8 March 2017: In preparation for the Bonn Climate Change Conference, which is scheduled to take pace in May, the UNFCCC Secretariat released several capacity building and technology-related publications. Capacity building initiatives of the past few weeks focused on a broad range of issues, including national adaptation planning, agriculture and development of low-carbon technologies in maritime shipping.

The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) received two technical assistance requests to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation in Paraguay and Palestine. The present Update addresses these and other recent developments, that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (climate action).

Capacity Building Initiatives Focus on Adaptation, Agriculture, Maritime Shipping, Oceans

National adaptation planning, climate-smart agriculture (CBA), maritime shipping and the ocean-climate nexus were among the topics addressed by recent capacity-building initiatives.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), conducted a training workshop aimed at building Viet Nam’s capacity to develop a National Adaptation Plan (NAP). Titled ‘Introduction of Integrating Agriculture into National Adaptation Plans in Viet Nam,’ the workshop convened in Hanoi, from 1-2 December 2016. Its key results include: enhancement of participants’ understanding on various aspects of adaptation planning; increased understanding of monitoring and evaluation of climate adaptation processes; and enhanced integration of concerns of the agriculture sector in the NAP roadmap. [UNDP Press Release]

The CTCN, the operational arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism, conducted an ‘Adaptation Webinar: Integrated Environmental Analysis in Monitoring’ on 1 March 2017. In providing examples of integrated environmental analysis, particularly in small island developing States (SIDS), the webinar focused on sharing successful experiences and best practices. [IISD Sources] [CTCN Website]

A center for the promotion of technologies and operations to help steer shipping in the Caribbean into a low-carbon future was launched in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) conducted a capacity-building training on CSA and technologies in Bamako, Mali, from 24-26 January 2017. Participants received training on climate information tools developed by Malimeteo, Mali’s national meteorological agency. [ICRISAT Press Release]

A center for the promotion of technologies and operations to help steer shipping in the Caribbean into a low-carbon future was launched in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago, on 8 March 2017. The center will operate under the European Union (EU)-funded and International Maritime Organization (IMO)-run Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre Network (GMN) and will be hosted by the University of Trinidad and Tobago. The GMN initiative unites select technology centers into a global network focused on supporting developing countries in the development of, among others, national energy efficiency policies for their maritime sectors. [IMO Press Release] [University of Trinidad and Tobago Press Release]

On 24 February 2017, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the IOC Ocean and Climate 2015 Platform, and the French Government launched the Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliance, bringing together worldwide multi-stakeholder initiatives around a common action framework to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change. [UNESCO Press Release] [IOC Website] [Ocean and Climate 2015 Platform Webpage] [UNFCCC Decision 1/CP.21 Adopting Paris Agreement]

UN CC:Learn Highlights Regional Approach to Climate Change Learning, UN CC:Learn Ambassadors Appointed

During a Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), held in San José, Costa Rica, from 2-3 February 2017, UN CC:Learn reported on progress of its project to build regional capacities to tackle climate change issues in Central America. High-level representatives of the eight member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), which includes the Dominican Republic, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, exchanged views on how climate change education and awareness raising can help build resilient communities. [UNITAR Press Release] [SICA Website]

In related news, UN CC:Learn announced the appointment of two new UN CC:Learn Ambassadors for Climate Change Learning: Chebet Maikut, Commissioner at the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Water and Environment, and UNFCCC National Focal Point for Uganda; and Emmanuel Tachie-Obeng, Principal Programme Officer of Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and UNFCCC National Focal Point for Climate Change Education, Training and Public Awareness. [UNITAR Press Release]

CTCN Receives Technical Assistance Requests to Advance Mitigation and Adaptation in Palestine, Paraguay

The CTCN received two technical assistance requests to build capacity for the development of a climate technology roadmap and for the mobilization of financial resources to implement existing national climate plans and programmes in Palestine, and to build capacity and develop a methodology for the formulation of plans for the integrated use and management of drainage basins in Paraguay. [CTCN Webpage on Technology Road Map for Palestine’s Implementation of Climate Action Plans] [CTCN Webpage on Design of Methodology for Evaluating Environmental Flows and Basin Management Plans in Paraguay’s Tebicuary River Basin] [CTCN Technical Assistance Requests Webpage]

Ongoing CTCN-supported projects made progress on, inter alia: prioritizing Colombia’s economic sectors with the highest potential to improve energy efficiency; and strengthening decision making to address climate change through the design of an environmental information system in Côte d’Ivoire. [CTCN Press Release on Project in Colombia] [Report on Energy Efficiency in Colombia (in Spanish)] [CTCN Webpage on Project in Colombia] [CTCN Press Release on Project in Côte d’Ivoire] [Report on Decision Making on Climate Change in Côte d’Ivoire (in French)] [Strengthening Decision-making to Address Climate Change through the Design of an Environmental Information System in Côte d’Ivoire] [CTCN Webpage on Project in Côte d’Ivoire] [CTCN Technical Assistance Requests Webpage]

Preparations for Bonn Climate Change Conference Pick up Speed

The UNFCCC Secretariat has issued several capacity building and technology-related publications in preparation for the Bonn Climate Change Conference, scheduled to take place in Bonn, Germany, from 8-18 May 2017:

• Synthesis report by the Secretariat titled ‘Implementation of the framework for capacity-building in developing countries’ (FCCC/SBI/2017/3) [Implementation of the Framework for Capacity-building in Developing Countries]
• Compilation and synthesis report by the Secretariat titled ‘Capacity-building work of bodies established under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol’ (FCCC/SBI/2017/2) [Capacity-building Work of Bodies Established under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol]
• Booklet titled ‘Technology Decisions’ including technology-related decisions from the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 16) until COP 22 [Technology Decisions] [TT:Clear Website]
• Booklet titled ‘SBI 32-45 Technology Conclusions’ including technology-related conclusions from the 32nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 32) until SBI 45 [SBI 32-45 Technology Conclusions] [TT:Clear Website]
• Booklet titled ‘SBSTA 32-45 Technology Conclusions’ including technology-related conclusions from the 32nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 32) until SBSTA 45 [SBSTA 32-45 Technology Conclusions] [TT:Clear Website]