Climate proofing

Norad has therefore developed a tool to assist embassys in identifying options to included climate change and environment into existing activities supported by the Embassy.

Climate Proofing of Norwegian Development Cooperation

The overall purpose of the Review of the Embassy's portfolio is to:

• Undertake climate change risk screening of the portfolio in order to identify not only development programs at risk of climate change but also those that are not climate sensitive. The Review should focus on assessing the climate sensitivity and vulnerability of the development programs supported by the Embassy.
• Identify possible ways and means of addressing/integrating appropriate environmental concerns in the current agreements within present framework and budgets, and for possible future phases of the various programs. This should include issues related to ‘do no harm' as well as ‘do good'.

Reports from 'climate proofing' reviews

Norad has carried out environment and climate change review and screening assessments in 5 countries between 2007 and 2008 (Nepal, Angola, South Africa, Mozambique and Uganda). The objective of the review is to identify possible ways and means of addressing/integrating appropriate climate change and environmental concerns in existing bilateral programs and projects supported by Norway.

The reviews are intended to contribute to "climate proofing" and a "greening" of the Embassies' portfolio. Based on the reviews Norad has prepared a summary note which attempts to tease out preliminary experiences and lessons learned.

Practical Guide

Development cooperation programmes are designed with explicit or implicit assumptions about the climate in which they will function. The conventional way is to assume that the climate of the past is a reliable guide to the future. This is no longer a sufficient assumption. To address climate change, the design criteria must be based on probable future climate scenarios and expected impacts.

In order to take climate change into consideration, the risk assessment of development programmes will have to address not only the effects of development cooperation on the environment, but also the impacts that imminent climate-related changes have on development cooperation, including indirect socio-economic impacts.

Climate change will affect all aspects of development cooperation. It may increase the risk of failure, as well as affect the vulnerability of development aid recipients. Development cooperation must be ‘climate proof ', i.e. must be protected from negative impacts of climate change, climate variability, and extreme weather events.

In response to this Norad has developed a practical guide on how climate issues can be considered in the project cycle. Embassies and other interested parties are encouraged to use the practical guide. Experiences with using the practical guide and suggestions for improving the guide are welcome. The practical guide will be revised.

OECD/DAC policy guidance

OECD/DAC has also prepared "Policy Guidance on Integrating Adaptation to Climate Change into Development Co-operation". This Policy Guidance is intended to provide information and advice on how to mainstream climate change into development.

The objectives are to:

• Promote understanding of the implications of climate change on development practice and the need to mainstream adaptation in development co-operation.
• Identify appropriate approaches for integrating adaptation into development policies at national, sectoral, project levels and at local contexts.
• Identify practical ways for donors to support developing country partners in their efforts to reduce their vulnerability to climate change.