UN Climate Change News, 20 February 2024 - Capacity-building is essential to equipping countries, communities and individuals around the world with the knowledge, skills and resources to effectively mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. To further strengthen its commitment to inclusive capacity-building, UN Climate Change launches a revamped Capacity-building Portal with curated resources to help tackle climate challenges.
This online platform, available in English and Spanish and soon also in other UN languages, brings together a diverse range of resources that aim to enhance the capacity of developing countries to address climate change. Moreover, the portal invites contributions from stakeholders, gathering internal and external materials related to capacity-building.
"UN Climate Change will be stepping up to help coordinate the support available for countries to build the capacity needed to deliver nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, and biennial transparency reports, working with all those active in this space," said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
The launch of the new portal builds on a wealth of capacity-building activities last year to empower stakeholders to navigate the complexities of climate policy, foster sustainable development and achieve the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.
During the 2023 Regional Climate Weeks, the Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB) facilitated a series of regional dialogues to enhance countries' capacities to increase the impact and sustainability of national adaptation plans (NAPs) across the four regions. Representatives from global, regional and local organizations shared insights about the capacity needs for NAP formulation and implementation.
Equally, the twelfth Durban Forum on Capacity-building in November 2023 provided a platform for parties, experts and practitioners to exchange experiences and best practices in implementing capacity-building activities for adaptation. Organized by UN Climate Change, the Forum focused on enhancing capacities for NAPs, strengthening climate vulnerability knowledge and promoting collaboration.
Additionally, the PCCB organized various technical sessions throughout 2023 to promote youth capacity development, women's empowerment, and the greening of technical and vocational education for a just transition.
The Youth4Capacity programme organized six capacity-building sessions, with topics ranging from loss and damage to financial support for young innovators and entrepreneurs, as well as a series of webinars to equip youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to accelerate progress and scale up innovation in climate action. The programme hosted capacity-building sessions during the Regional Climate Weeks to enhance youth engagement in climate policymaking, just transition and community-led climate action, with various sessions also held at COP28.
"We cannot solve tomorrow's challenges with yesterday's solutions, and we cannot move to the future with the skills of the past. It's very important that we make sure we are incorporating capacity-building in these conferences," said Haya Aseer, from the Arab Youth Centre, during Middle East and North Africa Climate Week in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
At COP28, the PCCB's Fifth Capacity-building Hub brought together 144 partners and nearly 6,000 participants during 56 events, showcasing capacity-building efforts in cities, private finance, South-South cooperation, human rights and adaptation, with a focus on enabling more ambitious climate action and fostering partnerships.
The PCCB has identified capacity-building support for adaptation, with a focus on addressing finance gaps for NAPs, as its key area of focus in 2024. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders is essential to implement effective climate adaptation strategies, safeguard vulnerable communities and build a more resilient future.
