Investment in infrastructure and public-private coordination are some of the main elements that countries in the region should take into account to develop climate change adaptation plans, especially in light of long-term changes being observed in water resources, experts said at the inauguration of a seminar this Wednesday, October 29, at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
The event Water Resources Subject to Uncertainty and Climate Change Risk: Tools for Decision-makers in the Public and Private Sectors was organized by ECLAC in conjunction with Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC), the ECLAC-BMZ/giz program, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Investment is the bridge between the short and medium term, and studies on the costs and effects of climate change enable officials to get an early start and adapt infrastructure projects for the coming decades, said Antonio Prado, ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary.
At the opening session of the seminar-workshop, which ends Thursday, October 30, the other speakers included: Fernando Farías, Head of the Climate Change Office at Chile’s Environment Ministry; Mark Redwood, IDRC’s Program Leader on Climate Change and Water; Jürgen Klenk, Senior Advisor at Germany’s GIZ international cooperation agency; and Manuel José Vial, President of ICC Chile and member of the Board of Chile’s Federation of Industry (SOFOFA).
The presenters praised the timeliness of the meeting, ahead of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20), which will be held in December in Lima, Peru. They also warned about the complex hydrological situation that the region could face in the coming years as a consequence of countries’ economic growth, combined with the effects of global warming.
The experts agreed on the need to strengthen coordination between public and private sectors, as well as academia, to develop adaptation policies that establish appropriate risk management for the changes in water resources in the context of climate change.
Follow the event via Internet https://un.webex.com/un/onstage/g.php?d=793790164&t=a using the following password: Event30102014
