Use of Regional Climate Models in Impacts Assessments andAdaptations Studies From continental to regional and local scale

The CREAS (Cenários Climáticos REgionalizados de Mudança de Clima

para América do Sul) initiative in South America

Jose A. Marengo

CPTEC/INPESao Paulo, Brazil

2005

To provide high resolution climate change scenarios in the three hot spots (most populated and economically important basins in South America: Amazon, Sao Francisco and Parana-La Plata) in South America for development of studies that should lead to raising awareness among government and policy makers in assessing climate change impact, vulnerability and in designing adaptation measures.

Project strategy summary

Amazonia: land use changes and impacts on climate and hydrology, population and biodiversity

Deforestation rate in Amazonia (km2/ year)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

77/8

8 *

88/8

9

89/9

0

90/9

1

91/9

2

92/9

4 **

94/9

5

95/9

6

96/9

7

97/9

8

98/9

9

99/0

0

00/0

1

"01/

02"

"02/

03"

"03/

04"

GEWEX-LBA project:

-Physical climate and surface hydrology

-Water chemistry-Carbon

-Atmospheric chemistry

-Biogeochemistry-Human

dimensions

Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Global Climate Models (AOGCMs) are the modeling tools traditionally used for generating climate change projections and scenarios.

The horizontal atmospheric resolution of present day AOGCMs is still relatively coarse, order of 300 km, and regional climate is often affected by forcings and circulations that occur at smaller scales. As a result, AOGCMs cannot explicitly capture the fine scale structure that characterizes climatic variables in many regions of the world and that is needed for many impact assessment studies.

Regional Climate Models (RCMs) are useful tools for generating high resolution climate change scenarios for use in climate impacts and adaptation studies.

Limitations of climate projections from AOGCM

Why regional models?

The issue of the spatial resolution in scenarios must be put in the context of other uncertainties of climate change. Studies and analyses of climate change impact and adaptation assessments recognize that there are a number of sources of uncertainty in such studies which contribute to uncertainty in the final assessment.

The importance of high resolution climate scenarios for impacts and adaptation studies remains to be thoroughly explored in Brazil and South America.

Most of these activities have been linked to implementation of scenarios for the UNFCC National Communications on Climate Change at the country level (PRECIS). In studies so far, mainly concerning agriculture and water resources, significant differences in the estimated impacts based on spatial resolution are found.

So far it has been explicitly demonstrated that the necessary adaptation measures varies with the spatial resolution. And of course, this point could be deduced from the fact that the level of impacts varies.

Applying regional climate change scenarios to impact studies: Experiences in South America: The CREAS project

An initiative from Brazil has been the implementation of CREAS (Regional Climate Change Scenarios for South America). CREAS is being established as consequence of a GEF-Ministry of Environment/PROBIO project lead by CPTEC in Brazil for studies on impacts of climate change in natural ecosystems in Brazil (PROBIO). Additional funding for CREAS comes from the GOF-UK CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY PROGRAMME: Using Regional Climate Change Scenarios for Studies on Vulnerability and Adaptation in Brazil and South America, and the National Climate Change Program from the Ministry of Science and Technology. This project aims to provide high resolution climate change scenarios in the three most populated basins in South America for raising awareness among government and policy makers in assessing climate change impact, vulnerability and in designing adaptation measures.

CREAS (Cenários REgionalizados de Mudanças de Clima para América do Sul or Regional Climate Change Scenarios for South America)

Regional climate change scenarios in South America other regions

CREAS objectives

•To produce high resolution climate change scenarios for 2071-2100 for South America (hopefully, other time slices too)•To assess the uncertainty in South American regional climate change scenarios produced by various regional climate models. •To quantitatively assess the risks arising from changes in regional climate over South America, •To estimate changes in extremes like intense rainfall, heat waves, flooding and wind storms, by providing a robust estimation of the likelihood and magnitude of the changes•To demonstrate the value of the wide-ranging scenarios by applying them to impacts models focusing on effects on adaptation and mitigation strategies for key sectors (agriculture, conservation, hydroelectricity, health, tourism, etc.)•To provide climatic information usable to assess socio-economic and policy related decisions for which such improved scenarios could be beneficial, and to interact with government agencies, policy makers and stake holders for assessments of vulnerability•To collaborate (not to interfere) with other countries in the implementation of their National Communications to UNFCC by providing regional climate change scenarios for their domains

Vulnerability

Documentation on current exposure to climate risks/hazards (climate variability)

Assessments of actual adaptative capacity

Assessments of changes in future exposition to climatic risks

Assessments of future adaptative capacity

Implementation of measurements of adaptation to climate change and reduction of vulnerability

Actual vulnerability

Future Vulnerability

Climate-hydrological

modeling

Socio-economical

studies

Impacts on natural ecosystems

Source: E. Salati-FBDS

Both Brazil and other countries in the region would benefit greatly from this initiative, as it would provide more comprehensive treatment of uncertainties by increasing the range of future climate projections (i.e. plausible representations of the future and not merely predictions of the future) available to all.

Furthermore, the concept of stakeholder and policy maker engagement in natural sciences research in Brazil is undergoing initial and incipient development. Traditionally, engagement of those actors has been the ground of the social sciences.

However, it is very clear that the road connecting scientific knowledge to policy making and implementation has not been fully paved as yet in Brazil, but it is mandatory if the results of environmental science are effectively to benefit society.

Motivation

A1B, A2, B2 Scenarios

?? ??HaDAM3

link to NAARCAP and

PRUDENCE

ECHAM 5

1960-1990 current 2040-2070 futureProvide bounding conditions

MM5CIMA/Argentina

RegCM3USP/Brazil

Eta/CPTECCPTEC/Brazil

HADRM3Hadley Centre

RAMSFUNCEME

REMOMax Planck Int.

CREAS PLAN

UNFCC FUNCEME/CPTEC

CLARIS-EU

How is the downscaling to be done?.

Being done at CPTEC

RegCM3/USP50 km

Global IPCC models (HadCM3) Future scenarios IPCC A2, B2

HadRM3/PRECIS50 km

Eta/CPTEC40 km

Modelos regionais

Baseline 1961-90

Maps of climate change A2, B2 for 2071-2100, and other time slices (South America, countries, and other regions)

Baseline regional models 1961-90

Maps of climate change A2, B2 minus basline, 2071-2100 and other time slices

CREAS- Regional Climate Change Scenarios for S. America-Strategy

Downscaling

Modelos de IPCC: HadAM3P

CREAS- Regional Climate Change Scenarios for S. America-Strategy

Impacts of climate change

Downscaling (40-50 km)RCM (Eta, RegCM3,HadRM3)

Vulnerability Assessments

Adaptation and mitigation measures

Detection and attribution

IPCC global models (HadAM3P)

Capacity building

Socieconomic development

Users and decision makers government

and policy makers society, NGO, academics

Development and Applications

Products: (Paper, digital and GIS)-Maps of climate change projections for time slices, A2, B2 (and uncertainties)-Reports, publications…. ..

Regional climate change scenarios: A2, B2, 2071-2100

and other time slices,3 regional models

-Science-Training and capacity

building

In this project, we envisage a three-pronged approach to engage stakeholder three-pronged approach to engage stakeholder and policy makersand policy makers with its results for effective use of more credible regional scenarios of climate change for South America.

a) Firstly, we are going to influence government policy makers in charge of implementing nationally the global environmental conventions, and the Forum Brasileiro de Mudanças Climaticas and other environmental programs in Brazil and other countries involved;

b) Secondly, we are participating in climate change fora in Brazil and in some international meetings projects on Amazonia and the La Plata Basin, to broadly divulge project results to stakeholders from many sectors of society; and,

c) Thirdly, we are going to organize two meetings with stakeholders from government and private sectors for all countries involved (2006 and 2007).

How to approach scientific and non scientific community?

Expected products and deliverables

• Development and transferability of methods for assessing consequences of climate change

• Vulnerability indicators of societal impacts• Development of protocols and guidelines• Future scenarios for agricultural production• Future scenarios for hydroelectric operations and development• Future scenarios for water demand for human settling • Future scenarios for health and disease spread• Future scenarios of wind and solar energy potential• Capacity building, training and educational activities including

publication of educational materials, web sites and GIS material• Development of “white papers” jointly between scientists and policy

makers • Integrated regional data sets ready to be used in GIS…..

Partners: CPTEC (leader), USP, EMBRAPA, ANA, ONS, FBDS, UFRGS, INMET, FIO-Brazil; Argentina (INTA, UBA/CIMA); Peru (SENAMHI, UNALM, IGP); Ecuador (INAMHI); Bolivia (SENAMHI); Colombia (IDEAM); Uruguay (INA, SMN); Paraguay (DHN). Itaipu Binational (Paraguay-Brazil), Salto Grande (Uruguay), Yacireta (Paraguay-Argentina). Look for contacts with hydroelectric operators in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru.

The project also entails strong scientific collaboration with the UK Hadley Centre in sharing knowledge and capacity for the implementation of climate change scenarios at a more detailed and precise scale than is currently being done.

The project also looks for strong collaboration with international programs suc as the Global Water System Project (GWSP) for understanding how society can best adapt to future climate changes.

Participants

Expected impact

The availability of regional climate change models for contrasting scenarios such as the A2 (high emissions) and B2 (low emissions) and the provision of these scenarios to government authorities will potentially impact on decision and policy making.

We expect that developed climate change impact modelling will be applied at both the basin and state levels, using suggested vulnerability analyses and adaptation measures.

It is also expected that the models will be relevant and useful to countries in the three hot spots and activities (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay), as these countries will have access to data and any other generated product as requested.

New developments (GOF + LBA)

The GOF-UK project Using Regional Climate Change Scenarios for Studies on Vulnerability and Adaptation in Brazil and South America has been recently recognized as ENDORSED PROJECT pf the ESSE-Global Water System Project GWSP.

Collaboration with LBA: Use of regional climate change projections for the LBA Amazon Scenarios for integrated modelling studies on global change (GHG gases+aerosols+land use changes+socioeconomics).

This will provide all of us with more visibility among the international programs that work on the issues of climate change, water resources, and the applications for vulnerability and impacts as well as for the involvement of policy makers and stake holders

DocumentsProduced:

Relatorio 1PROBIO-GEF

DocumentsProduced:

Newsletter No.1Boletim do Projeto

GOF UK CPTEC