The programme has organised a session dedicated to Regionalised Climate Scenarios for adaptation to Climate Change.

Ibero-American Environmental Week is an annual meeting that brings together representatives from the countries of Ibero-America, with the aim of tackling environmental crises through cooperation and joint work. This year it will be held from 20 to 24 September and will host nearly 30 virtual sessions with the participation of representatives of governments, cities, companies, foundations, networks and other institutions committed to the environment in the region. Organised by SEGIB, AECID and the United Nations Environment Programme, the inputs obtained from these meetings will feed into the formulation of the environmental dimension of the Ibero-American Cooperation 2023-2026 and the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which the Dominican Republic will host under the slogan "Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America" to promote the region's unity in confronting the health crisis and the climate emergency. 

In this context, and in the thematic area dedicated to "Adaptation to Climate Change", on Monday 20 September the session on The importance of regionalised climate change scenarios and associated tools (viewers) for climate change adaptation policies was held, with the aim of disseminating specific experiences in the development of these tools for visualising climate scenarios on a reduced geographical scale, as well as their application in policies, measures and actions for adaptation to climate change.

Regionalised climate change scenarios are essential elements in providing realistic estimates of future climate in order to establish appropriate adaptation measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change as much as possible. Among the needs identified in the intersectoral workshops of the CIMHET, CODIA and RIOCC networks is the need to have regionalised scenarios for different sub-regions with sufficient resolution to assess the impact of climate change on the different socio-economic sectors and natural systems for the design of policies, measures and actions for adaptation to climate change, using common methodologies developed by official institutions. 

The EUROCLIMA+ programme, through the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy, and with the collaboration of the State Meteorological Agency, is supporting actions in the region in this direction, so that countries can equip themselves with these tools to optimise the design of adaptation plans and policies based on quality information, adapted to their specific geographical contexts. This work was initiated with the development of the action "Generation of Regionalised Climate Scenarios for Central America", in which Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama are participating, the results of which can be consulted on the programme’s website. 

The session was attended by Berta Olmedo, representing the Regional Water Resources Committee (CRRH-SICA), Jorge Tamayo, from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET-Spain) and Rogger Morales Hermosa, from the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM-Peru).. 

CONCLUSIONS  

The speakers highlighted the importance of coordinated work between meteorological services and the climate change directorates of the countries, in order to optimise the work process between the generation of scenarios and their use for the design of policies and planning of adaptation measures. The need for regionalised scenarios generated with similar methodologies that transcend national borders and allow for analysis at regional, national and sub-national levels was also pointed out, in order to facilitate shared visions of the future.

Finally, the importance of having information on the uncertainty of the projections for their use by different stakeholders was emphasised.

In addition, the virtual event "Environmental Action for Gender Equality: key sectors for a green recovery with equality and sustainability" was also held, organised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in conjunction with the organisation of the Ibero-American Environmental Week. The event was attended by Javiera Zárate who, from the Chilean Government, showed the impetus that Chile is giving to the climate change and gender equality agenda in its capacity as COP25 Presidency with a bi-regional perspective.

Zárate recounted the recent effort to organise the Regional Meeting on Climate Change and Gender Equality, organised by the same government with technical support from ECLAC and the EUROCLIMA+ programme.

Also, in this event it was valuable to have the experience of the Secretary of Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA), by Leticia Gutierrez Lorandi, General Director of Coordination of Environmental Policies and Culture, Secretary of Environment of Mexico City, regarding the pioneering experience on rainwater harvesting and redistribution of care in the CDMX.

Finally, both experiences were presented from two different levels of government, with those presented from the territories by Nicaraguan feminist activists María Teresa Fernández Ampié and Eusebia Solís Acevedo from Panama in the framework of the webinar, which was moderated by Marina Casas Varez, gender specialist from ECLAC's Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division.

About EUROCLIMA+ 

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), and UN Environment.

Daniel Fernández · This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.