Background

We are in a period of increased volatility and unpredictability. Climate-related disasters and shocks are occurring more frequently, and chronic stresses are lasting longer. Climate change is directly affecting global systemic risks such as food insecurity and political instability. Extreme weather events are causing increasing resource scarcity and exacerbating forced migration, political instability and conflicts. The impacts of climate change do not act alone and often present societal challenges through complex interactions with other drivers. Global to local inequalities in processes of trade, land use and resource rights, loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems all present significant challenges to the prosperity of people and the future of the planet. This event will focus on the actions Asian and Pacific stakeholders are already taking and how these can be scaled up and linked to the actions that are expected to be part of the UN Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019.

Programme of the Day

The full day event will consist of Opening and Closing Plenary, with a series of thematic sessions running in between to facilitate a lively discussion and involvement of participants from the larger audience. The 5 thematic sessions are run in sequence in complementary fashion to cover the cross-sectoral nature of buidling resilience.

09:00-10:00

Welcome and High Level Opening Remarks

Setting out the Challenge in Asia Pacific for building resilience and opportunities to advance action through UN Climate Action Summit and beyond.

10:00-11:00

Session 1: Connecting the Dots – Early Action for rapid decision-making to prevent disasters

Global climate change has already had observable effects on both people's lives and environment. To save lives, early warning system is an adaptive measure for climate change, using integrated communication system to help communities prepare for multi-hazards. This session will discuss challenges, gaps, and innovative and practical approaches (policy, governance and technical) of strengthening local level early warning systems to build early action to prevent disasters and build resilient for the future.

11:15-12:45

Session 2: Building resilience through Systemic and Inclusive Policy, Practice and Governance

This session will explore the application of systems thinking to climate change programmes. A facilitated discussion will walk participants through case studies to demonstrate how a systems lens can be applied to understand contextual barriers and opportunities for delivering high impact, sustainable and scalable climate change adaptation programs. A specific output of the discussion will be recommendations for how to translate good practice into government policies to share at the UN Climate Action Summit.

14:00 - 15:00

Session 3: Building resilience for all: intersectional approaches to vulnerability reduction in Asia-Pacific

People’s experiences of natural hazards vary depending on socio-economic, cultural, political and environmental contexts. This session explores how different factors intersect to create exclusion, inequalities and vulnerabilities. Panellists will share approaches for understanding intersecting inequalities – including gender, age, ethnicity, economic status and disability – and how effective intersectional approaches to vulnerability reduction and resilience-building can be developed in policy and practice.

15:00 - 16:00

Session 4: Re-Naturing through Nature Based Solutions for a Resilient Future

Climate Change is a major threat to the global ecosystem and Nature based Solutions (NbS) are currently fundamental in enhancing adaptive capacity by providing vital link between sustainable socioeconomic development with biodiversity and ecosystem conservation to achieve climate resilience. The session aims to share evidence from field and explore strategies to mainstream NbS into climate resilience narrative, policies and actions.

16:15-17:15

Session 5: Catalyzing the role of micro-lenders in strengthening climate resilience through financial innovation in Asia-Pacific

This session will explore how different stakeholders in the micro-lenders ecosystem, comprising micro and small businesses, agricultural smallholders, microfinance institutions (MFIs), their regulators, and government policymakers, can take action to catalyze the role of MFIs to strengthen climate resilience in Asia-Pacific through financial innovation. It will look at opportunities and challenges and a climate action agenda to scale-up green microfinance.

17:15-17:45

Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Priority actions and the road toward UNSG Climate Action Summit and beyond. In closing, all stakeholders will be invited to reflect how coherence can be achieved across international policy agendas, assessing a human rights inclusive approach to setting resilience and adaptation targets to ensure no one is left behind.