WCIRP

World Climate Impacts Assessment and Response Strategies Programme (WCIRP) is one of the WCP four sub-programs and is targeted at assessing the impacts of climate variability and changes that could markedly affect economic or social activities and thus contributing to the development of a range of socio-economic response strategies that could be used by governments and the community. UNEP is the leading agency within WCIRP and implements the programme in partnership with WMO, FAO, IPCC and UNFCCC Secretariats.

The main thrusts of WCIRP include

Testing methodologies for assessments of impacts of climate change and sea level rise;
Promoting and improving coordination of national climate impact and response strategies programmes;
Improving techniques for making inventories of sources and sinks of GHGs;
Developing national strategies for responding to climate fluctuations and change;
Improving dissemination of accurate, complete and timely information to governments and the public;
Assessing air quality and air pollution mitigation strategies.

WCIRP was constituted in 1979 and since then UNEP contributed substantially to fulfilling the WCIRP goals by providing major inputs in the following core areas:

Sustainable Development and Climate Change,
Vulnerability Assessment and Cost Effective Adaptation,
Integrating Land Use and Forestry Issues and Climate Change,
Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation,
Kyoto Mechanisms and National Policy Instruments,
Technology,
Finance and Insurance,
Support to IPCC, Information, Dissemination and Outreach.

These activities resulted in improved methodologies for assessment of climate change impacts on local economies, enhanced coordination of national climate impacts and response strategies programmes, better techniques for making inventories of sources and sinks of GHGs, new national strategies for responding to climate fluctuations and change and wide dissemination of accurate, complete and timely information to governments and the public.

Sub-Projects

Sustainable Development and
Climate Change
http://www.developmentfirst.org/

Integrating Land Use Change and Forestry
Issues and Climate Change
http://www.iucn.org/themes/carbon/

Kyoto Mechanisms and
National Policy Instruments
http://cd4cdm.org/

Support to IPCC, Information
Dissemination and Outreach
http://www.unep.org/dec/information/public_information.htm

http://www.grida.no/activities.cfm?pageID=21

Vulnerability Assessment and
Cost Effective Adaptation
http://www.unep.org/gef/content/activity_climate.htm

Sustainable Energy and
Climate Change Mitigation
http://www.uneptie.org/energy/

Finance and Insurance
http://www.unepfi.org/work_programme/climate_change/ index.html