Climate Safeguard System
The CSS provides a set of decision-making tools and guides, enabling the Bank to screen projects in vulnerable sectors for risks associated with climate change.
GCAP's Knowledge Management Services developed a Climate Safeguards System (CSS) for the African Development Bank (AfDB). We also developed relevant procedures and an online knowledge base to support their policy of screening development projects for climate risks and adaptation requirements.
The CSS provides a set of decision-making tools and guides, enabling the Bank to screen projects in vulnerable sectors for risks associated with climate change. It then identifies appropriate adaptation measures to reduce those vulnerabilities.
The CSS comprises four modules:
- A Climate Screening Module, to assess the vulnerability of a project concept to climate change and assign the project to categories, using scorecards, ranging from one (most vulnerable) to three (least vulnerable).
- An Adaptation Review and Evaluation Procedures Module, enabling users to identify adaptation measures for a project according to the screening categorisation of the project and integrating these at early project design stage.
- A CSS Information Base Module, a knowledge portal supporting the modules above and giving direct access to the climate projections developed for Africa, a database of adaptation activities and links to a wide range of information sources on adaptation.
- Country Adaptation Factsheets, based on a template into which up-to-date information on climate projections and country indicators can be imported from various sources, to support the project design.
The CSS is kept up-to-date by an an information management system that includes documentation of each module, training material, selected online knowledge bases, for relevant literature and climate scenarios, initially from the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town (through their portal) and recently with direct access to the World Bank's climate change portal.
The CSS was launched at the Conference of Parties in Durban: "The Bank is taking the lead among MDBs in developing a Climate Safeguards System. This constitutes an important breakthrough towards addressing climate change vulnerability in Africa" reported the AfDB project officer. For a booklet on the CSS see http://tinyurl.com/AfDB-CC-Booklet and the Durban launch seehttp://tinyurl.com/AfDB-CC-Launch.
The complete system has now been ported to the Bank's intranet and their ICT department is fully competent in managing the application. This enables climate adaptation to be easily integrated with the Bank's project management tools without relying on third party systems. This was a design objective from the outset.
If you are interested in this dynamic approach to mainstreaming climate adaptation and safeguarding your projects contact us now.