Submission on the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation

A decision was adopted at COP27 to “initiate the development of a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)”. Several inputs for a framework were made at the conference, but there was not sufficient time to debate and consolidate them into a version that all Parties could agree upon.

To support the process of adopting a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation at COP28, this submission outlines key aspects that need to be addressed in its development, including during the 2023 workshops of the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation.

Key messages

  • If a useful framework for the GGA is to be adopted at COP28, it is essential that this year’s workshops focus on Parties’ convergence on key aspects of the framework.
  • Attention needs to be paid to how a framework could make a difference, possibly using the concept of ‘governance functions’ to think this through.
  • The GGA framework should avoid unintended consequences such as incentivising maladaptation or establishing ways of tracking progress that are superficial, that mask underlying inequalities, or that direct resources to what is easy to measure (rather than what reduces climate risks effectively).
  • A particular consideration in the development in the GGA framework will be how it links to national policy processes, especially the National Adaptation Plan process.
  • Each workshop should feature dedicated sessions on the framework or should directly link the topics under discussion to the development of the framework.
  • The first two workshops should provide space for debating key aspects of the framework in order to achieve a common understanding early on.
  • Insights from the scientific community should be included in every workshop rather than being relegated to the last.
  • The final workshop should help prepare for the negotiations at COP28. It is therefore suggested that the agenda of this workshop is flexible so that it can respond to how discussions unfold throughout the year.

This submission aims to inform the activities in 2023 of the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh work programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation. It responds to a decision at COP27 in November 2022 that invited Parties and observers to submit “contributions to and views on the workshops to be held in 2023, including questions related to the themes of those workshops” (Decision 3/CMA.4, paragraph 16). The work programme was created at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. Find more information at the UNFCCC website.