UNDP hosted a regional dialogue on climate change finance in Africa that aimed to, inter alia, identify joint next steps at the national, regional and inter-regional levels, with a view to engage in global processes such as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the UNFCCC, scheduled to take place at the end of 2012, in Doha, Qatar.
April 2012: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) recently hosted a regional dialogue on climate change finance in Africa that aimed to build the capacities of countries to better plan, access, deliver, monitor, and report on climate finance. The meeting brought together government representatives from Ministries of Finance and Environment from Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
The meeting provided a platform for assessing the global discourse on climate change finance after the establishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF); share country innovations and experiences; catalyze dialogue across different relevant government departments; and enhance partnerships among African countries around climate change finance. The dialogue also aimed to identify joint next steps at the national, regional and inter-regional levels, with a view to engage in global processes such as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the UNFCCC, scheduled to take place at the end of 2012, in Doha, Qatar.
Opening the event, Gerd Trogemann, Manager of the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa, stressed the growing opportunities for African countries in accessing climate change finance, which is often matched by the requirements and complexity of reporting.
The dialogue concluded with countries expressing some common needs to strengthening their capacities for climate finance readiness, including: building capacities at the national level among policy makers, planners and the private sector to better understand climate change finance; support national consultations on a National Climate Fund; exchange experiences and good practices on fund management; support national resource mobilization strategies; support monitoring climate change flows; support national platforms for knowledge management on climate change finance; strengthening climate change finance capacity in ministries of finance and planning; and provide technical support and capacity building in preparing investment plans.
The meeting took place from 17-19 April 2012, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [UNDP Regional Dialogue on Climate Change Finance in Africa] [Publication: Readiness for Climate Finance, UNDP, April 2012] [Publication: Blending Climate Finance through National Climate Funds, UNDP Guidebook, September 2011]