Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) was founded on 18 September 2018.[1] Hosted by the Netherlands, GCA engages in policy activities, research, communications, and technical assistance to government and the private sector, policy development, research, advocacy, communications, and partnerships.[2] GCA's floating headquarters is hosted by the Netherlands in Rotterdam,[3] with regional offices in Africa,[2] South Asia,[4] and Asia Pacific.[5]
GCA is led by CEO Patrick V. Verkooijen,[1] and Co-Chairs Ban Ki-moon and Feike Sijbesma.
GCA's flagship program, in partnership with the African Development Bank Group, is the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). President Uhuru Kenyatta was inaugurated as Global Champion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program on 7 July 2022.[6] On 5 September 2022, GCA hosted the Africa Adaptation Summit to ramp up solutions and funding for climate adaptation in the African continent.[7] The summit was attended by global leaders including Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.[8]
GCA Floating Office Rotterdam[edit]
GCA's headquarters is in the largest floating office in the world, moored in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[9][10][11] The office is off-grid, carbon neutral, self-sufficient, and an example of existing adaptation to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels.[12][13] The floating office was inaugurated on 6 September 2021 by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.[14]
Global Commission on Adaptation[edit]
The Global Commission on Adaptation was launched in The Hague on 16 October 2018.[15][16] Established by Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and the leaders of 22 other convening countries, the Commission launched. The Commission was co-managed by GCA and the World Resources Institute.[17] In 2019, at the UN Climate Action Summit, the Commission launched a Year of Action to implement the recommendations from Adapt Now and accelerate the necessary transitions for change. The Commissioners oversaw the development of the flagship report and guided the Year of Action. In January 2021, the Global Commission on Adaptation formally concluded at the Climate Adaptation Summit, hosted by the Dutch government. GCA is taking forward the work of the Commission through its Programs.[18]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, with co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, led the group of global leaders from political, business, multilateral, and scientific worlds.
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Akinwumi Adesina | President, African Development Bank |
| Inger Andersen | Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme |
| Michelle Bachelet | United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |
| Winnie Byanyima | Executive Director, UNAIDS |
| Jagan Chapagain | Secretary General, IFRC |
| Peter Damgaard Jensen | CEO, PKA Ltd |
| Patricia Espinosa | Executive Secretary, UNFCCC |
| Christiana Figueres | Former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC |
| Li Ganjie | Former Minister of Ecology and Environment, China |
| Hilda Heine | Former President of the Marshall Islands |
| Anne Hidalgo | Mayor, Paris |
| Emma Howard Boyd | Chair of the Environment Agency, UK |
| Agnes Kalibata | President, AGRA |
| Loren Legarda | Deputy Speaker and Representative of the Lone District of Antique, Philippines |
| Strive Masiyiwa | Founder and Chairman, Econet Wireless |
| José Antonio Meade | Former Finance Minister, Mexico |
| Shri C.K Mishra | Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India |
| Keith Mitchell | Prime Minister, Grenada |
| Gerd Müller | Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany |
| Muhammad Musa | Executive Director of BRAC International |
| Cora van Nieuwenhuizen | Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands |
| Sheela Patel | Chair, Slum Dwellers International |
| Carlos Manuel Rodriguez | CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility |
| Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, Fiji |
| Feike Sijbesma | Chairman of Royal DSM |
| Andrew Steer | President and CEO, World Resources Institute |
| Achim Steiner | Administrator, UNDP |
| Francis Suarez | Mayor, Miami |
| Petteri Taalas | Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization |
| Axel van Trotsenburg | Managing Director of Operations, World Bank |
| Shemara Wikramanayake | CEO, Macquarie Group Ltd. |
| Jonathan Wilkinson | Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada |
The leaders of the convening countries committed to catalyzing a global adaptation movement and work together to support the work of the Global Commission.
| Name | |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina
|
| 2 |  Bangladesh
|
| 3 |  Canada
|
| 4 |  Chile
|
| 5 |  China
|
| 6 |  Costa Rica
|
| 7 |  Denmark
|
| 8 |  Ethiopia
|
| 9 |  Germany
|
| 10 |  Grenada
|
| 11 |  India
|
| 12 |  Indonesia
|
| 13 |  Marshall Islands
|
| 14 |  Mexico
|
| 15 |  Netherlands
|
| 16 |  Peru
|
| 17 |  Republic of Korea
|
| 18 |  Senegal
|
| 19 |  South Africa
|
| 20 |  United Arab Emirates
|
| 21 |  United Kingdom
|
| 22 |  Uzbekistan
|
| 23 |  Vietnam
|
History[edit]
The Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation (GCECA) was founded by the Government of the Netherlands with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), NIES Japan[19][20][21] and the Philippines.[22] GCECA, hosted in Groningen and Rotterdam,[23] was launched at UN Climate Summit COP 23 on 14 November 2017.[24][25][26] During COP 23, the Centre organised a side event, "What is Excellence in Climate Adaptation?"[27] and supported the launch of the UN Environment Adaptation Gap Report 2017: Towards Global Assessment[28][29][30]
The Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation became the Global Center on Adaptation on 18 September 2018.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Global Center on Adaptation begins a new chapter | Acclimatise – Building climate resilience". Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ a b Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "Global Center on Adaptation Sets Up Regional Home in Africa | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD". Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Putzier, Konrad (18 February 2020). "Are Floating Hotels, Office Buildings the Answer to Rising Sea Levels?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "First South Asian regional office of the GCA opens in Dhaka". Dhaka Tribune. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "China calls for multilateralism, int'l cooperation to address climate change - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ apofeed (7 July 2022). "Global Leaders Welcome President Kenyatta as Global Champion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program". African Business. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Graham, Jack (7 September 2022). "African leaders aim to put climate finance top of COP27 agenda". Context. Thompson Ruters Foundation. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "African leaders demand action on 'broken promises' at climate summit". euronews. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Kirsten Hannema. Keeping afloat in a changing climate. On: The Riba journal, 17 september 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Buslading internationale vips naar Rotterdam, zó bijzonder is dit nieuwe kantoorgebouw". Algemeen Dagblad (AD). 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Koning opent klimaatcentrum". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Floating office in Netherlands is carbon neutral and "future proof"". Newsweek. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "UN climate chief: No country is safe from global warming". AP NEWS. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (26 August 2021). "Opening Floating Office Rotterdam van het Global Center on Adaptation - Activiteit - Het Koninklijk Huis". www.koninklijkhuis.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ CIGNINI, Carla (16 October 2018). "Global Commission on Adaptation launched in The Hague". Climate Action - European Commission. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "World leaders combine to catalyse climate adaptation – Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre". Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Global Commission on Adaptation". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "The Global Commission on Adaptation". Global Center on Adaptation. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Netherlands invests €1m in global climate adaptation centre". Climate Home - climate change news. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Programme, Climate Action. "The Netherlands invests in new global climate adaption centre". www.climateactionprogramme.org. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Mwangi<pdnmwangi-at-gmail.com>, Patrick. "Netherlands to Host Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation | Climate Change". web.unep.org. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "THE HAGUE PE MEETS WITH OFFICIAL ON GLOBAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION". www.thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph. 26 January 2018.
- ^ "Netherlands to Host Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation | Inter Press Service". www.ipsnews.net. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "IISD/ENB+ @ About | Launch of the Global Centre for Excellence on Climate Adaptation | 14 November 2017 | Bonn, DE | IISD Reporting Services". enb.iisd.org. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Launch Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation on COP23 - PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency". www.pbl.nl. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "COP 23 Side Events Spotlight Climate Action Champions, Link NDCs and SDGs: 14 November Highlights | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD". Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "IISD/ENB+ @ What is Excellence in Climate Adaptation? | 9 November 2017 | Bonn, DE | IISD Reporting Services". enb.iisd.org. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Progress on assessing adaptation at the global level is needed to meet Paris Agreement goals". UN Environment. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Adaptation Gap report". UN Environment. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "The Adaptation Gap Report 2017: Towards Global Assessment". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 27 November 2017.