To achieve the global goal on adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, building resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change in each region and country, strengthening scientific knowledge on climate change and its dissemination definitely take important role.
A head of the global efforts to climate-resilient society, the government of Japan has newly set up Climate Change Adaptation Act, which designed legal framework to accelerate adaptation efforts to various stakeholders. Since the adaptation measure should be considered by all with local, subnational, national, regional and international dimensions, it is essential that adaptation action should be guided by best available scientific knowledge overarching different sectors with due considerate at local contexts. Indeed, tremendous and rich climate- and adaptation-related data and information are being generated by different actors day-by-day. However, another milestone is absolutely imperative in order to chew those elements and incubate robust scientific knowledge for adaptation planning and bankable adaptation action.
Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (AP-PLAT) Partnership will take a role in this context to create an enabling environment for tuning scientific knowledge to develop adaptation policy and its action. Ministry of Environment, Japan (MOEJ) and National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) start developing the platform enhancing the above key pillars, namely, scientific knowledge, adaptation tool, building capacity. In the COP24 side event, possible AP-PLAT partners are going to examine the challenges and opportunities for building practical partnership.

AP-PLAT document

Discussion focused on how AP-PLAT online portal will able to provide scientific information, and AP-PLAT Partnership will able to support country to advance their adaptation planning and its implementation including development of bankable project to access climate finance. This side event was moderated by Mr. Mozaharul Alam, Regional Coordinator, Climate Change Sub-programme, Asia and the Pacific Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Dr. Nameki from NIES made a presentation on the latest version of AP-PLAT and demonstrated to show several features of the platform. These include climate change scenarios under different RCPs, impacts viewer etc.
Mr. Ryuzo Sugimoto from MOEJ highlighted that the AP-PLAT does not take the role only for mere information provision, and introduced the concept of "AP-PLAT Partnership" which aims with enabling environment for climate-risk informed policy making to feed into bankable adaptation action by developing operational partnership. For the purpose, he explained how this partnership try building the key pillars of this concept, scientific knowledge, adaptation tool, and building capacity by organically collaborating with partner organizations.
Two panel members, Dr. Medrilzam from Indonesia and Dr. Atsamon Limsakul from Thailand shared national level experiences on use of climate information in adaptation planning. And they demanded effective connection to AP-PLAT Partnership which is applicable even for each country and local area. Dr. Xianfu Lu from ADB shared ADB’s approaches to develop climate level profile which is supported by different types of assessment including economic assessment for designing sectoral level support and interventions. Mr. Osamu Mizuno from IGES) shared their experiences focusing on national level capacity building and applying of participatory approach to understand local circumstances and design demand driven interventions for communities.
Mr. Yasuo Takahashi, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, MOEJ expressed his appreciation for invaluable inputs and issues raised from the panelists and swore to build the effective partnership to shape the adaptation policy and materialized adaptation actions.

a. Incorporation of climate change adaptation into development measures requires needs and evidence based planning. Improved the climate change scenarios/projections along with hazards information will support and correspond to them.
b. Like climate change, development is also dynamic and therefore medium and long-term climate resilient planning need to consider both dynamic aspects of climate change and development together;
c. Application of scientific information at local level would require translation of scientific information into local languages and need to package according to users of the information;
d. Country level climate profile that Asia Development Bank is undertaking is a good source of information both on climate change and development;
e. AP-PLAT online service need to consider completability and functions to incorporate information coming from different sources, country level, development organizations, research institute level and so on.
f. AP-PLAT Partners is very important element of this initiative to build capacity of different actors to support adaptation planning at national, sectoral and local level as well as develop bankable project to assess finance. It is important to build capacity of national and sectoral agencies in a country and need to go beyond one-off training workshop;
g. Partnership and connecting capacity building activities with on-going national level efforts such as National Adaptation Planning and Nationally Determined Contribution is very important.