Disaster risk reduction at COP19: briefing note

This paper presents UNISDR observations and recommendations for the inclusion of disaster risk reduction in the climate change negotiations at the 19th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP19) in Warsaw, Poland, in November 2013. Presenting the previous decisions linking disaster risk reduction to climate change adaptation, it highlights some evidences from the IPCC Special Report Managing the Risk of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), the 2013 IPCC Summary of the Physical Science Basis for Climate Change and the UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR).

The paper then introduces a series of overall messages on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and details the rationale of the disaster risk reduction messages specific to COP 19 and specifically related to: (i) institutional mechanisms for loss and damages; (ii) national adaptation plans; and (iii) the Adaptation Committee. Finally, it gives some information about two disaster risk reduction related events at COP 19.