GEF's Support and Experience on Capacity Building for Transparency GEF''s by Dustin Schinn

1. GEF’s Support and Experience on
Capacity Building for Transparency
Climate Change Expert Group
Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change
Dustin Schinn
GEF Secretariat
13 September 2016

2. Capacity building:
Integral to GEF mitigation support
MRV capacity as part of mitigation investment
projects?
• $118.9M for mitigation capacity building in 2015
• Feed-in tariff projects
• Narrow focus, limitations vis-à-vis long-term
capacity building for transparency

3. Capacity Building: Core of GEF Support
ï Supported in all GEF focal areas
ï Key foundational elements of GEF support
ï High level of integration in project design
Reference: First Report of the Fifth Overall Performance Study of the GEF (GEF Evaluation Office, 2013)
majority of recent GEF projects
had combinations of initiatives,
including capacity

4. Capacity Building for Long‐Term Planning
! Capacity building is integrated into project
frameworks that support long-term
planning, such as:
ï National Communication Support Program
ï Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action
(NAMAs)
ï Low carbon development strategies
! Expected outcomes and outputs are
identified and monitored following GEF
results management frameworks
! Stakeholders engagement is articulated in
project design

5. National Communications Umbrella Program (1)
Objective: to improve the quality of non-Annex I parties reporting on
NCs and BURs, so that they are more widely used for national
development processes, climate change negotiations, and for funding
adaptation and mitigation projects
" Capacity building is included as both outcome and outputs
Barriers
# Lack of harmonized national
institutional framework for
GHG inventory reporting
# Lack of technical capacity to
prepare solid quality reports
# Limited data access
# Weak technical NC
preparation monitoring and
long preparatory periods
Response
# Assist countries to identify suitable
tools and methodologies, provide
guidance notes, organize on-line
and onsite training on tool
applications, access data through
regional centers of excellence
# Assist countries to generate, store,
and access national data
# Implement tracking system

6. Summary: Capacity Building and GEF
! Capacity building is
integrated in GEF-
financed climate change
projects
! Independent evaluations
show that GEF support is
helping to shape policy,
strategy, and action
! Resources continue to be
made available to
respond to country needs
ìÖenabling activitiesÖhave not only
helped in complying with the
requirements of reporting to the
UNFCCC, but have also contributed to
capacity building in creating and
maintaining greenhouse gas
inventories and vulnerability
assessments, including analysis of
options for mitigation and adaptation.î
ìÖAs a result, climate change has
been put higher on the government
agenda in both Moldova and Turkey,
and is shaping ongoing action, debate,
and future climate change policy,
strategy, and planning decisions.î
(First Report of the Fifth Overall Performance Study of the
GEF, 2013)

7. GEF Support for Capacity Building
NatComms
BURs
(i)NDCs
CBIT
CCCD

8. GEF Support for Capacity Building
NatComms
BURs
(i)NDCs
CBIT
CCCD

9. Aims of CBIT
Paris Decision (Paragraph 85):
• To strengthen national institutions for transparency-
related activities in line with national priorities;
• To provide relevant tools, training and assistance for
meeting the provisions stipulated in Article 13 of the
Agreement; and
• To assist in the improvement of transparency over
time.
COP
Decisions

10. CBIT and GEF’s Role
Paris Decision (Paragraph 86):
Urges and requests the GEF to make arrangements to
support the establishment and operation of the CBIT
as a priority reporting-related need, including through:
• voluntary contributions to support developing
country Parties in the sixth replenishment of the GEF
• and future replenishment cycles
• to complement existing support under the GEF

11. Proposed CBIT Support
1. National level support
• Developing countries to request resources to implement
priorities to build capacity to meet enhanced
transparency needs
• Non-exhaustive menu of options under three CBIT aims
2. Global and regional level
• Coordination platform, sharing of best practices,
exchange of practitioners, tracking progress,
collaboration with existing/emerging initiatives,
UNFCCC bodies, collaboration with IPCC and other
initiatives supporting UNFCCC process

12. Eligibility
In line with the Paris Agreement and its
decision, all developing country Parties will
have access to CBIT, upon request

13. 1. Activities to strengthen national institutions for transparency-
related activities in line with national priorities:
ü Support to national institutions to lead, plan, coordinate,
implement, monitor, and evaluate policies, strategies, and programs
to enhance transparency;
ü Support on how to integrate knowledge from transparency
initiatives into national policy and decision-making; and
ü Assistance with deployment and enhancement of information and
knowledge management structure to meet Article 13 needs.
National Level Support

14. National Level Support
2. Activities to provide relevant tools, training, and assistance for
meeting the provisions stipulated in Article 13:
ü Access to tools, templates, and applications to facilitate the use of improved
methodologies, guidelines, datasets, and database system tools and economic
models;
ü Country-specific training and peer exchange programs on transparency activities
such as establishing domestic MRV systems, tracking NDCs, enhancement of
GHG inventories and economic and emissions projections;
ü Country-specific emissions factors and activity data;
ü Quantifying and reporting impact of policy measures;
ü Clarifying key NDC information, e.g. baseline projections including for business-
as-usual targets, and reporting progress towards achieving NDCs; and
ü Quantifying and reporting on support provided and received.

15. National Level Support
3. Activities to assist with improvement of transparency over time:
ü Capacity needs assessment for transparency, in particular to assess
institutional arrangement for data collection, analysis, and
reporting; and
ü Support to introduce and maintain progress tracking tools for
transparency-related actions and progress towards targets/goals.

16. CBIT Indicative Allocation
Activity Indicative allocation
National programs $40 million
Regional/global programs
and coordination
$10 million
Total ~$50 million (TBD)

17. Next Steps
ü Contribution agreements
ü Financial procedures agreement
ü Discuss practicalities of programming
(given resource flows)
ü Coordinate with existing initiatives
ü Start proposal reviews and clearance
ü Approve first set of proposals (MSPs) this year
ü Report to COP 22
www.thegef.org/documents/templates

18. Thank you and any questions?
www.thegef.org/topics/capacity-building-initiative-
transparency-cbit