In 2024, the Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs) continued to support countries in achieving climate goals under the Paris Agreement with a view to bridging regional action with global ambition.
Their efforts have primarily focused on technical assistance and capacity building, facilitating access to support for the development and submission of and advancing participation in under the Paris Agreement. The RCCs have worked closely with national governments, private sector actors, and multilateral institutions to provide trainings, knowledge-sharing opportunities, and policy guidance tailored to regional needs. They have strengthened support towards adaptation related issues, including the formulation of implementable National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and transformational adaptation. The RCCs also supported stakeholders in their endeavors to access climate finance to implement their projects, and to prepare their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF).
In this context, RCC West and central Africa prioritized three main areas of work - see below their highlights. For more details, please visit the RCC West and Central Africa webpage.
1. Advancing regional understanding of the international climate change landscape, including countries’ responsibilities and opportunities under the Paris Agreement.
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RCC WAC Africa played a key role in supporting countries in West and Central Africa to formulate and implement ambitious climate plans aligned with the Paris Agreement goals. The RCC helped convene both UN and non-UN entities to mobilize resources for climate change needs and priorities for West and Central African countries. RCC WAC Africa also strengthened partnerships in Central Africa, including with ECCAS, by formalizing collaboration through an MOU between UNFCCC and ECCAS. This partnership aims to advance climate action in one of the most vulnerable regions while unlocking its vast potential to address the climate crisis.
2. Facilitating and mobilizing support from partners to deliver technical support, including on NDC 3.0 and Article 6.
RCC WAC Africa mobilized funds to aid in direct technical support for 26 countries in West and Central Africa for climate action. The RCC
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supported over 63 events, including 40 capacity building workshops and webinars which they organized and co-organized - covering climate change mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and the international carbon market. The RCC partnered with sister UN agencies to deliver 14 activities in West and Central Africa. RCC WAC Africa developed 26 technical and non-technical knowledge products to support countries in the region and conducted 4 surveys on needs assessment, including those of youth, women, and SME/SMI constituencies. The RCC led efforts to evaluate the feasibility of carbon pricing instruments in the UEMOA region, as well as in Nigeria and Cameroon, to help curb GHG emissions, achieve NDC targets, and mobilize additional climate finance.
3. Enhancing all stakeholders’ capacity on all work areas of Paris Agreement to enable their meaningful engagement in climate action.
RCC WAC Africa contributed to 3 High-level regional briefing sessions for parliamentarians and environmental lawyers to enhance their capacities on country commitments under the Paris Agreement. They trained over 100 women in West and Central Africa on climate change matters, engaged over 250 youth to assess their understanding on climate change and launched work to engage SMEs and SMIs in the region to help them identify and address climate change impacts on their businesses.
RCC WAC Africa collaborated with the BOAD (West African Development Bank), the COP 29 presidency and the UNFCCC secretariat to deliver an impactful capacity building initiative on reporting under the Paris Agreement for countries in West and Central Africa. RCC WAC Africa actively supported negotiations at COP29 and organized and participated in over 11 events to share experiences from West and Central Africa on climate change.
Catch a glimpse of the RCCs’ efforts and milestones in action in this video.
