European Capacity Building Initiative
ecbi Reports
The 2011/12 ecbi Annual Report highlights our efforts over the past year to strengthen capacity and trust between North-South, and South-South positions in the emerging climate change regime. This is achieved through three programme areas: the trust-building Fellowship Programme with an informal (high-level) exchange of views and ideas; the Workshop Programme to enhance negotiating skills and capacity-building; and the Policy Analysis Programme to provide the policy analyses necessary for successful negotiations. Over the past 12 months, ecbi has hosted 11 workshops, seminars, ad hoc meetings worldwide with 276 participants from developing and developed countries. The feedback has been strong and progress demonstrated, particularly with regard of climate finance. We look forward to the year ahead and the establishment of two new ecbi Circles: one on the Durban Platform and a second communications platform for the LDC Group.
The 2011/12 ecbi Annual Report highlights our efforts over the past year to strengthen capacity and trust between North-South, and South-South positions in the emerging climate change regime. This is achieved through three programme areas: the trust-building Fellowship Programme with an informal (high-level) exchange of views and ideas; the Workshop Programme to enhance negotiating skills and capacity-building; and the Policy Analysis Programme to provide the policy analyses necessary for successful negotiations. Over the past 12 months, ecbi has hosted 11 workshops, seminars, ad hoc meetings worldwide with 276 participants from developing and developed countries. The feedback has been strong and progress demonstrated, particularly with regard of climate finance. We look forward to the year ahead and the establishment of two new ecbi Circles: one on the Durban Platform and a second communications platform for the LDC Group.
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.
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.
ecbi Annual Report 2013/14
FY 2013-2014 marked the penultimate year of the current Phase III of the ecbi, a time for taking stock in order to plan for the future. A Sida funded independent evaluation of the activities between 2011 and 2013 found that the ecbi has achieved its overall outcomes. The ecbi was found to fulfil a need not met by other initiatives and to have become an established presence in the climate change negotiation field − set apart by its participatory, impartial, developing country-led approach, which is rooted in negotiation experience.
The Report describes the accomplishments of the ecbi in the FY2014/15. For one, the 2014 Oxford Fellowships and Seminar resulted in an OCP/ecbi Concept Note on a ‘Dynamic Contribution Cycle’ which has since become a prominent and promising option in the ADP negotiating text.
On 13 October 2014, the eve of Eighth meeting of the Barbados Green Climate Fund Board we organized a GCFB Caucus seminar to discuss the findings of an ecbi Policy Brief on Devolved Access Modalities: Lessons for the Green Climate Fund from Existing Practice. It was widely acknowledged that this was very helpful and conducive to the Board’s decision to request the Secretariat to prepare Terms of Reference for operationalising an Enhanced Direct Access pilot phase. Subsequently, we were able to have certain suggestions based on two ecbi Policy Papers (Consolidation and devolution of national climate finance: The case of India and Engaging Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in developing countries) reflected in the GCF Secretariat document on Additional Modalities that Further Enhance Direct Access: Terms of Reference for a Pilot Phase (published on 5 March 2015).
Last, but by no means least, we co-hosted a discussion meeting convened with the Heinrich Boell Foundation North America on 7 December 2014 (during UN Climate Conference in Lima/Peru) to discuss how the role and function of existing adaptation funding instruments might be shifting in the future with a special focus of the conversation on the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund. The event was very well received and has since led to a close collaboration with the Adaptation Fund Board Chair and Secretariat on these matters.
