The negotiations under workstream 1 of the Ad hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) , on a regime which is “applicable to all”, offer an opportunity for LDCs to ensure that the ambition of all Parties is raised. “Applicable to all” does not, however, mean uniformity of action. Of particular importance to the LDCs is the differentiation of approaches to commitments, and the provision of ways to deal with the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States and...
European Capacity Building Initiative
Latest publications
Differentiation of commitments in the post-2020 period can take place either through the type of commitment, its ambition, and/or the process through which the commitment is determined. A good balance is needed between the initial level of ambition inscribed in the agreement, and a process to move to even more ambitious commitments later on. How country proposals will be reviewed for technical correctness, fairness and against the 1.5°C or 2°C limit is another critical point. Country positions...
March 2014
The Warsaw Framework for REDD+, a comprehensive package of seven technical and finance decisions that provide the fundamental architecture for REDD+ to be implemented, was adopted at the 2013 climate conference. Deforestation in LDCs represents nearly a third of tropical deforestation. REDD+ should therefore be a key component of LDC mitigation actions.
March 2014
An explicit treatment of agriculture in the post -2020 climate agreement will put agriculture at the centre of global policy discussions, and address the objective of protecting food production enshrined in Article 2 of the UNFCCC. Adaptation is a more important priority among LDCs than mitigation in the agricultural sector. However, positive synergies exist between agricultural mitigation and the core needs of LDCs, including food security, adaptation and development. LDCs will need support to...
March 2014
Key issues for LDCs related to the MRV of mitigation actions include the development of simplified methodologies for LDCs under the Framework of Various Approaches to ensure that LDCs can benefit, and simplified greenhouse gas inventories with the provision of adequate resources to help LDCs to keep their emissions under control as they develop.
March 2014
Invitation by the The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia to the Pre-GCF Board Meeting Luncheon Discussion on “Country Ownership and Enhancing Direct Access”, held on 17 February 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. The discussion was aimed to provide a space for the Board and observer organizations to examine the key issues that need to be addressed relating to realising country ownership by enhancing direct access in different ways based on country circumstances in the design of GCF. It featured presentations of ideas from the Board members/alternates and experts as well as lessons learned from national and international funding institutions.
Invitation by the The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia to the Pre-GCF Board Meeting Luncheon Discussion on “Country Ownership and Enhancing Direct Access”, held on 17 February 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. The discussion was aimed to provide a space for the Board and observer organizations to examine the key issues that need to be addressed relating to realising country ownership by enhancing direct access in different ways based on country circumstances in the design of GCF. It featured presentations of ideas from the Board members/alternates and experts as well as lessons learned from national and international funding institutions.
February 2014
Whether or not the regime emerging from the current negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be based on an explicit cost/burden sharing formula, the debate about (implied) costs/burdens will be central. Such a debate cannot be genuinely meaningful in the absence of an acceptable operationalisation of Article 3.1 in general, and of the concept of ‘respective capability’ in particular. The Brief proposes a measure for national 'differentiated economic capabilities ('ability to pay') as integral part of an operationalisation. The primary purpose of the measure is to define or assess climate change cost/burden sharing (schemes). To illustrate the potential use of this methodology the Brief considers two examples: assessing the fairness of a given cost distribution; and developing a (rule-based) 'graduation scheme' regarding obligations to pay. This is a second revised edition of the original ecbi Policy Brief by Benito Müller & Lavan Mahadeva that served as summary for policy makers of a technical report by the same authors published by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, available at the link below. The revision is mainly with regards to the final section on determining ‘Levels of Capability’.
January 2014
Sida funded an independent review of ecbi for its 2011-2013 activities and found that the ecbi has achieved its overall outcomes as outlined in the report. The ecbi was found to fulfil a need not met by other initiatives, attributed to the fact that it does not push a specific agenda, and allows open discussion amongst negotiators in a setting separate from the negotiations process. The ecbi has become an established presence in the climate change negotiation field - set apart by its participatory, impartial, developing countryled approach, which is rooted in negotiation experience. ecbi input has enabled developing country negotiators to collaborate and develop joint positions. This has led to impacts on negotiation decisions. One of the key underpinning goals of the ecbi is to build trust between negotiators, both amongst developing country participants, and between those from the developing country and Europe. Respondents communicated strongly that they believed the ecbi is...
Sida funded an independent review of ecbi for its 2011-2013 activities and found that the ecbi has achieved its overall outcomes as outlined in the report. The ecbi was found to fulfil a need not met by other initiatives, attributed to the fact that it does not push a specific agenda, and allows open discussion amongst negotiators in a setting separate from the negotiations process. The ecbi has become an established presence in the climate change negotiation field - set apart by its participatory, impartial, developing countryled approach, which is rooted in negotiation experience. ecbi input has enabled developing country negotiators to collaborate and develop joint positions. This has led to impacts on negotiation decisions. One of the key underpinning goals of the ecbi is to build trust between negotiators, both amongst developing country participants, and between those from the developing country and Europe. Respondents communicated strongly that they believed the ecbi is enabling trust building between participating negotiators, and were able to give examples of how this is manifest. The evaluation also found that participants did feel they were better informed as a result of the ecbi. Useful examples were identified of how this resulted in a more level playing field, as developing country negotiators and women negotiators often have less access to information resources than other stakeholders in the climate change negotiations. The ecbi also considers gender in its programming and is fulfilling its gender objectives.
January 2014
This is a meeting report for the Finance Circle meeting held in Warsaw, Poland on November 13 2013. Twenty-six participants were in attendance from Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, the DRC, the EU, France, the Gambia, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, the UK, and the US − including two co-chairs of the LTF and the SCF. The meeting was moderated by Benito Müller, and covered two topics suggested by the co-chairs: a) How to continue the work on LTF, possibly in the context of the SCF and/or other committees; and b) GCF Mobilization of resources - securing political commitments to ensure GCF replenishment.
November 2013
