CASTT Adaptation Academy Underway with Countries Receiving Climate Action Support
Watch the virtual launch event from Climate Week NYC for the UNFCCC ‘Climate Action and Support Transparency Training (CASTT) Adaptation Academy’ held on September 24, 2021.
After the UNFCCC’s launch of the Adaptation Academy at a Climate Week NYC event last Friday, the training programme providing countries with direct technical support to more effectively act on climate change is now underway.
The Climate Action and Support Transparency Training (CASTT) Adaptation Academy is the result of planning by a global partnership of researchers, educators and specialist practitioners.
The first training modules for this year’s programme (the Adaptation Academy is a multiyear programme) got underway on Monday, 27 September. This year’s training will bring together up to 120 professionals and experts from nearly 70 countries to learn, share knowledge and build connections as they focus on the adaptation reporting aspects of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement.
The aim of the programme is to show the developing countries taking part how they can strengthen and build upon their technical capacity for adaptation assessments, planning, policy frameworks and coordination across ministries and levels of government to act on climate change.
At last Friday’s Climate Week NYC launch of the CASTT Adaptation Academy, high level representatives came together online to draw attention to the pressing need for ongoing training and support for individual professionals and experts of developing countries who are responsible for conducting vulnerability and adaptation assessments, preparing and reporting information resulting from such assessments and the implementation of national adaptation actions.
Speakers noted the timeliness of the CASTT Adaptation Academy, with the launch taking place at a time that sees the world at a critical juncture, as countries are working to accelerate and amplify efforts to adapt to the worst impacts of climate change.
Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sherpa to the UN High Level Panel on Water, spoke of the urgent need for capacity building on adaptation, saying,
“This is a massive effort for the world. We’ve seen and witnessed around the world the impacts of climate change only increasing. And while we should not keep our eyes off the goal of 1.5, the impacts of climate change demand action now. Adaptation is as important as mitigation. Adaptation can help us leapfrog towards a more sustainable future.”
“It’s important that local knowledge is enhanced across the world in the most vulnerable places first to encourage local people to take informed action to make their countries, their cities, their communities more resilient to climate change,” he added.
In his remarks, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Mr. Ovais Sarmad highlighted the role of the Adaptation Academy in supporting existing climate change processes and frameworks.
“I am confident that the knowledge acquired during each of these training sessions will be helpful to participants’ home countries — that it will help them meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, its associated NDCs and other climate commitments,” he said.
“As UN Climate Change and its partners continue to implement the programme in the coming years, it will help countries to better plan for and prioritize their climate actions, and to identify what needs to be done for them to transform their economies to more sustainable, resilient and climate friendly ones,” Mr. Sarmad said.
National representatives from the Republic of South Africa and Egypt also joined in the launch of the Adaptation Academy.
South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo said he was encouraged by the speed with which countries came together to fight COVID-19, and that we must take the same approach and sense of urgency in the effort to address climate change.
“We are meeting at a time when COVID-19 still remains with us. We are humbled to see the collective response of humanity and the solidarity that has been so amazing… We hope the very solidarity, collective effort and demonstration of the power of science and technology can be used to deal with climate change,” Deputy Minister David Mahlobo said.
Dr. Eman Soliman, Head of Planning Sector for Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, spoke about the value of the Adaptation Academy as a way to learn from others in a broader community of practice for those working on climate change at a national level.
“Egypt is in a good position developing plans to address climate change. A lot of programs are running on the ground, to make the country have more resilience to climate change. Still, we'd like to learn more from international organizations and their experience — how we can be more resilient, how we can be less vulnerable to climate change,” Dr. Soliman said.
The CASTT Adaptation Academy is led by the UNFCCC Secretariat and the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), and is delivered via three regional focused training programmes. They are: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Africa and Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. Each programme draws on topical and regional expertise of the research and education institutions hosting the training programme courses; Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (Netherlands), Korea Environment Institute (Republic of Korea) and Oregon State University (United States).
Dr. Rebecca Johnson, President of Oregon State University, spoke about climate change being one of the planet’s most pressing problems, that scientific research and the full resolve of government leaders is needed to address it and how collaboration and support is a way to address climate change.
“The adaptation academy training initiative is well positioned to support governments throughout the world in meeting the goals established under the 2015 Paris climate agreement and Oregon State is well positioned to contribute our support,” she said.
“I'm committed and hopeful that our many united efforts will advance solutions to the climate change risks that impact our world,” said Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Eddy Moors, Rector of IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, pointed to the strong belief that in terms of water and climate, adaptation requires action.
“We strongly believe that action on the ground is needed — and urgently needed. To facilitate that action, we think it's important that there is a ground where you combine planning, where you combine policy frameworks, where you also integrate over different ministries and look at what plans are required to really implement,” Dr. Moors said.
“I’m also quite sure that with this collaboration and the peer-to-peer learning that is envisioned within the program, that we will be able as a community to gain new insights and find out that there are new steps that can be made,” he stated.
At an earlier launch event for the Asia-Pacific programme, Asian Institute of Technology President Dr. Eden Y. Woon highlighted the value of international collaborations such as this CASTT Adaptation Academy.
Korea Environment Institute President Dr. Jeyong Yoon focused on the need for “a regional cooperative approach as a crucial means to tackle climate change.”
The first year of the Adaptation Academy will be held entirely online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequent years will feature 3 to 4 week in-person courses at each of the three regional learning hubs. Applications to participate in the 2022 training programme’s courses will open in the first half of next year.
UNFCCC CASTT Adaptation Academy - https://unfccc.int/castt-adaptation-academy
Climate Week NYC Launch Event Full Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR03R6K9KXM