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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Countries communicate their plans to implement the Paris Agreement through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). What should these NDCs contain? What “information to facilitate clarity, transparency, and understanding” do countries need to provide? How should countries account for their actions? What happens if they fail to meet their NDC goals? Read our updated Pocket Guide, which now includes the provisions of the Paris rulebook, to find answers to these and other questions related to NDCs.

Author:
Fatima-Zahra Taibi, Susanne Konrad, and Olivier Bois von Kursk
Publication Date:
June, 2020

New elements in the final reporting year for ecbi Phase IV included a mentorship programme for women, the publication of a Guide to the Paris Agreement, and a training workshop in the Caribbean. In addition to the usual Fellowship Programme and Training and Support Programme events, meetings were held on key issues that remain to be resolved under the UNFCCC, and the publications unit produced a record number of publications.

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Publication Date:
June, 2020

Leading climate negotiators highlighted the urgent need to complete work on the Paris Agreement’s “Ambition Mechanism” by resolving the issue of common time frames at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), during a Webinar organised by ecbi on 20 May 2020. 

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Publication Date:
June, 2020

How has technology development and transfer (TDT) been dealt with under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement? What challenges do developing countries face in identifying and accessing technology needs for mitigation and adaptation, and how are these being addressed? What institutions deal with climate-related TDT at the global level? This Pocket Guide is for UNFCCC negotiators from developing countries, and for national policy makers who would like to understand how to access global support for climate-related TDT.  

Author:
Brianna Craft and Fred Onduri
Publication Date:
March, 2020

The international community has increasingly signalled a commitment to address gender issues in the global climate change negotiations, and in national-level implementation of climate action. This policy brief explores how this commitment has been put into practice, and identifies key challenges that still remain.

Author:
Margaux Granat, Emilia Reyes, and Bridget Burns
Publication Date:
March, 2020

New Guide to the Paris Agreement. Now includes the implementation guidelines adopted in 2018, and implications for domestic law and policy in developing countries. 

Author:
Edited by Anju Sharma
Publication Date:
March, 2020

At the 2019 Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, crunch issues  – an unambiguous call for much higher climate ambition to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, finance for the loss and damage caused by climate impacts, a fail-safe market mechanism that does not compromise environmental integrity, and credible financial contributions to enable action in developing countries – proved too difficult to resolve within the high-pressure, time-deficient confines of a COP, despite a two-day extension and the resilience and staying power of seasoned diplomats.

Author:
Anju Sharma, Axel Michaelowa, Aglaja Espelage, Jennifer Allan & Benito Müller
Publication Date:
January, 2020

The 2018 ecbi Pre-COP Training Workshop took place on 1 December at the Focus Hotel in Katowice, Poland. The Workshop was attended by 28 negotiators from least developing countries (LDCs), who were attending the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The workshop, which was attended by the LDC Chair and a representative of the Polish COP Presidency, included sessions on LDC Group priorities for COP24; the Conference agendas; climate diplomacy, the Talanoa Dialogue, and high-level events; the Paris Agreement Work Programme; finance in Katowice; and tips for negotiating effectively.

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Publication Date:
December, 2018

The 2019 ecbi Pre-COP Training Workshop took place on 30 November at the Weare Chamartin Hotel in Madrid, Spain. The Workshop was attended by 19 negotiators from least developing countries, who were attending the 25th Conference of Parties (COP25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

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Publication Date:
December, 2019

What makes it so difficult to reach a deal on market-based cooperation under the Paris Agreement?

Author:
Axel Michaelowa, Aglaja Espelage & Benito Müller
Publication Date:
December, 2019

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