1st Dialogue on Article 6 of the Convention at SBI 38

Reaffirming the importance of climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and international cooperation on these matters for achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention and for the effective implementation of adaptation and mitigation actions, COP 18 adopted the Doha work programme on Article 6 of the Convention and requested the SBI to organize an annual in-session Dialogue on Article 6 of the Convention to enhance work in this area.

The objective of the Dialogue is to provide a regular forum to Parties and stakeholders to share their experiences, exchange ideas, good practices and lessons learned regarding the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention.

The Dialogue is open for participation by Parties, representatives of bodies established under the Convention as well as experts, practitioners and other stakeholders.

For the purpose of organizing the Dialogue, the six elements of Article 6 of the Convention are clustered into two focal areas, the consideration of which will alternate on an annual basis. The first focal area consists of education and training, while the second focal area consists of public awareness, public participation and public access to information. International cooperation is considered a crosscutting theme of both focal areas.

The 1st Dialogue will take place at SBI 38 and focus on the first focal area: education, training and international cooperation and has tentatively been scheduled to take place on Monday, 10 June, 15:00-18:00 and Tuesday, 11 June 15:00-18:00.

Concept note and provisional agenda for the 1st Dialogue on Article 6 of the Convention (103 kB) .

FCCC/SBI/2012/L.26

Workshop on the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention in least developed countries: 19–21 June 2012, Bonn, Germany
The workshop on the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention in least developed countries was organized in response to a request by the SBI 34 ( FCCC/SBI/2011/7). It contributed to the review of the implementation of the amended New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention and the identification of possible elements for a successor work programme. more>>

SBI 36: 14–25 May 2012, Bonn, Germany
The SBI launched the review of the implementation of the amended New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention and agreed to continue its consideration at SBI 37 on the basis of a draft text contained in document  FCCC/SBI/2012/L.26.

To address the challenges of communicating, teaching, and learning about climate change, Parties adopted in 2002 the New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention (decision 11/CP.8), a five-year country-driven work programme engaging all stakeholders in the implementation of Article 6 commitments and recommending a list of Article 6 related activities that could be undertaken at the national level.

The five-year mandate for the execution of the New Delhi work programme came to an end in 2007. Parties recognized that this work programme had proved to be a good framework for action (FCCC/SBI/2007/34) and decided to adopt the amended New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention for a further five years (decision 9/CP.13), with a review of progress in the implementation of this work programme to be undertaken in 2012.

The amended New Delhi work programme differs from its predecessor in the scope and implementation chapters. Within the scope of the new work programme, public awareness, public participation and public access to information are given more prominence than they had in the previous one. Within the list of Article 6 related activities that Parties could undertake, the amended New Delhi work programme features also the preparation of a national Article 6 plan of action.  Another new area is related to actions leading to strengthening regional and international efforts in support to the implementation of Article 6. 

CC:iNet
The climate change information network clearing house CC:iNet serves as an information platform in support of Article 6 of the Convention and its implementation. It is designed to help governments, organizations and individuals gain rapid and easy access to ideas, strategies, contacts, experts and materials that can be used to motivate and empower people to take effective action on climate change.

Workshops
Information on previous workshops on the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention, including relevant documents for, and presentations held at, each workshop, is available here.

Improving awareness and understanding of climate change, and creating solutions to facilitate access to information on a changing climate are key to winning public support for climate related policies.

The UNFCCC, through its Article 6, and the Kyoto Protocol, through its Article 10 (e), call on governments to educate, empower and engage all stakeholders and major groups on policies relating to climate change.

In particular, Article 6 of the Convention, which addresses the issue of climate change related education, training and public awareness, is the main vehicle by means of which the Convention fosters action to develop and implement educational and training programmes on climate change.

Many governments and intergovernmental organizations are already working in partnership with civil society to fulfill the commitments in Article 6.  However, the scale of challenges posed by climate change requires an engagement on outreach activities of a greater magnitude.

Last modified: 21 May 2013