May 2017: The past few weeks have seen climate change technology development and transfer and capacity building focus primarily on the African continent and covered mitigation, including renewable energy and industrial energy efficiency, as well as on adaptation and climate resilience in agriculture. The first technical workshop on the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) commenced CBIT implementation, and climate change education featured prominently among activities. This update discusses these events and includes a selected list of educational courses in its concluding section.

Africa Promotes Climate-friendly Technologies, Education; Enhances DRR, Food Security

The African Climate Technology Centre (ACTC) selected nine institutions to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation research projects across Africa. The ACTC will support the selected institutions’ research on climate-friendly technologies in three areas. The Sustainability Institute (SI) (South Africa), Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE) (Ghana), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (US) and partners will focus on integration of intermittent renewable energy solutions. The Berkeley Air Monitoring Group (US), University of Liverpool (UK), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University for Science and Technology (JOOUST) (Kenya) and partners will address clean cooking solutions. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (South Africa), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Africa Secretariat (ICLEI Africa) and partners will deal with adaptation technologies in water usages. The ACTC supports sub-Saharan African countries in adopting environmentally sound technologies for adaptation and mitigation. [African Development Bank Press Release] [ACTC Website] [SI Website] [KITE Website] [IFPRI Website] [Berkeley Air Monitoring Group Website] [University of Liverpool Website] [JOOUST Website] [SCIR Website] [ECREEE Website] [ICLEI Africa Website]

On 29 March 2017, the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) held a thematic dialogue on industrial energy efficiency and material substitution in carbon-intensive sectors. The main message of the dialogue was that while boosting energy efficiency is a key part of climate action, it also brings significant co-benefits. The dialogue took place in conjunction with the 14th meeting of the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC). [Thematic Dialogue Webpage] [UNFCCC Press Release Announcing Thematic Dialogue] [UNFCCC Press Release on Outcomes of Thematic Dialogue]

Representatives from UN CC:Learn partner countries convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 15-17 March 2017 to share experiences and knowledge on integrating climate change in the education system and mobilizing financial resources for climate change education. The meeting was organized by the UN CC:Learn Secretariat, in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and local partners. [UNITAR Press Release]

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and partners launched the ‘Training Programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Agriculture’ to enhance the capacity of national technical services in West Africa. The programme, which aims to reduce the impacts of natural disasters and climate change on the agricultural sector and to support sustainable development, will be implemented in the 17 member states of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS)/ECOWAS: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. [WMO Press Release] [ECOWAS Website] [CILSS Website]

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) issued an information note titled ‘Progress in achieving household food security in climate-smart villages in the Albertine Rift, western Uganda.’ The publication highlights a number of initiatives and preliminary results to assess progress in achieving household food security in Hoima in western Uganda, located to the east of Lake Albert. [Progress in Achieving Household Food Security in Climate-smart Villages in the Albertine Rift, Western Uganda] [Publication Landing Page] [CCAFS Press Release]

CBIT Implementation Set in Motion

UN Environment and UNDP convened the first technical workshop on the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 18-20 April 2017. Hosted by the UNEP DTU Partnership and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the workshop sought to engage stakeholders and practitioners in the implementation of the project. Established by the Paris Agreement on climate change, the CBIT aims to assist developing countries by strengthening their institutional and technical capacities for transparency-related activities envisioned under the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework. [UNEP DTU Partnership Press Release] [Decision 1/CP.21 Adopting Paris Agreement]

Courses Build Capacity on Mitigation, Adaptation, Transparency

A number of courses, training programmes, learning resources and seminars were launched or held over the past several weeks, including: