Global Center collaborates with Canada’s IDRC on 20/20 Young Adaptation Professionals Program

October 25, 2018 – (Ottawa, Ontario) The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Catherine McKenna, formally announced Canada’s participation in and support of the new Global Commission on Adaptation, co-managed by the Global Center on Adaptation and WRI, and a new collaboration with the Global Center which will help address critical climate adaptation gaps.

T he Global Commission is an initiative spearheaded by the Netherlands to climate-related threats. Canada will contribute CA$ 7.5 million (5 million €) to support the work of the Commission to catalyze a global movement to bring scale and speed to climate adaptation solutions.

Canada joins 16 other convening countries which have formed the Commission to elevate the visibility and political importance of climate adaptation and encourage bold solutions like smarter investments, new technologies and better planning to create resiliency against.

Even if we succeed in keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the urgency of climate adaptation cannot be overstated. Sea levels will rise. More extreme periods of drought and rainfall will occur. There is no denying that the world needs to prepare itself. The Netherlands, through our Global Center on Adaptation, stands ready to work with Canada and other partners towards a more resilient future for all.

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Gathering international expertise and showing leadership on climate change adaptation will help ease the effects of climate change both in Canada and around the world

Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

At the announcement event, news was also shared of a new collaborative initiative between Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Center. As part of this partnership, IDRC will support the Global Center’s work by contributing to the 20/20 Young Adaptation Professionals Program. This program will bring to the table a range of research voices from across the Global South. The perspectives, experience, and expertise of these emerging researchers will inform a range of critical issues in the global adaptation agenda, including disaster resilience, energy for all, urban planning, biodiversity, the blue economy, and climate mitigation and adaptation.

The 20/20 Young Adaptation Professionals program is part of our mission to advance bold actions to help communities and countries all over the world become more resilient to climate-related threats. We look forward to working with IDRC and showcasing the work of these young professionals from the Global South as they contribute to the global adaptation agenda and the 2020 Adaptation Action Summit to be hosted by the Netherlands

Patrick Verkooijen, CEO, Global Center on Adaptation

There is no doubt that we must raise our collective ambition to learn and act faster than the climate is changing,” said IDRC President Jean Lebel. “By partnering with the Global Center on Adaptation, IDRC hopes to support an equitable, representative, truly global response to climate change, fostering the next generation of adaptation research leaders from across the Global South.

Jean Lebel, IDCR President

Related blog posts: