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Climate change, an alteration in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer, is a fundamental reference point for framing the different management themes and challenges dealt with in this Special Report. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use [...]. Anthropogenic climate change is projected to continue during this century and beyond. This conclusion is robust under a wide range of scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions, including some that anticipate a reduction in emissions (IPCC, 2007a). The report draws on current scientific knowledge to address three specific goals:

1) To assess the relevance and utility of the concepts, methods, strategies, instruments, and experience gained from the management of climate-associated disaster risk under conditions of historical climate patterns, in order to advance adaptation to climate change and the management of extreme events and disasters in the future.

2) To assess the new perspectives and challenges that climate change brings to the disaster risk management field.

3) To assess the mutual implications of the evolution of the disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change fields, particularly with respect to the desired increases in social resilience and sustainability that adaptation implies.

This chapter frames the context, knowledge-base and assessment approaches used to understand the impacts of 1.5°C global warming above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, building on the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.

International Climate Finance Funds require certain safeguards.

In carrying out its mandate of promoting a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways in the context of sustainable development, GCF will effectively and equitably manage environmental and social risks and impacts, and improve outcomes of all GCF-financed activities.

Climate change is projected to have serious impacts on the agriculture of southern Africa, affecting food availability, creating local production shortfalls and resulting in rising commodity prices. This report highlights the risks to agriculture and food systems that may occur in two counties of the region, Malawi and Zambia. The analysis uses the conceptual framework of climate-related risk from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to examine the impacts that climate change is likely to have on agriculture and food security. Country-specific trends in temperature and rainfall and projected impacts are summarised from the literature. The vulnerability of the agricultural sector in each country is discussed in relation to its sensitivity to change and coping and adaptive capacity, and the risks of climate change on agriculture and small-scale farmers in the two focus countries assessed. A prioritisation process is then carried out to rank different commodities in each country, with respect to four dimensions: the importance of the commodity to the economy of the country, the national yield gap compared with the regional average, the importance of the commodity in people’s diet, and the projected impact of climate change on yield. The results of the analysis highlight three commodities that could be prioritized for agricultural development interventions: maize, potatoes and beans in Malawi, and maize, pulses and sorghum in Zambia.

Gender Assessment and Action Plan - Zambia Renewable Energy Financing Framework

This gender assessment provides a summary of the gender equality situation in Zambia with a specific focus on women’s financial inclusion in the energy sector. The assessment identifies potential entry points to promote women’s participation as business leaders and owners in renewable and clean energy.

This report encapsulates the 'Tackling Climate Change in Agriculture Training' in Harare, Zimbabwe, in September 2017. It includes the agenda, summaries of presentations, conclusions of discussions, results of working groups and question and answer sessions.

This report encapsulates the 'Tackling Climate Change in Agriculture Training' in Ongwediva, Namibia in September 2017. It includes the agenda, summaries of presentations, conclusions of discussions, results of working groups and question and answer sessions.

Under the project "Out-scaling climate-smart technologies to smallholder farmers in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe" stakeholders aim to evaluate the impact of a changing climate on current farming systems and identify appropriate adaptation measures. This reports summarizes the process and outcomes of a two-staged process to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies designed to reduce the impact of climate change on smallholder farmers.

Meetings were held in-country (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and in a regional workshop in Lusaka, Zambia to prioritize these technologies. With the exception of Zimbabwe, the meetings were well attended and went through a defined process to identify the technologies.

In both in-country meetings and the regional workshop the participants prioritized a range of options that were common. These were:

 Diversification (rotation and intercropping strategies)

 the use of drought-tolerant varieties

 Different forms of conservation agriculture seeding (ripping, direct seeding and basin planting)

 the use of organic manure

 Staggered planting

 Soil and water conservation

Irrigation and improved climate information services were often mentioned but the capital investments needed as well as the lack of infrastructure make this currently very challenging. This would require Governmental will to advance in the future.

The information gathered will inform the formulation of a feasibility study to be used as a base for developing a larger investment proposal for funding climate-smart agriculture in the region

The Rapid Loss Appraisal Tool for Agricultural Value Chains (RLAT) was developed in Ghana in 2015 with the sup-port of the GIZ Sector Project "Sustainable Agriculture" (NAREN) and the GIZ program for Market Orientated Ag-riculture (MOFA/Ghana). Its main objective is to identify critical loss points in smallholder agricultural value chains by using a quick and participatory methodology.

The tool was further tested and adapted for socio-economic and agricultural patterns in Southern Africa. The SADC Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), sup-ported by the two German funded projects NAREN and ACCRA, launched a regional call for proposals for the implementation of RLAT in Southern Africa (Annex A). Seven institutions from five different countries, namely South Africa, eSwatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe applied and the South African Agricultural Research Coun-cil/Grain Crops Institute in Potchefstroom (ARC) was awarded for the piloting of RLAT. The Agricultural Research Council organized the training in Potchefstroom, which was attended by participants from Tanzania and Zimba-bwe whose applications to facilitate the processwere scored 2nd and 3rd best respectively, and was subsequently followed with a field appraisal in the Eastern Cape Province.

The main objectives of the SADC/South Africa pilot mission were

1. To train potential users from SADC member states in the application of RLAT in the maize value chain.

2. To adapt and pilot RLAT methodology in South Africa.

Final report of the 'Climate Finance and Proposal Writing Training' which took place in December 2018 in Gaborone, Botswana.