The secretariat and the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) offer a range of training initiatives to developing country Parties to facilitate capacity building and the preparation of national communications (NCs) and biennial update reports (BURs) in a timely manner. The training initiatives offered by the CGE include:

Workshops

As a part of its work plan in 2021, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), with the assistance of the UNFCCC secretariat, is organizing a series of regional hands-on training workshops on the institutional arrangements for the existing MRV arrangements and the enhanced transparency framework, including data management for national GHG inventories. Taking into account the prevailing COVID-19 situation globally and its impacts, these workshops will be organized virtually.

After completing the virtual training, participants shall have: 

• Enhanced understanding of MRV and the ETF
• Knowledge of the key components of institutional arrangements, including data management for GHG inventories, in the context of existing MRV and the transition to the ETF
• Capacity to articulate the areas that are essential to setting up, sustaining and continually improving institutional and legal arrangements, to support the existing MRV arrangements and the ETF, including data management for GHG inventories
• Acquired examples of tools and practical experiences that can be built on and/or applied to establish or strengthen institutional arrangements
• Discussed gaps and capacity-building needs to establishing and reporting on institutional arrangements for the transition to the ETF

Click here for more information on the workshop programme.

Webinars

The CGE Webinar Series is a platform for practitioners to focus in-depth on specific methods or tools, such as GHG inventory, mitigation, vulnerability and adaptation, and support including:

• How a country can better implement the current Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV)
• How a country can better showcase its climate action on mitigation and adaptation through national communications and biennial update reports
• Improving the understanding of the 2006 IPCC guidelines building on experiences from the use of Revised 1996 IPCC guidelines, including the Good Practice Guidance
• Methodologies used and tools available

Click here for more information on the webinar programme.

E-learning courses

The CGE e-learning courses on the preparation of National Communications are free courses that provide the tools to conduct and prepare a national GHG inventory, vulnerability and adaptation assessment, as well as mitigation assessment.  Participants will receive a certificate upon completion.

• Register here
• Needs Assessment
• Lessons learned and experience

Click here for more information on the e-learning courses..

Training programme for Team of Experts (TTE)

The Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) has developed a training programme for the technical experts on the UNFCCC roster who upon completion shall be eligible to join undertake the technical analysis of submitted biennial update reports (BURs).The course is on the UNFCCC Learning Management Platform (LMS) and upon completion experts will be issued with a certificate. 

• ICA Modalities and guidelines for international consultation and analysis (ICA)

• TTE Composition, modalities and procedures of the team of technical experts (TTE)

Click here for more information on the training programme.

The UNFCCC Climate Action and Support Transparency Training (UNFCCC-CASTT) is a capacity-building programme designed to cater to stakeholders at all levels of competencies within national climate governance and implementation.

The primary objective of the UNFCCC-CASTT is to promote effective and universal participation of countries in the MRV arrangements under the Convention and the enhanced transparency framework under the Parties Agreement through a targeted, professional and comprehensive capacity-building.

Under the UNFCCC-CASTT umbrella, three training modules are offered to interested Parties:

• UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT programme on greenhouse gas inventories;
• Adaptation Academy on vulnerability and adaptation assessment;
• ETF Blended Course, combining online and in-person programs, on enhanced transparency framework.

The secretariat is currently collaborating with a number of institutions and partners to provide these training programmes.

UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT

UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT is a professional four-week training programme on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for national experts from developing countries. The programme is being offered annually in collaboration with the Greenhouse Gas inventory & Research Center of Korea (GIR) since 2017. It aims to enhance the technical capacity and overall competency of experts from developing countries to enable them to prepare and report high-quality GHG inventories. In total, 112 trainees representing 70 developing countries have successfully completed the training programme between 2017 and 2020.

The program will begin in August and run for ten weeks. More information on the training programme can be found here, on the eligibility requirements here.

Adaptation Academy

The CASTT Adaptation Academy aims to enhance the ability of developing countries to conduct vulnerability and adaptation assessments, prepare and report, in timely manner, information resulting from such assessments and the implementation of national adaptation actions, including their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), for their national communications, biennial update reports, and biennial transparency reports under the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements of the Convention and the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement. 

The 3 – 4 week training programme focuses on imparting technical knowledge in the key components of the existing MRV arrangements and ETF, the exchange of views, lessons learned and experiences, and internalizing and mainstreaming climate change activities.

Other topics include planning, policy frameworks, coordination across ministries and governance levels, working with the private sector, finance and cost-benefit analyses, vulnerability and risk assessments, ecosystems, infrastructure, transboundary considerations, and social, gender, and cultural equity issues. Specific sessions will also explore aspects relating to agriculture, DRR, energy, cities, coastal regions, and mountainous and high-elevation areas. In addition, the training will include components specifically tailored to regional climatic challenges of each node’s participants to put the broader lessons into more usable and practical contexts.

More information can be found here.

ETF Blended Course

The ETF Blended Course is a hybrid training programme with in-person and online components, aimed at empowering policymakers, government officials and national experts in understanding and implementing the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. ICAT, UNFCCC, UNEP and UNSSC are collaborating to develop and roll out the programme.

Upon completion, participants will be able to better assess climate policy options (both mitigation and adaptation) and their impacts (GHG, sustainable development and transformational change), and help their countries better formulate, improve and track progress of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). This will also enable them to be prepared for reporting under the Paris Agreement.

Course topics

The training will focus on modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs) of the ETF, tracking of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as well as cross-cutting issues such as benefits of transparency, institutional capacity, legal framework, stakeholder engagement, and technical reviews.

More information can be found here.