A new report has summarized the findings of an international events series that was hosted by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in the run-up to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021.
Titled the COP26 “adaptation and resilience events series”, the report showcased collaborative, locally-led, and globally relevant research aligned to the UK COP26 presidency’s adaptation loss and damage theme.
The report focused on how countries across the world can respond to and prepare for the impacts of climate change in a wide range of locations across the globe.
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The report showed that international participants, comprising governments and policymakers, funders, businesses, and researchers from a range of disciplines concluded that:
There is an urgent need to accelerate more ambitious and coordinated climate adaptation action.
Strengthening links between adaptation research, policy and practice and facilitating cross-stakeholder dialogue is key for driving research into action.
Innovative and accessible finance is required from both the public and private sectors to support adaptation at a range of scales.
Reducing the impact of climate change on biodiversity and local ecosystems can enhance the ability of local communities to adapt.
Learning from responses to the COVID-19 outbreak around the scale and speed of global research collaboration and coordination achievable would support the response to climate change.
A total of eighteen events were co-hosted with 12 partner countries and international research teams in an event that highlighted the importance of taking multidisciplinary approaches to future climate adaptation research and ensuring equitable research partnerships.
The report showed that 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.
It also cited monitoring, evaluation, and data sharing, with input from local communities as crucial for assessing the success of climate adaptation interventions.
Story was adapted from Phys.org.
