Spotlight on The Nairobi Framework at CoP15: ATPS Climate Sense programme improving African participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) .

Nairobi, Kenya, December 11th, 2009:  Africa is high on the Agenda for the Climate Talks today in Copenhagen.  This afternoon there will a presentation of the Adaptation Fund handbook and dialogue with the Adaptation Fund Board. African negotiators will be trying to get the best deal for Africa to adapt to the impact of Climate change. This is followed by an update from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) on The Nairobi Framework - status and future impacts in Africa.

The purpose of this meeting is to address the fact that Africa has at present not benefited from the carbon market although a number of initiatives have been set up in the voluntary market. Also, some CDM projects have been developed in Africa but their scale is still small.

Delegates will be looking at the elements that could make it more attractive to investors to increase capital to flow to African countries.

The Nairobi Framework was first announced in November 2006, by the UN Secretary-General, in his address during the opening of the high-level segment of COP/MOP 2 (CMP2) in which he stated that the CDM “…has become a multi-billion dollar source of funding for sustainable development … an outstanding example of a UN-led partnership linking government action to the private sector in the developing world.” The Secretary-General went on to “…encourage donor countries to help make these efforts [under the Nairobi Framework] a success.”

Subsequently, in its decisions 1/CMP.2 (‘Further Guidance to the clean development mechanism’) and 6/CMP.2 (‘Capacity building under the Kyoto Protocol’), CMP 2 welcomed the Nairobi Framework and encouraged Parties to undertake a number of actions in these areas.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has joined the partner agencies of the Nairobi Framework in October 2007. In 2009, two more international agencies have joined the Nairobi Framework initiatives: UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

 

Objectives and activities

The Framework consists of five objectives, agreed to by the initiating agencies, considered to be key priority targets in order to move the CDM forward in the beneficiary countries:

• Build and enhance capacity of (Designated National Agencies) DNAs  to become fully operational
• Build capacity in developing CDM project activities
• Promote investment opportunities for projects
• Improve information sharing/outreach / exchange of views on activities / education and training
• Inter-agency coordination.

All agencies that are currently partner to the Nairobi Framework make a concerted effort to provide assistance to sub-Saharan African countries to enable them to identify, develop, submit and process CDM projects that will eventually lead to a considerable increase in CDM penetration in the region. As part of these activities, the agencies have agreed to join forces to map the CDM potential in sub-Sahara Africa (by country and key sector), taking into account the emission reduction potential of each sector as well as the various barriers. This mapping should be a helpful tool for potential investors.

Most of these agencies already have a number of ongoing initiatives (e.g. the UNDP-UNEP Partnership on Climate Change) and projects that address some of the identified needs and are also developing new ones in direct response to the Framework.

The ATPS has recently joined forces with UNEP to launch a new programme called the Climate Sense Programme (CSP) http://www.atpsnet.org/prog/csp.html which works alongside The Nairobi Framework. The Climate Sense Programme (CSP) has been designed for to create a common platform for Africa to be able to translate complex climate change issues in ways that promotes dialogue at all levels of African society and globally. This programme is also geared towards providing coordinated evidence based advocacy strategy for climate proofing development policies in African countries, and improving Africa’s participation and negotiation skills at global conventions such as the CoP 15 and beyond.

ATPS seeks to promote the CSP through  targeted partnerships within the Quadruple Helix (Fig.1) (Researchers, Private Sector Actors, Policy Makers and Civil Society) across the African countries and internationally. This will be focused on four integrated goals:

1. Making Sense of Climate Science through science communication.

2. Making Sense of Climate Economics through policy analysis.

3. Making Sense of Climate Innovation through Investment Portfolio Analysis and Innovation Incubation Programs.

4. Making Sense of Climate Change Policies through scenarios analysis and training programs.

During the Launch Event in Abuja, Nigeria - 24th November 2009, Dr Musonda Mumba, speaking on behalf of Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director UNEP; welcomed this timely initiative which develops deeper levels of understanding and promotes individual behavior change as well advocating for better policies on climate change.

UNEP is a partner to the programme through the Global Climate Change Adaptation Network (GCCAN), which ATPS played a key roles in the forming during a consultative workshop hosted by UNEP from 19-20 January 2009. Following consultative meetings both globally and in Africa – the Africa component has now been set up, and is evolving under the guidance of the Interim Steering Committee. Dr. Kevin Urama was subsequently appointed at Co-Chair of the GCCAN Interim  Steering Committee Meeting.

The GCCAN Africa builds on the outcomes of the international consultation meeting held 30-31 October 2008, in Changwon, Korea, as well as on other consultations including those held at UNFCCC COP14 in Poznan, Poland where member states identified a need for a global adaptation network to address climate change issues.

At the GCCAN meeting, Dr. Urama made a presentation on the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), and on the lessons learnt for the Adaptation Network in Africa. Some key suggestions for the Adaptation Network include ensuring a shared vision and commitment by the members, flexible and adaptive priorities and management structure, dissemination of success stories, and grassroots empowerment.

Proposed Programme Activities

Climate Sense Training programme for Journalists, Creative Artists and Policy-Makers
Dates TBC

The Training Workshop will bring together about 120 key Africa stakeholders from the Quadruple Helix (Policymakers, Science Experts, Private Sector Actors, and the Civil Society) in Africa and in the Diaspora, plus selected international experts and Resources Persons.  It intends to translate complex climate change issues, in ways that promote dialogue at all levels of African society. It will provide a coordinated, evidence-based advocacy strategy for African communities at the Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009, and beyond.

The key objective of this training workshop to “Make Sense of Climate Change” for the “Quadruple Helix:  Policy Makers, Civil Society Actors, Science Experts and Private Sector Actors. The ATPS believes that only through equal partnerships and cooperation amongst the key actors in the Quadruple Helix, can sustainable development be achieved.

 

 

 

 

Workshop Objectives

• To train Science Journalists and other media professionals on making sense of climate science, economics, innovation and politics in reporting Climate Change issues for Africa,

• To train Creative Artists on making sense of climate science, economics, innovation and politics in order to translate climate change issues into creative productions,

• To train African Policymakers on climate science, economics, innovation and politics and prepare them for global negotiations and national policy making in response to the climate challenge,

• To facilitate an evidence-based to respond to climate change by policy makers,

• To promote inter-disciplinary approaches and systems thinking in Africa’s response to climate change,

• To facilitate inter-Ministerial and inter-sectoral collaboration in climate change policymaking in Africa,

• To enhance the capacity of Africans:  (Policymaker, Scientists, Private Sector Actors, and Civil Society) to take advantage of the strategic investment opportunities for green growth as they respond to climate change.

• To launch a web-hosted interactive collaborative platform for climate change dialogue, policy formulation and knowledge sharing in Africa for the post Cop 15 compliance measures, indicator development, monitoring and evaluation