Context

Capacity-building efforts are fundamental to enabling developing countries to access the instruments, resources and knowledge needed to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Climate Change Convention and the Paris Agreement. The capacity-building framework for developing countries acknowledges and emphasizes the relevance of promoting active participation and improved cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders in climate capacity-building, including governments at all levels, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector is, in that sense, a key driver of the private sector, as it holds regional, national and global importance when it comes to the economic reset needed for deep decarbonization and climate action. Therefore, capacity-building activities must take SMEs into consideration in order to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.  

Economies are significantly driven by the SMEs sector: besides providing inputs to large business supply chains, SMEs account for an average 97% of all enterprises, 69% of employment, and 41% of GDP in the ASEAN region, employ 80 percent of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, and between 10 - 40% in several Arab countries. SMEs are at the same time at the center of resiliency challenges as they need to adapt their activities to climate risks that can impact their enterprises e.g. through infrastructure damage from flooding, droughts and severe weather systems. They also need to consider the demands of companies committed to the 1.5 Co trajectory operating the supply chains in which they are embedded, and to the hardships imposed by a post-pandemic world. However, due to limitations in size, SMEs face larger challenges when it comes to the capacity to green their operations, including knowledge about technologies, the process to reduce carbon emissions, and accessing finance to climate-proof their business.    

The interactive, virtual event will be the fourth of the Capacity Building Talks, a public event series by the UNFCCC secretariat aiming to facilitate the discussion and provision of information among actors and stakeholders involved in climate capacity-building. The talks offer a space to exchange knowledge and share best practices, including with a view to strengthening the focus of and work on capacity-building within the UNFCCC process. 

Description/Objective

The 4th Capacity-building Talk aims to examine how capacity-building can support SMEs to better address climate change risks, contribute to meeting national emission reduction targets and access potential new business opportunities. The findings of research conducted by UNFCCC in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UNFCCC’s Regional Collaboration Centres (RCC) will be discussed in order to provide insights and solutions for enhancing the capacities of SMEs to engage effectively in climate action.  

This session will present an overview of the most representative capacity-building needs and gaps of SMEs across different regions, and discuss recommendations aimed at how to better address these needs so SMEs can better engage in climate action. It also aims to consider how capacity-building activities can be more efficiently designed to address the needs of SMEs. Finally, the event is intended to provide impulses to discussions in the UNFCCC process related to private sector engagement in capacity-building. 

In addition to providing space for general reflections and perspectives on the capacity needs and gaps of SMEs, the session will specifically consider the following aspects: 

1. Capacity challenges to fostering SMEs’ access to finance to promote green initiatives and associated awareness; 
2. Actions to enhance the capacities of SMEs to better integrate climate risks into their business models; 
3. Designing context-specific collaborative capacity-building programs focused on improving the capacities of SMEs to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.  

After the event, participants should have increased their knowledge and understanding of how capacity-building can help SMEs to address specific needs and gaps on climate action. They should have received practical information on how to promote more efficient partnerships with different stakeholders in order to enable SMEs to become more sustainable.  

Following the event, a summary report will be prepared and published.

Programme