Strategic Objective: To develop and promote creative responses to climate change and its impacts.

Achievements and Highlights

• Following the Canadian Prime Minister's decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, IISD has been an active participant in the implementation process. Working with the federal government, a number of provinces, industry and other stakeholders, IISD promotes the application of Kyoto in a way that meets environmental objectives while moving our economy fairly and effectively forward in anticipation of a hydrogen-based future.

• IISD's profile has grown significantly within the international scientific community, particularly relating to issues of development, mitigation and adaptation. IISD has been participating in a number of collaborative projects with research institutes around the world to demonstrate why a "development first" approach makes the most sense in effectively addressing climate change. The institute has also been asked to participate in expertsf meetings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), looking at issues related to climate change and sustainable development and the adaptation-mitigation nexus.

IISD's Climate Change and Energy Team continues to be recognized as a constructive and influential voice in the climate change debate in Canada and around the world.

• The Climate Change and Energy Team at IISD continues to work on a number of significant projects supported by external aid agencies, notably the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Work includes:

  • identifying the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism in helping to reduce emissions in the transportation sector in Chile;
  • analyzing the impacts of climate change and globalization on the agricultural sector in India;
  • exploring the connection between decentralized renewable energy, the Clean Development Mechanism and sustainable development;
  • enhancing the capacity of developing country partners in the Climate Change Knowledge Network (http://www.cckn.net) to engage in effective research and outreach on climate change and its relevance for developing countries; and
  • helping developing countries express and share their perspectives on climate change issues.

IISD aims to develop and promote creative responses to climate change and its impacts.

• Our projects are being completed in partnership with about 30 other research institutes, most of them in developing countries.

• IISD has also been strengthening its contributions in the area of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. Activities include:

  • acting as a network coordinator on health-related socio-economic impacts of climate change;
  • analyzing the effectiveness of using conservation and disaster preparedness strategies in helping particularly vulnerable communities adapt to climate vulnerability and climate change; and
  • working with Manitoba Hydro to begin understanding the hydrological impacts on their hydro system capacity.
  
  

• Finally, IISD has expanded its influence in regions across Canada, including the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.