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

=== 14.4.3 Capacity Building ===

<div id="h2-13-siblings" class="h2-siblings"></div>

International climate cooperation has long focused on supporting developing countries in building capacity to implement climate mitigation actions. While there is no universally agreed definition of capacity building and the UNFCCC does not define the term ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ), elements of capacity building can be discerned from the Convention’s provisions on education and training programmes ( [[#UNFCCC--1992|UNFCCC 1992]] , Art. 6), as well as the reference in Article 9(2)(d) to the SBSTA providing support for ‘endogenous capacity-building in developing countries’.

Capacity building is generally conceived as taking place at three levels: individual (focused on knowledge, skills and training), organisational/institutional (focusing on organisational performance and institutional cooperation) and systemic (creating enabling environments through regulatory and economic policies ( [[#Khan--2020|Khan et al. 2020]] ; [[#UNFCCC--2021b|UNFCCC 2021b]] ). In its annual synthesis report for 2018, the UNFCCC secretariat compiled information submitted by Parties on the implementation of capacity building in developing countries, highlighting cooperative and regional activities on NDCs, including projects to build capacity for implementation, workshops related to transparency under the Paris Agreement and collaboration to provide coaching and training ( [[#UNFCCC--2019h|UNFCCC 2019h]] ). A number of developing country Parties also highlighted their contributions to South–South cooperation (discussed further in [[#14.5.1.4|Section 14.5.1.4]] ), and identified capacity-building projects undertaken with others (e.g., capacity-building for risk management in Latin America and the Caribbean, improving capacity for measurement, reporting and verification through the Alliance of the Pacific and a climate action package launched by Singapore).

Beyond the UNFCCC, other climate cooperation and partnership activities on capacity building include climate-related bilateral cooperation and those organised by the OECD, IFDD (Francophonie Institute for Sustainable Development), UNDP National Communications Support Programme, UNEP and the World Bank.

Climate-related bilateral cooperation provides important human and institutional capacity building support for climate change actions and activities in developing countries, particularly through developed countries’ bilateral cooperation structures, such as the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Agency (The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ), the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and others.

There are also a number of regional cooperative structures with capacity-building components, including ClimaSouth, Euroclima+, the UN-REDD Programme, the Caribbean Regional Strategic Programme for Resilience, the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool, a project on accelerating low carbon and resilient society realisation in the Southeast Asian region, the World Health Organisation’s Global Salm-Surv network, the Red Iberoamericana de Oficinas de Cambio Climático network and the Africa Adaptation Initiative. Many climate-related capacity-building initiatives, including those coordinated or funded by international or regional institutions, are implemented at the national and sub-national levels, often with the involvement of universities, consultancy groups and civil society actors.

It is also noted that comprehensive support is provided by the GCF to developing countries (GCF, 2020). This support is made available and accessible for all developing countries through three different GCF tools: the Readiness Programme, the Project Preparation Facility, and the funding of transformative projects and programmes. The goal of the Readiness Programme is to strengthen institutional capacities, governance mechanisms, and planning and programming competencies in support of developing countries’ transformational long-term climate policies (GCF, 2020). Despite a decades-long process of capacity-building efforts under many development and environmental regimes, including the UNFCCC, progress has been uneven and largely unsuccessful in establishing institution-based capacity in developing countries ( [[#Robinson--2018|Robinson 2018]] ). In an effort to improve capacity-building efforts within the UNFCCC, in 2015, the Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB) was established by the COP decision accompanying the Paris Agreement as the primary body for enhancing capacity-building efforts, including by improving coherence and coordination in capacity-building activities ( [[#UNFCCC--2016a|UNFCCC 2016a]] , para. 71). The activities of the Committee include the provision of guidance and technical support on climate change training and capacity building, raising awareness and sharing climate information and knowledge. During 2020, the PCCB was able, despite the COVID-19 situation, to hold its fourth meeting, implement and assess its 2017–2020 work plan, and develop and agree on its future roadmap (2021–2024) ( [[#UNFCCC%20Subsidiary%20Body%20for%20Implementation--2020|UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation 2020]] ). Non-governmental organisations such as the Coalition on Paris Agreement Capacity-building provide expert input to the PCCB.

Quantifying the contribution of capacity-building efforts to climate mitigation is acknowledged to be ‘difficult, if not impossible’ ( [[#Hsu--2019a|Hsu et al. 2019a]] ). Nonetheless, such activities ‘may play a valuable role in building a foundation for future reductions’ by providing ‘necessary catalytic linkages between actors’ ( [[#Hsu--2019a|Hsu et al. 2019a]] ).

<div id="14.4.4" class="h2-container"></div>

<span id="cooperative-mechanisms-and-markets"></span>