Invitation

One UN: Partnering with countries to develop capacity and readiness for dealing with climate change challenges

A United Nations Side Event Organised by: UNEP, UNDP, UNITAR and UNFCCC Secretariat

Thursday, 10 December 2009 (1-2:30 pm)

Venue: Halfdan Rasmussen Room



UN agencies are partnering with countries to strengthen individual and institutional capacities to deal with the multiple challenges of climate change. The side event will bring together UN agencies and developing country representatives to discuss national capacity building needs and experiences in the areas of technology, forestry and climate change related learning and skills development. The event will also explore how cross-UN capacity support initiatives can best help countries to address their needs.



Welcome and introductory remarks

· Olav Kjorven. Assistant Secretary-General and Director of Bureau for Development Policy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) [Chair and moderator of side event]

· Sylvie Lemmet. Director of the Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics (DTIE)



Panellists:

· The context for capacity building for Climate Change

Luis Gomez Echeverri. Associate Director, Global Energy Assessment (GEA),

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria



· Developing capacity for technology needs assessments

William Kojo Agyemang-Bonsu. UNFCCC Focal Point/CDM-DNA, Ghana Energy Resources and Climate Change Unit



· Getting ready and building capacity for REDD implementation

Dr. Cuong Pham Manh. Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam



· Human resources and skills development with support of UN CC:Learn

Zaheer Fakir. Chief Director, International Governance and Relations, Dept of Environmental Affairs, South Africa



+ Discussants



Participants are also invited to visit the UNITAR exhibit to learn more about the One UN Training Platform on Climate Change (UN CC:Learn);

For further information on the side event please contact: Seraphine Haeussling (seraphine.haeussling@unep.org) .



Light lunch will be served after the event.



Side Event Details:

Increasing the supply of funds alone is not enough to combat climate change. Countries are also taking action and seek support in strengthening their institutional and human capacities, developing enabling policies, and implementing large scale investment projects to support adaptation and mitigation. These needs have been highlighted both in the UNFCCC’s second comprehensive review of capacity building needs and the annual report on the implementation of the framework for capacity-building in developing countries. In response to these needs, UN agencies, as part of the UN framework for capacity building, are partnering with developing countries in building the skills, knowledge and capacities needed to deal with the multiple challenges of climate change.



The side event will bring together UN agencies and developing country representatives to discuss a number of cross-UN capacity support initiatives on technology, forestry and climate change related learning. The event will also examine how these UN initiatives engage with decision-makers and address the issue of sustainability, in line with the recommendations of the UNFCCC Second Comprehensive Review on Capacity Building.