European Capacity Building Initiative

ecbi Publications

ecbi's Publications and Policy Analysis Unit (PPAU) generates information and advice for developing country negotiators that is relevant to the climate negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  

Developing countries often lack the economic and institutional capacity for policy analysis. If negotiators are unable to engage proactively by submitting proposals, responding to proposals from other States, and assessing the impact of global climate policy decisions on their individual States, progress in the negotiations can be hampered by the lack of alternatives and uncertainity. The differences in analytic capacity between developing countries and the industrialised world are often profound – developing countries lack support from organisations like the OECD, for instance, which has an immense apparatus producing thorough and focused reports, including direct advice on future policy responses to each of member country.

ecbi publications aim to be relevant to ongoing negotiations under the UNFCCC, timely, and trustworthy. PPAU works with negotiators from developing countries, sometimes through Editorial Committees, to identify UNFCCC issues where further analysis and policy advice is needed. Global experts are then teamed up with negotiators from devleoping countries to produce Policy Briefs and Discussion Notes. This partnership between experts and negotiators helps to ensure that the process of producing a Brief addresses the specific concerns of developing country negotiators; builds the capacity of developing country co-authors in policy analysis; and also builds ownership of the analysis. 

For new negotiators, and for use in ecbi Regional and Pre-COP Training Workshops, PPAU produces Background Papers and a series of Pocket Guides. These generally provide a more basic analysis of issues for newcomers to the process, along with the background and history of the issue in the negotiations. 

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The term ‘response measures’ is not in regular use outside of the UNFCCC process, and is not easily understood by policymakers and stakeholders even within the process. This Guide aims to increase understanding of the topic, particularly among climate negotiators, to facilitate the UNFCCC negotiations on response measures.

Author:
Annela Anger-Kraavi and Nicholas Chan
Publication Date:
March, 2021

Les menaces créées par les changements climatiques se multiplient et les pays en développement vont avoir besoin de négociateurs capables de défendre leurs populations contre ces menaces. Ces guides de poche sont un apport à l’arsenal qu’il leur faudra déployer pour réussir. Nous espérons qu’ils seront utiles et que nous continuerons à recevoir vos retours d’information.

Author:
Erin Roberts & Sumaya Ahmed Zakieldeen
Publication Date:
March, 2021

At the Regional Training Webinar for the Caribbean which took place on 24 February 2021, ecbi trialled online "mock negotiations" to give trainee climate negotiators a taste of the real thing.

Author:
Anju Sharma
Publication Date:
March, 2021

Bulk purchasing technology under the non-market approaches (NMAs) defined in Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement could help developing countries to reduce the costs of climate-friendly technology. This policy brief describes how such NMAs could allow groups of developing countries to drive down costs by pooling procurement, and using reverse auctioning to “discover” the lowest price.

Author:
Benito Müller, Axel Michaelowa & Anne-Kathrin Weber. Contributions from Diann Black-Layne, Rene Orellana Halkyer, and Saurabh Kumar
Publication Date:
March, 2021

At a webinar on non-market mechanisms (NMAs) under Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, organised by ecbi on 17 February 2021, the key architect of Article 6.8 explained that "non-market" need not exclude a role for the private sector.

Author:
Publication Date:
February, 2021

The climate negotiations are strongly influenced, on all sides, by appeals to ‘listen to the science’. This Pocket Guide is aimed at both scientists and policymakers who are involved in the science-policy interface that underpins the negotiations. It provides guidance on questions such as what is meant by ‘climate science’? How do you know which ‘scientific’ voices to listen to? How do you balance scientific information against other relevant considerations?

Author:
Bob Scholes, Mary Scholes, Khothatso Mokhele, and Carlos Fuller
Publication Date:
February, 2021

ecbi Director Benito Müller presented the proposal for a Glasgow Ambition Cycle at the Technical Dialogue on Common Time Frames for Nationally Determined Contributions convened by Marianne Karlsen, SBI Chair, on 2 December 2020 as part of the 2020 UN Climate Change Dialogues.

Author:
Publication Date:
December, 2020

Finance has always played a pivotal role in the global climate change negotiations, as an enabler of action but also as an indicator of the level of trust between developed and developing countries. It will continue to do so in the future – the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by many developing countries include elements whose implementation is conditional to the provision of financial and other support, and the discussions on finance for adaptation and loss and damage are likely to heat up in future as climate impacts increase. Over the years, the climate finance negotiations have acquired their own layers of complexity, accompanied by their own – often loaded – vocabulary. This Guide aims to help developing country climate negotiators navigate this complexity and understand what has gone by, to negotiate more effectively in future.

Author:
Anju Sharma, C. Therese Guiao, & Diann Black-Layne
Publication Date:
December, 2020

Agreement on the rules for "cooperative approaches" under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement will now not be possible until at least late 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, countries will not be able to decide the role of cooperative approaches in their first Nationally Determined Contributions, which are meant to be finalised by the end of 2020 and implemented from the start of 2021. This policy brief summarises the progress made on Article 6 at the last UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid in 2019, and the key elements that still need to be agreed, to help negotiators and political leaders find common landing ground and resolve this issue by the end of 2021. Read it in conjunction with our 2019 policy brief of Article 6, which provides a more comprehensive explanation of each element.

Author:
Axel Michaelowa, Aglaja Espelage & Benito Müller
Publication Date:
December, 2020

An online training workshop for over 30 new climate negotiators from the Caribbean region was organised by ecbi on 17 November 2020. Ambassador Diann Black-Layne, from Antigua and Barbuda, the incoming chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), noted the continued role of ecbi training workshops in reducing the learning curve for new negotiators and helping the negotiating group maintain a strong position during the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement.

Author:
Publication Date:
November, 2020

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