Climate change causes worldwide damage and comes in various forms such as floods, typhoons, cold waves and high temperatures. To find effective ways to adapt and better respond to climate change, countries have gathered for the International Symposium on Climate Change Adaption, which took place on July 8 in Songdo, Incheon.
The symposium, which marked its 6th year, was jointly held by the Ministry of Environment, the Climate Change Adaptation System, the Korea Environment Institute and the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network.
About 250 experts on climate change from 9 countries attended the symposium. They included representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific, and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The symposium consisted of an opening ceremony and a series of plenary and parallel sessions. Participants in the first session discussed measures to adapt to climate change as well as future development directions on the theme of "National Efforts on Climate Change Adaptation." The second part included sessions focused on themes such as "Useful Lessons from the Past," "Future Directions for Adaptation" and "New Paradigm of Climate Change Adaptation."
Global Climate Fund (GCF) Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou said at the opening ceremony, “The world needs a new paradigm of climate change adaption.” She gave meaning to the international gathering, “This symposium offered an opportunity for countries to share ideas of a new paradigm on climate change adaptation.”
The Director of the Ministry of Environment Hong Jeong-Seop introduced Korea’s policies to respond to climate change in his presentation titled “Korea’s climate change adaptation policies.” Director Hong said, “In the second part of the National Adaptation Plan, which will start from 2016, the Korean government will focus more on supporting vulnerable areas of climate change and for those who are vulnerable to the damage of climate change. The new plan will also include strengthened scientific, strategic research for risk management, backed by the active cooperation of related organizations from both Korea and overseas.”
“Korea will make efforts so that climate change can be part of the core policy of national safety. The country will also focus its policy direction on incubating and fostering new industries related to climate change,” he added.
The second part of the National Adaptation Plan Hong mentioned, referred to the five-year National Adaptation Plan, which Korea originally set up in 2010 under the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth. In the first part of the plan, the country strived to reduce the effects of climate change on the nation by concentrating on infectious disease monitoring, water management, and encouraging firms to strengthen their climate change adaptation capabilities.
Clemens Haße, Scientific Advisor at Climate Impacts and Adaptation in Germany, introduced German cases of climate change adaptation such as to flood and famine. The German scientist said Germany is not free from the effects of climate change even though the country is proud to be an advanced country with clean technology. He introduced Germany’s Action Plan adopted by the Federal Cabinet in 2011 in which both the federal and state governments carry out common measures to adapt to climate change in various sectors including energy, agricultural, forestry and fisheries, biodiversity, public health, tourism, commerce and finance.
David Rissik, Deputy Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility of Australia, introduced cases of adaptation with the help of a vast amount of climate change monitoring data, in his presentation titled “The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.”
Nepalese cases of climate change adaptation in rural areas and for the poor were introduced by Naresh Sharma, the Under-Secretary and Programme Coordinator of the Nepal Climate Change Support Programme.
Yasuaki Hijioka, Senior Researcher at the Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research, at the National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan, announced the prospects for climate change damage in Asia, and adaptation measures such as land use plans, and plans to reduce the urban heat island effect and introduce an early alarm system. The Japanese scientist was a coordinating lead author of the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was released last September. Established by the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization in 1998, IPCC has been publishing scientific reports on weather and climate change. The IPCC scientists received a Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who wrote "An Inconvenient Truth," a 2007 book warning about climate change and global warming.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
The symposium, which marked its 6th year, was jointly held by the Ministry of Environment, the Climate Change Adaptation System, the Korea Environment Institute and the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network.
About 250 experts on climate change from 9 countries attended the symposium. They included representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific, and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The symposium consisted of an opening ceremony and a series of plenary and parallel sessions. Participants in the first session discussed measures to adapt to climate change as well as future development directions on the theme of "National Efforts on Climate Change Adaptation." The second part included sessions focused on themes such as "Useful Lessons from the Past," "Future Directions for Adaptation" and "New Paradigm of Climate Change Adaptation."
GCF Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou delivers opening remarks at the International Symposium on Climate Change Adaption on July 8. (photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment)
Global Climate Fund (GCF) Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou said at the opening ceremony, “The world needs a new paradigm of climate change adaption.” She gave meaning to the international gathering, “This symposium offered an opportunity for countries to share ideas of a new paradigm on climate change adaptation.”
The Director of the Ministry of Environment Hong Jeong-Seop introduced Korea’s policies to respond to climate change in his presentation titled “Korea’s climate change adaptation policies.” Director Hong said, “In the second part of the National Adaptation Plan, which will start from 2016, the Korean government will focus more on supporting vulnerable areas of climate change and for those who are vulnerable to the damage of climate change. The new plan will also include strengthened scientific, strategic research for risk management, backed by the active cooperation of related organizations from both Korea and overseas.”
“Korea will make efforts so that climate change can be part of the core policy of national safety. The country will also focus its policy direction on incubating and fostering new industries related to climate change,” he added.
The second part of the National Adaptation Plan Hong mentioned, referred to the five-year National Adaptation Plan, which Korea originally set up in 2010 under the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth. In the first part of the plan, the country strived to reduce the effects of climate change on the nation by concentrating on infectious disease monitoring, water management, and encouraging firms to strengthen their climate change adaptation capabilities.
The Director of the Ministry of Environment Hong Jeong-Seop introduces Korea’s climate change adaptation policies at the International Symposium on Climate Change Adaption on July 8. (photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment)
Clemens Haße, Scientific Advisor at Climate Impacts and Adaptation in Germany, introduced German cases of climate change adaptation such as to flood and famine. The German scientist said Germany is not free from the effects of climate change even though the country is proud to be an advanced country with clean technology. He introduced Germany’s Action Plan adopted by the Federal Cabinet in 2011 in which both the federal and state governments carry out common measures to adapt to climate change in various sectors including energy, agricultural, forestry and fisheries, biodiversity, public health, tourism, commerce and finance.
David Rissik, Deputy Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility of Australia, introduced cases of adaptation with the help of a vast amount of climate change monitoring data, in his presentation titled “The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.”
Nepalese cases of climate change adaptation in rural areas and for the poor were introduced by Naresh Sharma, the Under-Secretary and Programme Coordinator of the Nepal Climate Change Support Programme.
About 250 climate change experts from both Korea and overseas attended the International Symposium on Climate Change Adaption. (photo courtesy of Ministry of Environment)
Yasuaki Hijioka, Senior Researcher at the Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research, at the National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan, announced the prospects for climate change damage in Asia, and adaptation measures such as land use plans, and plans to reduce the urban heat island effect and introduce an early alarm system. The Japanese scientist was a coordinating lead author of the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was released last September. Established by the UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization in 1998, IPCC has been publishing scientific reports on weather and climate change. The IPCC scientists received a Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who wrote "An Inconvenient Truth," a 2007 book warning about climate change and global warming.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
