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.

Capacity-building support, needs and gaps

Support
Developed countries provide financial and technical resources to assist developing countries and EITs in implementing the frameworks on capacity-building and report on provision of capacity-building support in their biennial reports to the UNFCCC. The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 requests all developed countries to enhance support for capacity-building actions in developing countries.

The number of national policies and government and research entities dedicated to climate change established in developing countries has grown significantly in recent years, contributing to the enhancement of climate-related capacities in these countries. National reports of developing countries to the UNFCCC also highlight progress made with regard to awareness-raising as well as educational activities and integration of climate change issues in school curricula.

Needs and gaps
At the same time, many developing countries report persisting capacity gaps of government staff and insufficient institutional capacities, including gaps related to inter-agency and cross-sectorial coordination. Furthermore, countries report capacity needs related to mainstreaming climate considerations into their national planning and budgeting. With respect to the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures, technical and institutional capacity gaps and needs are reported in areas such as greenhouse gas emission accounting, research and systematic observation, data collection, risk modelling, and vulnerability assessments. Developing countries also emphasize the need to build the capacities of local governments and communities, particularly for adaptation.

Despite the emergence of new capacity needs, in areas such as implementing nationally determined contributions (NDCs), transparency, REDD-plus and climate finance, the priority areas for capacity-building identified in the two frameworks for capacity-building, established in 2001, continue to be highly relevant to developing countries (see also Monitoring and Review of the Capacity-building Frameworks).