Composition of and modalities and procedures for the Adaptation Committee

1. Overview

This submission contains the views of the Australian Government on the composition of and modalities and procedures for the Adaptation Committee as requested under paragraph 20 of Decision -/CP.16 on Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA). Australia also draws attention to its previous submissions on adaptation.

The Cancun Agreements delivered a balanced package of decisions across all UNFCCC bodies. Some items are ready for implementation, and others require further elaboration. Guided by the Cancun Agreements, it will be important to use the negotiating forums at our disposal to progress work in a coordinated way, utilising the bodies best suited and considering joint work programs where useful.

Australia welcomes the opportunity to submit its views under the Cancun Agreements on adaptation. In overview, Australia considers:

  • The composition of the Adaptation Committee should be representative and balanced
  • Governance arrangements and procedures for the Adaptation Committee should support the efficient and expert operation of the Committee, and continue to support a country-driven approach to implementation of adaptation actions.
  • Linkages with existing adaptation processes (especially the Nairobi Work Programme) and institutions, other UNFCCC institutions such as the Green Climate Fund and the Technology Mechanism as well as with established institutions and frameworks for disaster risk reduction, should be clarified to ensure system-wide institutional coherence, prevent duplication of effort and ensure clear lines of accountability and decision-making.

2. Composition, modalities and procedures of the Adaptation Committee

Australia considers that a strong outcome on adaptation should be a core component of the post-2012 climate change outcome. The approach to composition, modalities and procedures of the Adaptation Committee established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework should be well-informed and rigorous so as to maximise the Committee’s effectiveness in delivering against the priority areas of its mandate.

Guiding principles

The modalities and procedures of the Adaptation Committee should be based on the principles of good governance and transparency common to all agreed institutions and mechanisms under the Convention, and on the principle established in the UNFCCC adaptation negotiations of prioritising assistance to the most vulnerable.

Composition and operational arrangements

Consistent with other UNFCCC institutions and mechanisms, the composition of the Adaptation Committee should be representative and balanced.

Australia considers that the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) might provide a useful model for the Adaptation Committee in terms of meeting arrangements and frequency and consideration of the country-driven nature of adaptation activities.

We reiterate previous Australian submissions in support of sound scientific analysis to guide the work of the Committee and encourage it to draw on the increasing body of research, information and reporting available.

Linkages with other institutional arrangements

Australia seeks to maximise coherence across the Convention’s institutions and mechanisms. To ensure consistency and avoid duplication, modalities and procedures for the Adaptation Committee should be developed in parallel with, and with reference to, those being developed for other UNFCCC institutions and mechanisms, in particular the Green Climate Fund and the Technology Mechanism. They should also be developed in consideration of the role and scope of existing institutions, such as the LEG and the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP).

Coherence with the Green Climate Fund and the Technology Mechanism will be particularly important given the need for adequate and effective financial and technological support for adaptation. Parties need to be satisfied that arrangements for funding and information flows across the Convention are optimal to allow the Adaptation Committee to deliver on its mandate. Part of ensuring this institutional consistency will depend on clear delineation of the respective mandates and decision making powers of interacting institutions, as well as their already defined relationships to the Conference of the Parties (COP), preserving the role of the COP as the chief UNFCCC decision-making body. Australia strongly endorses the Adaptation Committee providing advice and recommendations solely to the COP, which may then decide to draw on this in developing guidance for other institutions that are accountable to it.

In recognition of the considerable overlap between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction agendas, particularly in regards to decreasing vulnerability and building resilience at the local level, Australia suggests that the Adaptation Committee should consolidate linkages with the disaster risk reduction community. This should include the incorporation of risk reduction experts within the Adaptation Committee, coordination with relevant institutions and risk reduction networks such as the UNISDR, and policy coherence with the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 – 2015.

As previously submitted, [1] Australia notes the linkages between work undertaken in the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperation Action and the Subsidiary Bodies to the Convention. In particular, we should seek to clarify linkages with the NWP, noting that the NWP has played a useful role in facilitating information sharing and linking expertise in this area.

Mandate

We should not seek to overload the Adaptation Committee’s agenda, recognising that valuable work to inform action on adaptation continues to be carried out at the local, regional and international levels outside the UNFCCC.

Australia considers that the Adaptation Committee’s effectiveness will rely on establishing clear parameters around its scope and future work. In doing so, Parties should seek to ensure that its functions do not duplicate existing efforts or arrangements under the global adaptation architecture. To perform effectively, the Committee’s functions will also need to be consistent with its capabilities and resources. As adaptation is ultimately undertaken at the local level, the Committee should continue to support a country-driven approach to the implementation of adaptation actions.

Australia has previously proposed that the UNFCCC could support countries in developing a longer term approach to adaptation planning through sharing and promoting of relevant knowledge and expertise. Parties should consider whether the Committee could usefully take on this role, noting technical advice and guidance on medium- and long-term adaptation planning for the Least Developed Countries has recently been added to the mandate of the LEG and efforts should be made to avoid duplication and build on work already undertaken.

Monitoring, evaluation and feedback on adaptation actions should continue to be a feature of all adaptation work undertaken under the auspices of the Convention, and the Adaptation Committee could play a role in collating and disseminating the information that these processes give rise to.

[1] FCCC/AWGLCA/2008/MISC.2/Add. 1; FCCC/AWGLCA/2008/MISC.5/Add.2 (Part I); FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/MISC.4 (Part I)