Building capacity in the UNFCCC process

Introduction

Establishing climate-friendly patterns of sustainable development depends on a broad range of approaches:

Identifying, planning and implementing adaptation and mitigation actions
Facilitating technology development, dissemination and deployment
Enabling access to climate finance
Developing relevant aspects of education, training and public awareness, and
Communication of information

Not all developing countries have sufficient capacities to deal with many of the challenges brought by climate change and the importance of building the capacity of these countries to effectively address climate change, has long been recognized by negotiating Parties, through the Convention (1992), its Kyoto Protocol (1997) and most recently the Paris Agreement (2015).

Level of capacity-building activities

Capacity-building in the UNFCCC process encompasses activities at the level of individuals, institutions and systems:

Capacity-building Frameworks

In 2001, COP 7 launched two frameworks guiding capacity-building (2/CP.7 and 3/CP.7), one dedicated to developing counties and the other dedicated to countries with economies in transition (EITs). The frameworks aim to enable these countries to implement the provisions of the Convention and effectively participate in the Kyoto Protocol process. In 2005, Parties to the Kyoto Protocol decided that the two frameworks are also applicable to the implementation of the Protocol.

Although the frameworks are similar in structure and substance, they differ in several details. The following figure provides an overview of common elements and specific provisions.