Strengthening coordination in climate change adaptation policy between local, regional, and national authorities

The aim of the project was to develop recommendations for updating the Strategic Adaptation Plan for sectors and areas sensitive to climate change by 2020 with a perspective to 2030 (NAS2020), as well as to provide support for entities involved in the implementation of adaptation activities. In this context, the project focused on identifying and proposing a range of solutions that will make climate change adaptation smarter, faster, and more systemic, based on robust data and risk assessment tools. One of the key elements of the Project was to involve stakeholders at each stage of the Project and adopt a participatory approach to developing recommendations for the development of a new adaptation strategy.

Context

On 29 October 2013, the Council of Ministers adopted the Polish National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change by 2020 (NAS 2020). The major objective of NAS 2020 is to ensure sustainable development and efficient functioning of the economy and society in the conditions of climate change. NAS 2020 indicates the objectives and directions of adaptation actions to be taken in the most vulnerable sectors and areas within the period by 2020: water management, agriculture, forestry, biodiversity and protected areas, health, energy, building industry, transport, mountain areas, coastal zone, spatial development, and urban areas.

From the start, the strategy missed several key steps: its drafting was not accompanied by any action plan nor roadmap and no precise monitoring and reporting mechanism was integrated. In addition, due to the horizontal and interdisciplinary nature of adaptation, the budget needs associated with the implementation of the different climate adaptation actions were not estimated. Most of the actions had a strong regional and local dimension, but not enough coordination mechanisms between the different administrative levels were put in place. In addition, NAS 2020 did not describe in detail the activities to be undertaken under each action line, which prevented the further granularity of the division of responsibility across Ministries and different government levels. 

Therefore, a revised climate adaptation strategy in Poland is needed to adequately plan for today’s more frequent climate risks, detailing climate adaptation actions as well as designing a coordination mechanism to effectively monitor progress in this area. 

In February 2021, the Ministry of Climate and Environment decided to start working on the update of NAS2020. The first phase focused on evaluation i.e. collecting data on the measures implemented since the adoption of NAS2020. One of the key conclusions of NAS2020 evaluation is that successful implementation of a new NAS 2020 would depend on enhancing coordination across all stakeholders. Establishing relevant coordination mechanisms should go along with improving competencies and skills of stakeholders and developing one-stop-shop for exchange of information on adaptation policy. Prioritising adaptation activities will enable greater involvement and bring long-term benefits, such as reducing economic losses caused by extreme weather conditions. An appropriate adaptation variant with well-selected actions will enable adaptation to change climate conditions and will build an environment, society, and economy more resistant to the consequences of climate change. It is also important to note that the success of implementing adaptation actions depends on their understanding and acceptance. Thus, it is so important to present adaptation actions in the context of benefits, not just costs that must be incurred.

Support delivered

Within the frame of project, the diagnosis of adaptation activities and an assessment of the effectiveness of NAS 2020 based on its compliance with current knowledge on climate change and adaptation was carried out. It allowed to identify the main challenges in implementation as well as find gaps or areas of overlapping of activities. The existing literature and portals dealing with adaptation to climate change were analysed. Based on desk- and substantial field research (survey, workshops, interviews), the direction of changes in adaptation policy was recommended, along with an implementation plan and a road map to 2050. Recommendations for implementation system were also provided with the emphasis on the coordination and involvement of stakeholders from different levels (central, regional, and local). Monitoring and evaluation solutions were proposed with the stress of proper selection of indicators. Series of training sessions (including) webinars on the adaptation topics were carried out. E-learning course was developed with the aim to familiarise the audience with the most important issues related to climate change adaptation, including the key concepts and climate risks.

Results achieved

The results of the project constitute a proposal and framework for the Ministry of Climate and Environment, in the development of the National Adaptation Strategy to climate change. Engagement of such a wide range of stakeholders at the very beginning of updating adaptation strategy process should result in greater buy-in of stakeholders when the time comes for implementation of the adaptation to climate change measures in all sectors.. As part of the training activities carried out within the project over 1,800 people were trained in the field of climate change adaptation measures.

More about the project

You can read the documents related to the project here: