Foundations of Climate Change and Infrastructure
Source: Raul Neijhorst
Welcome!
Welcome to the Foundations of Climate Change and Infrastructure awareness raising course! The goal of this online course is to provide learners with information about the fundamentals of climate change in Suriname, including important topics related to infrastructure, gender, and adaptation. This course is aimed at infrastructure professionals, policy makers, individuals from the public sector that support policy makers, and general public who have an interest in climate change and related infrastructure impacts.
Module
Module 0: Project Introdruction
Description
Introduction video
Release date
Monday April 15th 2024
Module 1: What is climate change?
In this Module, you will learn about climate change, the greenhouse effect and the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who are in charge of global researching and reporting information on climate change. We will also explore some common myths about climate change. By the end of this module, you will be able to identify weather versus climate, understand climate change and the greenhouse effect, and describe how we know humans are causing climate change.
Monday april 15th 2024
Module 2: How is climate changing in Suriname?
In this module you will learn about changes to temperature, precipitation, wind, relative humidity, sea level change, and extreme weather events in Suriname.
Monday april 22th 2024
Module 3: How does climate change impact infrastructure?
In this module you will learn about the impact of climate change on energy, transportation, building and telecommunication, agriculture, water, and forestry infrastructure in Suriname.
Monday april 29th 2024
Module 4: How does climate change impact gender?
In this module you will learn about gender and how gender interacts with climate change and infrastructure.
Monday May 6th 2024
Module 5: What is a Risk Assessment and what is Adaptation?
In this module you will learn about risk, risk assessments, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction.
Monday May 13th 2024
Note: The videos and quiz for every module will be launched on the scheduled dates. Only then will they be accessible/available!
Module 0: Project introduction
Module 1: What is climate change?
Date Available: Monday April 15, 2024
In this Module, you will learn about climate change, the greenhouse effect and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who are in charge of global researching and reporting information on climate change. We will also explore some common myths about climate change. By the end of this module, you will be able to identify weather versus climate, understand climate change and the greenhouse effect, and describe how we know humans are causing climate change
Module 1.1: What is climate changing?
Activity: Suriname’s Show your Stripes Graph (optional)
- Go to https://showyourstripes.info/s/globe
- Under “Select Region” select “South America” and under country select “Suriname”
- Toggle between the “Warming Stripes” “Labelled Stripes” and “Bars with Scale” Graphs.Questions to consider: How has the temperature changed in Suriname over time? Which years have been the warmest relative to the average 1971-2000?
Module 1.2: The Greenhouse Effect.
Module 1.3: IPCC and Emissions Scenarios.
Module 1.4: Common myths about climate change.
Quiz: Complete the Module 1 quiz here.
Learn more (optional):
NASA has many online resources to better understand the evidence of climate change. Visit “Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet” to learn more about the unequivocal evidence that the earth is warming at an unprecedented rate: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
You can also learn about the causes of climate change driven by human activities: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the most authoritative global resource for assessing and understanding the science related to climate change. The IPCC releases assessments with the contribution of hundreds of leading climate scientists and thousands of sources of scientific research. These assessments are released approximately every 6 years, with the most recent release in stages from 2021-2023. The Sixth Assessment (or “AR6”) includes four reports:
- AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
- AR6 Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
- AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
- AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
You can find out more on the IPCC Website, including accessing the full reports, shorter Summaries for Policy Makers, Frequently Asked Questions, Presentations, and Headline Statements.
Module 2: How is climate changing Suriname?
Date Available: Monday April 22, 2024
In this Module, you will learn about how the climate is changing in Suriname. We will explore historic and future temperature, precipitation, wind, relative humidity, sea level change, and extreme weather events. By the end of this module, you will be able to identify how climate is changing in Suriname and your own community.
Module 2.1: How is climate changing in overview?
Module 2.2: Temperature.
Module 2.3: Precipitation.
Module 2.4: Wind and relative humidity.
Module 2.5: Sea level change.
Module 2.6: Climate hazards.
Quiz: Complete the Module 2 quiz here.
Learn more (optional):
The historic and future climate projections were obtained from Suriname’s 2021 State of Climate Report: State of the Climate Report: Suriname (iadb.org)
You can also learn more about climate change in Suriname through the Dondru Climate Change website: Climate Change Knowledge Database Suriname (dondru.sr) and on the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal: Suriname – Summary | Climate Change Knowledge Portal (worldbank.org)
Module 3: How does climate change impact infrastructure?
Date Available: Monday April 29, 2024
In this Module, you will learn about the impact of climate change on infrastructure. We will begin by defining different types of infrastructure and resilient infrastructure. We will then explore how climate change could impact energy, transportation, buildings and telecommunication, agriculture, water, and forestry infrastructure in Suriname. By the end of this module, you will be able to identify different climate-infrastructure pathways, including downstream impacts, exposure, and vulnerability.
Module 3.1: Infrastructure.
Module 3.2: Energy infrastructure.
Module 3.3: Transportation infrastructure.
Module 3.4: Buildings and telecommunications infrastructure.
Module 3.5: Agriculture.
Module 3.6 Water
Quiz: Complete the Module 3 quiz here.
Learn more (optional):
Infrastructure impacts including case study information was obtained from Suriname’s 2021 State of Climate Report: State of the Climate Report: Suriname (iadb.org)
You can also learn more about climate change in Suriname through the Dondru Climate Change website: Climate Change Knowledge Database Suriname (dondru.sr) and on the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal: Suriname – Summary | Climate Change Knowledge Portal (worldbank.org)
Module 4: How does climate change impact gender?
Date Available: Monday May 6, 2024
In this Module, you will learn about gender and how it interacts with climate change and infrastructure. We will also explore ways to mainstream gender and human rights into climate resilience planning, highlighting international, national, and community level documents and examples. By the end of this module, you will be able to define gender, understand why climate change impacts women and girls differently, understand gender-blind versus gender-responsive infrastructure, and describes strategies to improve gender equality as it relates to climate change and infrastructure.
Module 4.1: Climate Change and gender
Module 4.2: Gender, climate change and infrastructure
Module 4.3: Mainstreaming gender into climate action
Quiz: Complete the Module 4 quiz here.
Learn more (optional):
To learn more about gender, climate change, and infrastructure, check out the following resources that were referenced in this module:
Gender and Climate Change Resources
- Gender and Climate Change Training Handbook
- Gender Inequality of Climate Change and Disaster Risk in the Infrastructure Sector (2022)
- Infrastructure for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
International Documents
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action
- Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
- Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women
- Palermo Protocol
- International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
- United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Surinamese Documents
- Suriname National Adaptation Plan
- Suriname Report: National Review Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action +25
- Suriname Gender Plan of Action 2019-2020
- Suriname Gender Vision Policy Document 2021-2035 (Dutch)
- Gender Inequality of Climate Change and Disaster Risk in Suriname Policy Brief (2021)
Additional Resources
Module 5: What is a Risk Assessment and what is a adaptation?
Date Available: Monday May 13, 2024
In this Module, you will learn about risk, risk assessments, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction. By the end of this module, you will be able to understand risk and risk assessment, how the results of a risk assessment can inform decision-making, different adaptation strategies for infrastructure, and anticipatory action as a strategy for disaster risk reduction.
Module 5.1: Climate Risk and Risk Assessment.
Module 5.2: Mitigation and Adaptation.
Module 5.3 part 1: Adaptation examples.
Mpdule 5.4: Disaster risk reduction and anticipatory action.
Quiz: Complete the Module 5 quiz here.
Learn more (optional):
To learn more about climate change adaptation and resilience for infrastructure:
- Tools: Operations and maintenance for climate resilience | Federation of Canadian Municipalities (fcm.ca)
- Advancing the Climate Resilience of Canadian Infrastructure (iisd.org)
- What is a pathways approach to adaptation? | CoastAdapt
Case study information was obtained from Suriname’s 2021 State of Climate Report: State of the Climate Report: Suriname (iadb.org) and Suriname’s National Adaptation Plan: Suriname Final NAP_apr 2020.pdf (unfccc.int)
To learn more about anticipatory action:
Questions about the Course?
If you have questions about the course, please email:
- gbecker@nimos.org
- ratmopawiro@nimos.org
Project Overview and Project Partners
This course was developed as part of the Awareness Raising and Training for Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Suriname Project that was made possible through the Technical Assistance Partnership – Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM). TAP-EDM is a Government of Canada program, delivered by Alinea International, which facilitates the sharing of Canadian expertise with partner countries around the world. The course was co-developed by the Canadian-based Climate Risk Institute, the Suriname Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment, and NIMOS.
Acknowledgements
This course was made possible through the financial, logistical, and technical support of Global Affairs Canada, Alinea International and the TAP-EDM program, the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment, NIMOS, the Climate Risk Institute, and the Surinamese infrastructure stakeholders who contributed their ideas and time in shaping the course content.
