Capacity Building for Climate Change The role of short courses John Christensen

1. Capacity Building for Climate Change The role of short courses John Christensen Director, UNEP Risø Centre

2. Outline of presentation • Climate change – a global environment and development challenge • Number and complexity of CC issues increasing • Supporting participation and engagement of DCs • Capacity building related to CC • Current approaches to CB • Current and potential future role of short courses

3. Climate Change • The IPCC states that the required action to forestall serious climate change is possible with strong policies, technology development and transfer of technologies using a broad range of policy and technical options. • Climate change is an environmental problem, where the solution lies in making the issue a key development driver and therefore integrating mitigation and adaptation concerns and opportunities – or mainstreaming responses to climate change - into all aspects of sector, national and regional planning • UNEP Expert group 2007.

4. Issues and Complexities • Mitigation • Energy sector development – key to solution • CDM & Emissions trading • Forestry & land use • Waste management • Adaptation • Integrating resilience in development planning • Improving data and information about changes and impacts • Early warning and disaster preparedness

5. Issues and Complexities • Processes and reporting requirements • National communications (no MEA coordination) • NAPAs for LDCs • Reporting on progress re. topical issues • Input to negotiations & regional positioning • Issues • Technology transfer • Mechanisms – esp. CDM • Finance incl. GEF and new Adaptation Fund

6. Issues and Complexities • Technology transfer • CB required in relation to policy environment, institutional capabilities, private sector, finance, etc… “Further recognizing that the immediate and urgent delivery of technology development, deployment, diffusion and transfer to developing countries requires suitable responses, including a continued emphasis by all Parties on the enhancement of enabling environments, facilitating access to technology information and capacity-building, identification of technology needs and innovative financing that mobilizes the vast resources of the private sector to supplement public finance sources where appropriate..” COP 13 • CDM • Regional distribution and capacity-building – CMP Decision • CB to remove financial, technical and institutional barriers • CB to support identification and development of clean development mechanism project activities, including start-up costs and demonstration projects

7. CB approach and experiences • Review of CB experiences for COP 13 • Targeted capacity-building through stand-alone projects and activities; • Embedded capacity-building in regular projects and activities; • Enabling activities (through the GEF); • Technical support; • Special programmes for LDCs and small island developing States. Many activities did not consider how to ensure longer term institutional stability or how to retain built capacity

8. CB experiences • Approaches have so far not been not been very systematic and have largely focused on short term convention related actions rather than building sustained national capacity to deal with climate change. Questions: • How to change this ? • What is the best approach ? • How to deal with country specificity & issue complexity

9. Is mainstreaming a “solution” • “Mainstreaming climate change into development policies” is the fashionable topic right now • What does it mean ? • How to do it ? • Starting with capacity building for energy and CDM – the ICREP is maybe already one example ! • integrating energy planning with a proper understanding of the future role of carbon finance and CDM modalities • moving from training separate CDM experts to “mainstreaming” into energy

10. Energy & CDM as example Priority Areas for Capacity Enhancement in future mainstreaming of Carbon Finance into energy sector development • Broad awareness raising and strengthened educational efforts at all levels • Getting the policy framework right including new analytical capabilities, understanding of CDM and market oriented policy tools and ability to implement tools in practice • New target groups like the upcoming regulatory institutions • Private sector involvement both in terms of large scale industries for the commercial markets and small and medium sized enterprises for the rural and peri-urban markets • Financing institutions will play a crucial role – need for change in the way lenders consider CDM investments

11. What will this require • Awareness raising programmes at national level • Targeted training for planners and policy makers and regulators • Finding new ways of engaging private sector companies and financial institutions • How do we avoid that this is not just “more of the same short term // ad-hoc approach” • There is a need to develop and implement better ways of building capacity

12. Linking CB and education • Project based or integrated CB needs to be combined with more systematic education and training • National workshops and training may be used for senior experts • Education and training of mid-level or junior staff in public and private institutions should be priority to develop the “leaders of tomorrow” and build sustained capacity • “short courses” could play an important role in several areas and broad integration in education is required for the future

13. Role of ICREP • ICREP is an existing example of an attempt to provide extended training on issues related to mainstreaming CC into development • With CDM CB support moving into the regular development assistance, it would be an option to integrate ICREP into bilateral CDM CB programmes and expand coverage to attempt to move the integration further • Is this realistic and what will it take?

14. Issues for Short Courses From the introduction on FCCC issues a number of areas could be identified for short courses • Technology transfer – integrating research, policy, finance etc… • Adaptation – ecosystems • Adaptation – infrastructure • Adaptation – early warning and emergency preparedness approaches • Forestry and REDD

15. How to make it happen? • Changing the current ad-hoc and issue based approach will take concerted action by countries, donors and stakeholders • How to overcome vested interests by involved stakeholders • Documenting the results and impacts of activities as ICREP is maybe a starting point? • The emerging realization that CC is not a short term issue and cannot be solved without addressing core development patterns may be a driver.

16. Thank you very much. For info on UNEP Risoe work see: www.uneprisoe.org www.cd4cdm.org