C$10mn from Canada to accelerate climate adaptation

Glasgow, Nov 3 (IANS) The Canadian government has announced that it will provide C$10 million in funding for the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network to support developing countries in accelerating their efforts to build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Steven Guilbeault, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the funding on Tuesday at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) during the COP26 Africa Adaptation Acceleration Summit.

"It is about climate change as people experience it on their doorsteps, it's about how human beings can achieve a decent quality of life in the face of unprecedented climatic upheaval. We're here at COP to ensure that adaptation reaches the people who need it the most, where they need it the most," said Guilbeault in his remarks at the COP26 Africa Adaptation Acceleration Summit.

This funding responds to calls from developing countries, including small island developing states and least-developed countries, for increased financial support in climate adaptation to prepare for and reduce their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

The NAP Global Network was established in 2014 to support developing countries in advancing their national adaptation planning and implementation, in turn progressing climate change adaptation efforts around the world.

"We are thrilled to welcome the Canadanian government's renewed support for the NAP Global Network to help developing countries prepare for climate impact and achieve a sustainable future," said Anne Hammill, Senior Director of the Resilience Program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), which hosts the NAP Global Network Secretariat.

"Through NAP processes, countries are accelerating efforts to put adaptation at the heart of decision making and secure a prosperous future in a changing climate.

This funding builds on a previous CAD 4 million commitment by the Canadian government to the NAP Global Network to provide support to small island developing states and sub-Saharan African countries with a focus on using adaptation to promote gender equality.

The new funding will, among other types of support: Provide technical support to countries in putting adaptation at the heart of decision making, prioritizing the most vulnerable and engage civil society more directly in adaptation planning and action, working with women's movements, Indigenous communities, among others.

The NAP Global Network is a multi-funder initiative, and Canada's investment builds on more than CAD 12 million in financing from Austria, Germany, Ireland, the UK and the US to scale up support for NAP processes as a critical tool in the efforts to build resilience to climate change.

There has been significant progress this year in developing countries' NAP processes. The UN reported last week that 129 of the 154 developing countries have NAP processes underway, and 30 developing countries have submitted NAPs to the UNFCCC.