News

About 35 staff members of the World Bank were equipped with tools to help countries detect climate change related hazards and develop assessments of climate vulnerabilities in order to raise awareness among key stakeholders. The day long training event took place on January 25, 2011, in Washington, DC and focused on the Hands on Energy Adaptation Toolkit and the resources available to task teams to help them get started on Climate Adaptation.
 

The learning event was through hands-on exercises about adaptation strategies and the energy sector. They were introduced to the use of the Climate Change Knowledge Portal and HEAT. The learning event was organized jointly by ESMAP and the World Bank’s Climate Change for Development Professionals (CCDP) program.

Participants were encouraged to use the Climate Change Knowledge Portal to help guide their discussion. The Portal is an online tool that provides access to comprehensive global and country data information related to climate change and development. The HEAT Toolkit was later discussed as an online resource that has been designed to help lead teams through an assessment of climate vulnerabilities and raise awareness among key stakeholders.
 

The training emphasized how engaging stakeholders in a discussion about their country’s vulnerability to climate change has the various challenges of insufficient data and conducting multiple consultations across ministries, civil society and the private sector. The Climate Change Data Portal and the HEAT toolkit were showcased as two available resources that can help task teams get started with these assessments and dialogues.
 

The Global Expert Team on Climate Adaptation is a network of professionals in the World Bank who are also available for timely advice on work and research on Climate Adaptation. The expert team is led by Walter Vergara, the World Bank’s Lead Chemical Engineer. In early March, the Global Expert team together with ESMAP will launch a new report on “Climate Impacts on Energy Systems: Key Issues for Energy Sector Adaptation.”
 

During the training, the Climate Investment Funds’ Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program was presented to participants. The program is due to start and will engage with various stakeholders about renewable energy and climate change issues, such as adaptation. The training closed with the reminder to task teams that a lot of work has been around the world and that there are resources on climate adaptation available to help task teams navigate country dialogues.
 

Presentations and Workshop Materials are attached below.