Global Center begins transformative next chapter; Will co-host global commission

The Global Center on Adaptation officially embarked on its next chapter of transformation on Sept 10, hosting Dutch Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen (Infrastructure and Water Management) at an event to announce the new leadership of the Center and news that it will co-host, along with World Resources Institute, a forthcoming Global Commission on Adaptation. The Commission will be overseen by the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva. It formally will be launched in the Hague on October 16.

Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen, the initiating Commissioner, shared the news of the formation of the Commission at the Floating Pavilion in Rotterdam. The announcement came as part of a ceremony to initiate construction of a new climate-adaptive floating office building in Rotterdam, which will house the Global Center’s Rotterdam office. She noted that the Global Commission will elevate the political visibility of adaptation and will focus on solutions, catalyzing a global adaptation movement and accelerating action.

“For the Netherlands, looking for solutions to water issues is part of everyday life. This is not yet the case in other areas and countries that also increasingly are faced with extreme weather,’ the Minister stated. ‘Climate change is making itself felt almost daily. Take, for example, the prolonged drought that currently is affecting large parts of Europe. By launching this Commission, we aim to press the need for worldwide climate adaptation,” she added.

Patrick Verkooijen, who has assumed the role of Chief Executive Office of the Global Center, said that as part of its next chapter, the Center will work to support the recommendations of the Commission while also pursuing pragmatic steps that can help address policies, investments, financing, and governance needed for increased adaptation action globally.

“We will act as a solutions broker,” Verkooijen said, “bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, intergovernmental bodies, and knowledge institutions to address the obstacles slowing down adaptation action.”

Secretary-General Ban, who will serve as Chairman of the Board of the Global Center, said that “the role of Global Center on Adaptation will be significant because we need all societies to learn from one another.” He noted that “under the exemplary and bold leadership of Patrick Verkooijen, the Global Center will help accelerate adaptation transformation at scale and at speed.”

Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb also shared his support for the Global Center’s next chapter and remarked that “adaptation is crucial, not only worldwide; but especially for Rotterdam, a delta city  where 80% of the urban area is below sea level.”

The Global Center initially will work to address five challenges slowing down the implementation of scaled up, effective adaptation action. These challenges focus on:

1. Scaling up ecosystem-based adaptation - Ecosystem-based adaptation delivers greater climate resilience and additional benefits like biodiversity conservation and the creation of greener, more livable cities. However, to date, most EbA interventions have been scattered and small-scale. The Global Center is identifying barriers to scaling up EbA and working on solutions to help overcome them.
2. Integrating climate adaptation into financial decision-making - Many businesses do not factor potential risks of climate change into their investment decisions. The Global Center is collaborating with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and building on the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to identify how to focus greater attention on climate risks in private sector investment decisions.
3. Measuring effective adaptation - Making decisions about which adaptation options to pursue, whether at a local, national or global level, requires proper assessment of which options most effectively build resilience. The Global Center is bringing together world-class experts to build on the growing work in this area and determine the best way of making those assessments.
4. Creating climate resilient cities - More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. This will rise to more than two-thirds by 2050. To successfully adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, cities will need to become climate resilient. Many cities are already active, and some are taking the lead when their own national governments falter. But most people living in cities around the world are still vulnerable to climate change. The Global Center is working with leading networks of cities to catalyze scaled-up action.
5. Leveraging deltas to address climate change - Deltas are areas where the impacts of climate change can exacerbate existing pressures from urbanization and pollution. But they are also places of opportunity that are often rich in social, economic and natural capital. The Global Center is working with a global network with common interests in deltas to use these opportunities to address climate change challenges.