Call for submissions from Parties and non-Party stakeholders on the 2021 PCCB focus area
Related information

Submissions received

The PCCB annually focuses on an area related to enhanced technical exchange on capacity-building. At its fourth meeting in June 2020, the PCCB agreed on the following focus area for 2021:

‘Building capacity to facilitate coherent implementation of NDCs
in the context of national development plans’.

In its 2021-2024 workplan, the PCCB determined to make a call for submissions from Parties and non-Party stakeholders to guide its work on the annual PCCB focus area. UNFCCC Parties, observers and other relevant organizations were invited to contribute submissions.

The call is now closed and inputs received are being synthesized

How will the inputs be used?

The inputs will feed into the PCCB's workplan activities in 2021, including a focus area day at the 3rd Capacity-building Hub at COP 26, and envisaged regional activities and webinars. The inputs will also inform the design and preparations of the 10th Durban Forum on capacity-building envisaged to be held during the Bonn Climate Change Conference in June 2021. Responding to the request of the COP for the SBI to align the theme of the Durban Forum on capacity-building with the annual focus area of the PCCB (Decision 15/CP.24, para. 6), the PCCB has been working to ensure alignment between discussions at the annual Durban Forum and the work of the PCCB related to its annual focus area.

Topic and elements considered in the submission

The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. The implementation of NDCs and national development plans present ample opportunities for synergies. The PCCB, with its strong mandate to engage with other bodies under and outside the Convention, is well positioned to promote coherence in achieving climate and development objectives. To foster coherence in the implementation of NDCs and national development plans, an enhanced understanding of the key barriers and capacity-building gaps and needs hindering their coherent implementation, as well as of existing solutions is needed.

Of particular interest to the PCCB was information related to the following questions:

  • What are useful sources relevant to this topic (e.g. webpages and portals, publications, fora, organizations working on this issue)?
  • What are good case studies, best practices, tools and methodologies, lessons learned, and examples of support with regard to building capacity to align NDC implementation with national development plans and/or to mainstream NDCs into these plans?
  • In your experience, what are the key interventions and enabling conditions, as well as the key institutional barriers, capacity gaps and capacity-building needs, and knowledge and skills priorities related to implementing NDCs and national development plans in a coherent manner?
  • What would be your suggestions on how to improve capacity-building efforts at the national and/or regional level in order to support NDC implementation and planning in developing countries?
  • Who should be the target recipients of capacity-building in order to enhance coherent implementation of NDCs in the context of national developments plans (e.g. national government officers, local government officers, environmental agencies, civil society)?

Background

The PCCB was established at COP 21 in 2015, with the aim of addressing gaps and needs, both current and emerging, in implementing capacity-building in developing country Parties and further enhancing capacity-building efforts, including with regard to coherence and coordination in capacity-building activities under the Convention (Decision 1/CP.21, para. 71). In 2019, the CMA decided that the PCCB shall also serve the Paris Agreement.

The PCCB was reviewed at COP 25 in 2019. With a 5-year extension (Decision 9/CP.25, para. 12), its mandate was refined with three priority areas:

  1. Enhancing coherence and coordination of capacity-building under the Convention with a focus on avoiding duplication of efforts, including through collaboration with bodies under and outside the Convention that engage in activities related to capacity-building, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates;
  2. Identifying capacity gaps and needs, both current and emerging, and recommending ways to address them;
  3. Promoting awareness-raising, knowledge- and information-sharing and stakeholder engagement with bodies and relevant actors under and outside the Convention, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates (Decision 9/CP.25, para. 9).