February 27, 2020 - The Inaugural Board Meeting of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)—which acts as a solutions broker among governments, the private sector, civil society, intergovernmental bodies, and knowledge institutions to enable climate change adaptation action—will be convened today in Paris, France. 

The GCA supports the recommendations by the Global Commission on Adaptation, composed of world leaders in identifying solutions and enabling action towards adaptation and is led by former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and philanthropist Bill Gates. 

Deputy Speaker and Antique Congresswoman Loren Legarda is a Commissioner of the Global Commission on Adaptation and a member of the Board of the Global Center on Adaptation. She will be represented at the meeting today by Philippine Ambassador to France Maria Theresa Lazaro. 

To implement effective adaptation action, the GCA is working to address the following five main challenges: (1) scaling up ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA); (2) integrating climate adaptation into financial decision-making; (3) measuring effective adaptation; (4) creating climate-resilient cities; and (5) leveraging deltas to address climate change. 

The meeting will include discussions on the GCA report “A Year in Review and the Year Ahead—Delivering on Climate Adaptation,” the 2020 Climate Adaptation Summit and the 2020-2030 Global Compact on Adaptation, the GCA’s Proposed Bold Ideas for Action, and other governance matters. 

In September 2019, the Global Commission on Adaptation, in their flagship report “Follow the Sun,” reported that investing US$1.8 trillion globally in five areas, from 2020 to 2030, could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits. These areas are early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, dryland agriculture, mangrove protection, and water resilience.

“The GCA is an important platform to accelerate and inspire adaptation innovations at the global scale. It is crucial for the Philippines to take an active role and influence efforts to combat the global climate crisis,” Legarda said.