The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) in Groningen has existed for five years. But what actually happens in this ambitious research institute for climate adaptation, which was lobbied so hard to have in the North in 2018?
This morning he stepped back onto Dutch soil, off the plane from Kenya. Patrick Verkooijen (54) saw the devastating floods in the East African country, which followed a summer of unprecedented drought. Dozens of residents drowned recently, while Kenya suffered the worst drought in forty years last year.
It makes Verkooijen extra combative to ensure global climate adaptation. The ‘Groningen boy’ from Veendam has now been CEO of the prestigious Global Center on Adaptation for five years. In that capacity, he hops from meeting to meeting with countless presidents and ministers from all over the world.
Just like Verkooijen, the climate center in Groningen is also celebrating its first anniversary. After heavy lobbying, the GCA research location ended up on the Zernike campus in Groningen. The jobs that came to the North through the institute were awarded to Groningen to alleviate the earthquake suffering. Even then, politicians were talking about “a debt of honor”. The expertise center in Groningen was opened under the watchful eye of Ban Ki-Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations.
Five years ago, the GCA climate center started as a global organization with a location in Groningen. Such a large organization with an office in Zernike, what does it actually do?
“Maybe it is better if I zoom out a bit before I tell you what happens in Groningen on Monday morning at half past ten.”
Tell.
“I returned from Kenya this morning, yesterday I spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto. Until recently, his country experienced unprecedented inconvenience from the extreme drought. Now the opposite is happening: major flooding in the eastern part of the country. The climate is still changing more than five years ago, when we were launched as the Global Center on Adaptation in the Ridderzaal in The Hague. It was then October 2018…”
…that wasn’t that long ago.
“Precisely. That was a week after the IPCC, that club of global scientists, released their report on 1.5 degrees of warming. Then the researchers wondered: what would the world look like if it warmed by 1.5 degrees or 2 degrees? That was the maximum warming agreed in the Paris Agreement in 2016. At both 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees you see strong consequences on all kinds of fronts, such as in the food sector and the death of coral. But it was clear that it was much better to try to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
Do you know what the painful thing is now? We were already at that one and a half degrees in 2023, according to reports from the World Meteorological Organization and the European climate center Copernicus . This is partly due to the natural phenomenon El Niño, but it will certainly increase further in the coming years.”
That makes your goal for climate adaptation all the more urgent. Your office was initially opened in Groningen for five years. This won’t be closed anytime soon, right?
“I do not think so. Climate adaptation was actually a bit of a neglected issue five years ago. Adaptation had less priority, financing and policy than climate mitigation; combating climate change.
Compare it with the World Bank. It was set up in 1946 for the reconstruction of Europe in response to the Second World War. This is now an international organization with a broad agenda for development cooperation. You can compare us with that.”
How exactly do you approach climate adaptation?
“We are an international organization that focuses on major changes. No small pilots, we want to make a difference in large-scale transformations. We work with programs that invest billions in developing countries. This is done by development banks, such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and the IMF. Suppose a road is being built between Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya. Climate models may then be ignored, resulting in a lack of escape routes during floods. That is why we think along with such billion-dollar investments.
In the past two years, we have developed $7 billion worth of projects in Africa alone, creating 700,000 jobs. We receive a lot of trust from countries. Our board includes government leaders from all over the world.”
And then back to Groningen. There you have a training program on climate adaptation for students and professionals. This should ensure that knowledge is not limited to the region. Can you give an example of that?
“Just before Christmas, the leadership team of the University of Nairobi – the largest university in Africa – was here in the Netherlands. We can exchange knowledge during these types of visits. In Kenya, for example, they have all kinds of challenges in terms of infrastructure. How does this country use its limited fiscal resources wisely for ports, roads and the energy sector?
At the same time, we can also learn from the knowledge of Kenyans here. They have a lot of expertise in climate-proof agriculture, working with drought-resistant crops. With such knowledge – whether it comes from Groningen, Oxford, Accra or Nairobi – we can fight global warming at a global level.”
Is there actually enough money to tackle adaptation everywhere?
“It is quite a challenge to get enough financing. For the entire continent of Africa, 100 billion dollars per year are needed for adaptation. Now 10 billion is available for this. That money cannot only be mobilized from the budgets of African countries. That wouldn’t be fair either. They did not cause the problem, but they will be presented with the bill.
Yesterday I spoke with the president of Kenya. He says: ‘Look, as head of government I was not responsible for the Covid crisis. Not even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But I do notice the economic consequences, the inflation. It is the same with the climate crisis. We are experiencing the most serious consequences, while Africa as a whole is responsible for less than 4 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide.”
In 2018, Groningen’s debt of honor was an argument for saying that Groningen should get a GCA office. But you are actually talking about a different kind of debt of honor: that towards African countries.
“I’m not so much talking about a debt of honor, but more about a smart investment in those other countries. Look, the share of migration due to climate change is currently very limited, but will become much larger in the future. People move from the countryside to the slums or to the borders of Europe. They eventually end up in Ter Apel. What is a smarter investment? Ensuring that people don’t have to leave by, for example, spending money on climate-proof agriculture or trying to fence things off at the back here?”
That is also more human. After all, you see the consequences of the disastrous weather extremes in Kenya.
“I see how disruptive it is. That just makes me even more resolute. If you adapt to the climate, you can also focus on the economy, employment and social development. And the little bit that I can contribute to this as a Groningen boy from Veendam, I put all my heart and soul into it. It makes me focused. Okay, what are we going to do then? What are we going to do specifically on Monday morning at half past ten?”
And what happens at half past ten?
“Then we will meet with the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Ghana. We examine agricultural projects. At half past eleven we have an agreement. Then we have a conversation: can the University of Accra provide information? In the afternoon we develop a plan for the project in Ghana that will then be sent to the board of the World Bank…
And then, a few Mondays later, all parties are together in Ghana at half past ten. Then we start the program. You know what’s nice to know? This year, 2024, our work program provides $18 billion to invest in Africa. 18 billion!”
What is the function of the office in Groningen?
The headquarters of the Global Center on Adaptation is in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam. It is the largest floating office in the world, which is energy neutral, self-sufficient and built from recycled materials. In addition, there are regional offices in Ivory Coast, Beijing and Bangladesh and Groningen.
Groningen has a research office called ‘GCA Research for Impact’. Ten permanent employees work in the office, plus a handful of interns and students. The employees conduct research into various methods of climate adaptation and provide advice on this. Regional students from the University of Groningen and Campus Fryslân conduct research at the office.
They also bring experts into contact with each other. Such as recently in November when 35 researchers and policymakers from various countries came to Groningen for the Climate Adaptation Changemakers School . “We bring the world to Groningen,” says research manager and PhD candidate Gül Tuçaltan from the Groningen office.
The international character is palpable at this location, says Tuçaltan. The employees come from, among others, Burkino Faso, Nigeria and Turkey. Two colleagues also work for Groningen from Mexico and South Africa.