15th Development and Climate Days opened in Bonn by local hosts

The Development & Climate Days (‘D&C Days’) workshop over the middle weekend of UN climate talks began in Bonn today, and for the first time was formally opened by its hosts, the German Development Institute, the DIE (Deutsches Institute fur Entwicklungspolitik).

In her opening remarks, DIE Deputy Director Imme Scholz told 250 participants at the two-day event that “decarbonization interferes with everything we do, but the same is true for global warming: this important insight is the basis of D&C Days this year”.

The day began with a story-telling session by four participants: Nontuthuko Xaba of South Africa’s Adaptation Network, Filipe Nainoca, Director General of the Fiji Red Cross, Mumina Bonaya of the Kenya Adaptation Consortium, and Edward Cameron of Business for Social Responsibility. 

Each presented a short anecdote illustrating one of four themes anchoring this year’s programme and how they relate to the plans of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: resilience through empowerment and access, valuing local experience and knowledge, downward accountability, and resilience.

‘If we can go to people and work with them,
they can participate, see change around them,
and respond to climate change issues’

In her story, Nontuthuko Xaba told the D&C Days audience: “My experience is that people don’t talk much about climate change to rural communities. And people do not know what is happening in the world.”

If we can go to people and work with them, she added, they can participate, see change around them, and respond to climate change issues.

For the second year in a row, D&C Days includes significant participation by the private sector, in the form of the We Mean Business (WMB) coalition, whose parallel session centred on fostering a common understanding of supply-chain management, climate risk and resilience, and the relationship of vulnerable populations with business.

Another D&C Days session was focusing on how gender-responsive climate action can contribute to community resilience.

‘Thankyou for the rain’

The “Old wine in new bottles” discussion was asking whether resilience and risk management are just good development with tweaks.

Finally Saturday, at a special screening, the film Thank you for the Rain charts the story of how Kenyan farmer Kisilu Musya started a communal organization to call for action against climate impacts after his farmhouse was destroyed by a storm.

This year’s event, also supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, was jointly organized by the Climate Centre, the International Institute for Environment and Development,  the International Development Research Centre, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, WMB, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. 

An opening session of short stories launches this year’s D&C Days in Bonn, with (from left to right) Nontuthuko Xaba of South Africa’s Adaptation Network, Edward Cameron of Business for Social Responsibility, Mumina Bonaya of the Kenya Adaptation Consortium, and Filipe Nainoca, Director General of the Fiji Red Cross. (Photo: Climate Centre)