New Thematic Study addressing the Regionalisation of Climate Scenarios presented as a tool for the planning of adaptation measures in Central America

23 February 2022 - On Tuesday 22 February, a webinar was held to present Thematic Study 19 of the EUROCLIMA+ series, entitled  Regionalised climate change scenarios for planning adaptation measures. Basic concepts, visualization tools and best practices. A work developed by the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy, in collaboration with the State Meteorological Agency of Spain, in the framework of the action Generation of regionalised climate change scenarios for Central America. 

The meeting served to explain the basic concepts associated with the regionalization of scenario methods, to explain the role of visualisation tools and to socialise a set of best practices in the use and interpretation of viewer data and the generation of climate services based on regionalised climate change projections. The final idea of this study is to promote best practices in the use of regionalised climate change scenarios in the sectoral planning of adaptation measures and this webinar aims to socialise this effort and facilitate access to the information. 

About Regionalised Climate Scenarios 

The achievement of the adaptation objective in Article 7 of the Paris Agreement encourages the development of National Climate Change Adaptation Plans and, consequently, the importance of having climate scenarios or regionalised projections available at national level. 

The need for adaptation to the impacts of climate change requires the assessment of its impacts on ecosystems and sectors affected by climatic conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to know the state of the future climate at the same spatial scale. Global climate models provide projections of the future climate at a spatial resolution (100 or 200 km) that is not adequate for this purpose, and therefore needs to be scaled up using regionalisation or downscaling techniques. 

About the meeting 

In the presentation, Cecilia Castillo, director of climate governance at FIIAPP for EUROCLIMA+, highlighted the European Union's commitment to strengthening resilience to climate change, and the role of the EUROCLIMA+ programme and FIIAPP in supporting climate policies that contribute to this objective. The action in which the preparation of this Thematic Study is framed, "Generation of regionalised climate change scenarios for Central America", is a product of this commitment and of the cooperation between the participating countries, which have established joint frameworks for peer learning and standardised information systems that can be shared. 

For her part, Lucrecia Rodríguez, Executive Secretary of the Central American Agricultural Council (SICA), highlighted the opportunity that the Climate Change Scenario Viewer, developed within the framework of the action's activities, offers for the region's strategic decisions. In particular, it is of great interest to the agricultural sector as support for its adaptation agenda. 

Luz Graciela Calzadilla, Director of Hydrometeorology ETESA, highlighted the importance of the existence of the CRRH for Central American integration and the operationalisation of regional projects such as the one described in the Study. An organisation that seeks "to share the expertise and experience of the countries to generate joint projects that help us as a whole". This project, in her opinion, allows the region "to strengthen meteorological services so that decision-makers can make decisions in the most informed way possible". 

Meteorological services have the responsibility, in most countries, to prepare regionalised climate change scenarios which, in addition to their prescriptive inclusion in national communications on climate change for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), are a requirement for impact studies and the definition of adaptation strategies in the different ecosystems and sectors of activity sensitive to climatic conditions.   

Based on this mandate, the 6 Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica) requested support from the EUROCLIMA+ programme to strengthen their capacity to anticipate future climate scenarios. Jorge Tamayo, Secretary of the Conference of Directors of Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services (CIMHET) and Territorial Delegate of the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), presented the main guidelines of the action "Generation of Regionalised Climate Scenarios for Central America", which was the response that the countries have given to this need with the support of the programme and the collaboration of the AEMET. This action had three main objectives: the production of regionalised climate change scenarios for the Central American region by different methods together with the associated documentation; the training and education necessary to produce these scenarios; and the development of a visualisation tool for user-friendly handling and downloading of the regionalised scenario data. 

From the CRRH, an institution that has been key to the successful development of the action and the achievement of its objectives, Berta Olmedo, its Executive Secretary, presented one of the tools resulting from the initiative, the Regionalised Climate Scenario Viewer for Central America, which can be consulted here. One of the points made by Berta in the foreword to the document is its importance in guiding the analysis of the impact of climate change on the different climate-sensitive sectors and in guiding our adaptation strategies". 

Finally, Ernesto Rodríguez Camino, State Meteorologist and Head of the Climate Modelling and Assessment Area, and main author of the Study, presented the conclusions of the work with a brief overview of the content that the reader can find, a document that also represents a systematisation of the entire process of development of the EUROCLIMA+ action. 

During the meeting several spaces were also opened for interaction with attendees, who were able to direct their questions and comments to the panellists. The document is available for free download here. 

About EUROCLIMA+
  
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.  

The Programme's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience and climate investment. It is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the AFD Group: the French Development Agency (AFD)/ Expertise France (EF), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 

Contact  

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