Supporting China’s adaptation - ACCC Phase 2

China faces significant challenges and opportunities in the wake of climate change. The country is many worlds within one, ranging from the subtropics in the south to the snow-covered north, the arid west and the lush coastal east. China’s vast population knows well the brunt of the elements. But all this is changing faster and less predictably than before. The time to act is clear.

Significant progress has been made recently to mainstream climate change adaptation in China. The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project has been working on this, supporting decision makers with the information on who and what is at greatest risk from climate change, why they are vulnerable and what they can do. ACCC provides robust, locally relevant and up to date scientific, social and economic information to lay a solid foundation for adaptation responses.

The first phase of ACCC supported the development of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS), which was announced by Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua (National Development Reform Commission) at COP19, Warsaw. The NAS sets out key themes and priority work areas and mandates for the drafting of Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) and the selection of pilot provinces. This represents the most critical phase of mainstreaming climate change adaptation process in China.

The second phase, managed by INTASAVE Asia-Pacific, will now support the development of the Provincial Adaptation Plans, including through support tools, capacity building and trialling local adaptation options.

The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project brings together Chinese policy makers, research and policy institutions, as well as international organizations and experts, to develop practical approaches to climate change adaptation policy planning. The ACCC phase I (2009-2013) was designed as a “research-into-use” project, and focused on developing evidence-based climate change adaptation policy in China, at both the national and provincial levels. It made notable contributions to the formulation of the NAS through building on cross-sectorial partnerships, capacity building work and scientific and policy advances. However, significant support is still required in order to achieve more in-depth and ambitious mainstreaming process on adaptive planning.

ACCC phase II (2014-2017) builds on the work of phase I and aims:

• To mainstream climate change adaptation into development policies at national and provincial levels 
• To support the formulation and implementation of integrated Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) across priority sectors and share these experiences and lessons with other developing countries.

The ACCC phase II is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation. The main institutional Chinese partner is the National Development and Reform Commission.  The project is undertaken in partnership with nearly 20 international, national and provincial bodies. The policy-research work spans climate impacts, vulnerability and risk across six provinces and municipalities (Ningxia, Inner-Mongolia, Jilin, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Qingdao) covering the following sectors:

• Water
• Agriculture 
• Grassland/Animal Husbandry 
• Disaster risk reduction 
• Integrated risk assessment for planning
• Coastal zone management