Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-14 (section)

==== 14.3.2.10 Capacity Building ====

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Together with finance, and technology development and transfer, capacity building is the third of ‘the means of implementation and support’ specified under the Paris Agreement ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 14.1). Capacity building has primarily been implemented through partnerships, collaboration and different cooperative activities, inside and outside the UNFCCC. This sub-section discusses the provision made in the Paris Agreement for international cooperation on capacity building. [[#14.4.3|Section 14.4.3]] below considers broader cooperative efforts on capacity building within the UNFCCC.

In its annual synthesis report for 2018, the UNFCCC secretariat stressed the importance of capacity building for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and NDCs, with a focus on measures already in place, regional and cooperative activities, and capacity-building needs for strengthening NDCs ( [[#UNFCCC--2019h|UNFCCC 2019h]] ). Of the 168 NDCs submitted as of June 2019, capacity building was the most frequently requested type of support (113 of 136 conditional NDCs) ( [[#Pauw--2020|Pauw et al. 2020]] ). The focus of capacity-building activities is on enabling developing countries to take effective climate change action, given that many developing countries continue to face significant capacity challenges, undermining their ability to effectively or fully carry out the climate actions they intend to pursue ( [[#Dagnet--2016|Dagnet et al. 2016]] ). Content analysis of NDCs shows that capacity building for adaptation is prioritised over mitigation for developing countries, with the element of capacity building most indicated in NDCs being research and technology ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ). In addition, developing countries’ needs for education, training and awareness raising for climate change mitigation and adaptation feature prominently in NDCs, particularly those of LDCs ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ). Differences are evident though between capacity-building needs expressed in the NDCs of LDCs (noting that Khan et al.s review was limited to NDCs in English) compared with those of upper-middle-income developing countries as categorised by the World Bank ( [[#World%20Bank--2021|World Bank 2021]] ); the latter have more focus on mitigation with an emphasis on technology development and transfer ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ).

The Paris Agreement urges all Parties to cooperate to enhance the capacity of developing countries to implement the Agreement ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.3), with a particular focus on LDCs and SIDS ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.1). Developed country Parties are specifically urged to enhance support for capacity-building actions in developing country Parties ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.3). Article 12 of the Paris Agreement addresses cooperative measures to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information, which can also be seen as elements of capacity building ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ). Under the Paris Rulebook, efforts related to the implementation of Article 12 are referred to as ‘Action for Climate Empowerment’ and Parties are invited to develop and implement national strategies on this topic, taking into account their national circumstances ( [[#UNFCCC--2019i|UNFCCC 2019i]] , para. 6). Actions to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and regional and international cooperation may also be taken into account by Parties in the global stocktake process under Article 14 of the Paris Agreement ( [[#UNFCCC--2019i|UNFCCC 2019i]] , para. 9).

Under the Paris Agreement, capacity-building can take a range of forms, including: facilitating technology development, dissemination and deployment; access to climate finance; education, training and public awareness; and the transparent, timely and accurate communication of information ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.1) ( [[#14.3.2.4|Section 14.3.2.4]] ). Principles guiding capacity-building support are that it should be: country-driven; based on and responsive to national needs; fostering country ownership of Parties at multiple levels; guided by lessons learned; and an effective, iterative process that is participatory, cross-cutting and gender-responsive ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.2). Parties undertaking capacity building for developing country Parties must ‘regularly communicate on these actions or measures’. Developing country Parties have a soft requirement (‘should’) to communicate progress made on implementing capacity-building plans, policies, actions or measures to implement the Paris Agreement ( [[#UNFCCC--2015a|UNFCCC 2015a]] , Art. 11.4).

Article 11.5 provides that capacity-building activities ‘shall be enhanced through appropriate institutional arrangements to support the implementation of this Agreement, including the appropriate institutional arrangements established under the Convention that serve this Agreement’. The COP decision accompanying the Paris Agreement established the Paris Committee on Capacity-building, with the aim to ‘address gaps and needs, both current and emerging, in implementing capacity-building in developing country Parties and further enhancing capacity-building efforts, including with regard to coherence and coordination in capacity-building activities under the Convention’ ( [[#UNFCCC--2016a|UNFCCC 2016a]] , para. 71). The activities of the Committee are discussed further in [[#14.4.3|Section 14.4.3]] below. The relevant COP decision also established the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency ( [[#UNFCCC--2016a|UNFCCC 2016a]] , para. 84), which is managed by the GEF and designed to support developing country Parties in meeting the reporting and transparency requirements under Article 13 of the Paris Agreement ( [[#Robinson--2018|Robinson 2018]] ).

Studies on past capacity-building support for climate mitigation offer some lessons for ensuring effectiveness of arrangements under the Paris Agreement. For example, [[#Umemiya--2020|Umemiya et al. (2020)]] suggest the need for a common monitoring system at the global level, and evaluation research at the project level, to achieve more effective capacity-building support. [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. (2020)]] articulate ‘four key pillars’ of a sustainable capacity-building system for implementation of NDCs in developing countries: universities in developing countries as institutional hubs; strengthened civil society networks and partnerships; long-term programmatic finance support; and consideration of a capacity-building mechanism under the UNFCCC – paralleling the Technology Mechanism – to marshal, coordinate and monitor capacity-building activities and resources.

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