the International Labour Organization (ILO) is doing to promote women’s involvement in green jobs and suggests further action. Also available in Portuguese.

This activity report provides an overview of the World Bank – European Space Agency (ESA) collaboration until November 2011, and an insight into the services contents. The collaboration began in 2008 with initial, small-scale Earth observations demonstrations for three World Bank projects. Twelve Bank projects are currently benefiting from the initiative in the following domains: climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, urban development, agriculture and forest management, water resources management, coastal zones management, and marine environment management. Initial results from these projects are presented in this report.

This analytical report provides an overview of what climate change will mean to subsistence and smallholder farmers in Lesotho, and how the capacity for climate change adaptation in agriculture can be strengthened, focusing on selected areas of crops, livestock and forest-based livelihood systems, to stabilize and improve yields. It draws on experiences and lessons learned from a pilot Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)/Government of Lesotho project, and makes recommendations as to how on-the-ground community-based responses could be scaled up to other parts of the country, and possibly to other vulnerable countries across southern Africa.

This activity report consists of the report from an international workshop organized by the World Bank, the UK’s Department for International Development, the Institute of Development Studies, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa on “Making Social Protection Work for Pro-poor Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14-17 March 2011. The workshop brought together policy makers, practitioners and researchers from the fields of social protection, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and had two core objectives: to understand better how social protection can be used to strengthen the poor’s resilience to climate and natural disaster risk in developing countries; to create a forum for cross-regional learning about good practice for realizing the potential synergies between social protection, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation.

This policy document presents the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) strategy for action on climate change. The strategy is structured around three main objectives: 1) building and maintaining the climate change knowledge base: science, assessment, monitoring and early warning; 2) promoting mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, including through enhanced education and public awareness; and 3) moving towards a climate-neutral UNESCO.

This manual reviews options for international financing of adaptation activities and projects in developing countries. It examines both public and private sources of funding and presents the most important technical criteria and concepts used by public donors and private financiers in evaluating proposals. In particular, it provides a number of concrete tools and recommendations to help interested countries, such as: an overview of international public funding sources dedicated to adaptation investments, seven fundamental eligibility criteria for accessing international public funding and guidance on how to apply these concepts to project ideas, a template for developing/presenting adaptation project ideas to international donors; and an overview of critical concepts and requirements for accessing private financing for adaptation and a number of instructive case studies.

This manual describes crop and livestock management technologies and practices that contribute to climate change mitigation while improving crop productivity, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers, and lowering water consumption. In particular it focuses on the following six broad mitigation measures: cropland management; livestock management; manure/bio-solid management; bioenergy; grazing land management/pasture improvement; and the management of organic soils and restoration of degraded lands. The document includes both technologies that are mature and available for use, as well as those with future potential.

This technical document analyzes the potential impacts of climate change on crop pollination. It aims to provide a review of the literature on crop pollination, with a focus on the effects of climate change on pollinators important for global crop production, and to present an overview of available data on the temperature sensitivity of crop pollinators and entomophilous crops. It also identifies data needs and sampling techniques to answer questions related to effects of climate change on pollination, and makes recommendations on the recording and management of pollinator interactions data.

This brochure highlights the need for an integrated approach to food security, poverty and climate change. It stresses that climate-smart agriculture seeks to increase sustainable productivity, strengthen farmers’ resilience, reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration. It strengthens food security and delivers environmental benefits. The document also presents country examples of climate-smart agriculture in action and concludes discussing next steps.

This manual provides a set of indicators that can be used to carry out assessments of the impacts of bioenergy on food security. In particular, it describes a methodology for assessing, through different steps and tiers, the effects of bioenergy use and domestic production on the price and supply of a national food basket. It also focuses on the project level and provides a tool that can be used to assess how an existing or planned agricultural operation with a bioenergy component may affect food security. The last chapter of the document discusses a range of possible responses to address the impacts identified at both national and project levels.