Karnataka, India — With a concentrate on strengthening the resilience of small and susceptible member nations, Unnikrishnan Nair says the Commonwealth Secretariat is working to align improvement and local weather finance for optimum influence.
Nair, who’s the Head of Local weather Change within the Financial, Youth, and Sustainable Improvement Directorate, instructed IPS in an unique interview that to “construct resilience and keep away from the reversal of improvement beneficial properties attributable to local weather change, local weather motion have to be built-in into improvement tasks in order that the funding helps the required local weather change outcomes.”
The Commonwealth Local weather Finance Entry Hub (CCFAH) has served as a “catalyst to assist susceptible nations entry local weather finance to boost resilience. Up to now, USD 315.413 million of local weather finance mobilised, together with USD 8.1 million in co-financing for 79 authorized tasks (33 adaptation, 10 mitigation, and 36 cross-cutting) in 14 Commonwealth nations.”
Listed below are excerpts from the interview:
IPS: Please give us an outline of the present local weather change insurance policies and techniques the Commonwealth Secretariat implements. How do these insurance policies align with broader nationwide and worldwide local weather targets?
Nair: The Local weather Change Programme of the Commonwealth Secretariat focuses on strengthening the resilience of Commonwealth small and different susceptible member nations to the unfavourable impacts of local weather change. It offers member nations with measures and help for mitigating and adapting to a altering local weather. The programme facilitates the human and institutional capability improvement of member nations to entry private and non-private local weather funding to satisfy their Paris Settlement commitments, together with the implementation of their Nationally Decided Contributions. The Commonwealth Local weather Change Programme advocates for worldwide insurance policies, mechanisms, and guidelines to be extra conscious of the event wants of Small Islands Creating States, and different susceptible nations. The Programme’s help is delivered by numerous mechanisms and partnerships, together with:
- Commonwealth Local weather Finance Entry Hub with a concentrate on rising entry to local weather finance.
- Commonwealth Name to Motion on Residing Lands geared toward accelerating local weather motion round land.
- Commonwealth NDC Programme focuses on fast-tracking implementation and achievement of local weather targets in step with the Paris Settlement.
- Geospatial Programme focused at the usage of geospatial information and knowledge for local weather choices.
- Integration of Gender and youth for Local weather Motion, selling inclusive local weather motion
- Low Carbon & Local weather Resilient Well being Sector with particular concentrate on Well being sector adaptation and mitigation planning
IPS: In what methods does your directorate deal with the financial impacts of local weather change? Are there particular measures to advertise sustainable financial improvement within the face of climate-related challenges?
Nair: One of many main initiatives of the Commonwealth Local weather Change Programme is to undertake the Local weather Public Expenditure and Institutional Evaluation (CPEIR) to allow the consideration of local weather change within the nationwide improvement planning and budgeting course of. This initiative utilized the World Financial institution methodology for endeavor the CPEIR and was based mostly on the information and knowledge offered by the Ministry of Finance.
The CPEIR reviewed the general local weather coverage adequacy within the nation and analysed the strengths and weaknesses of the institutional set-ups, contemplating present local weather change priorities and future challenges. The method additionally undertook an analytical assessment of local weather expenditure and confirmed how the nation had been allocating funds from public finance in coping with the impacts of local weather change. Preliminary outcomes and proposals had been shared in a digital validation workshop, during which a big set of individuals from authorities establishments, the non-public sector, and improvement companions offered enter, endorsed the examine’s conclusions, and appreciated the suggestions.
IPS: How does your directorate interact with youth within the context of local weather change and sustainable improvement? Are there initiatives to empower youth by advocating for and implementing climate-friendly practises?
Nair: Younger persons are key stakeholders in local weather motion, and as future decision-makers, they should be absolutely engaged in local weather processes, offering their views, modern concepts, and experiences that may assist form and speed up local weather motion.
The combination of youth into local weather change initiatives is prime to constructing resilience and creating strong local weather mitigation and adaptation proposals.
The Secretariat has mandated advisers working below the CCFAH to combine youth concerns throughout all tasks supported in-country to make sure that local weather finance delivered in member states takes account of the wants of younger individuals.
Commonwealth Youth Initiatives
- Commonwealth Youth Local weather Community (CYCN)
- Commonwealth Youth Assertion on Local weather Change
- Intergenerational Dialogue on Local weather Change (held at COP)
- Commonwealth Youth Improvement Index and Report, Local weather Part
- Enhancing Entry to Finance for Youth in Inexperienced Entrepreneurship
- Summer time Faculty on Local weather Justice help with the Pan African Local weather Justice Alliance (PACJA)
- Local weather Finance Train-in Session in the course of the International NDC Youth Engagement Discussion board
- Internship Programme
IPS: How does your directorate combine the Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDGs) into its local weather change and financial improvement initiatives? Are you able to spotlight particular tasks or programmes that contribute to a number of SDGs concurrently?
Nair: Whereas aligning NDCs and SDGs is necessary, it requires funding. Local weather finance performs an important position in’ constructing again higher,’ as satisfactory funding is significant to help local weather motion, resilience-building, and sustainable improvement efforts.
Equally, to construct resilience and keep away from the reversal of improvement beneficial properties attributable to local weather change, local weather motion have to be built-in into improvement tasks in order that the funding helps the required local weather change outcomes. In different phrases, aligning improvement and local weather finance is important to maximising influence. Improvement tasks ought to be capable of entry local weather funding, and local weather tasks ought to entry improvement funding.
The Commonwealth Local weather Finance Entry Hub (CCFAH) is a big enabler. By deploying Commonwealth nationwide, regional, and thematic local weather finance advisers to help governments, the CCFAH serves as a catalyst to assist susceptible nations entry local weather finance to boost resilience. Up to now, US$ 315.413 million of local weather finance has been mobilised, together with US$ 8.1 million in co-financing for 79 authorized tasks (33 adaptation, 10 mitigation, and 36 cross-cutting) in 14 Commonwealth nations.
Some CCFAH tasks are linked to the Residing Lands Constitution: A Commonwealth Name to Motion on Residing Lands (CALL). This initiative helps the alignment of local weather motion and sustainable improvement by safeguarding world land assets and taking coordinated motion to deal with local weather change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation whereas selling sustainable, climate-resilient land administration and agriculture.
IPS: What roles do innovation and know-how play in your directorate’s method to attaining sustainable improvement targets and combating local weather change? Are there particular applied sciences or improvements which have proven promise in your initiatives?
Nair: On the know-how entrance, some of the necessary initiatives is an modern challenge based mostly on a partnership between Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu and a consortium of worldwide companions working collectively to help and construct local weather resilience and improve decision-making utilizing satellite tv for pc distant sensing know-how.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the thematic lead on local weather finance and offers technical help to the three nations in utilising the geospatial-based platforms for enhanced entry to local weather finance.
The challenge is designed to boost capacities, introduce technological developments (together with synthetic intelligence-based strategies), and supply built-in options for decision-making associated to Catastrophe Danger Discount (DRR), local weather resilience, environmental preservation, and meals safety.
IPS: How does your directorate measure the influence of its programmes and initiatives on local weather change, financial improvement, and youth empowerment? Are there key efficiency indicators or metrics used to evaluate progress?
Nair: The programme, based mostly on necessities, appoints exterior third events to evaluate its efficiency and outcomes by its relevance, effectiveness, effectivity, coherence, and sustainability, per the OECD Improvement Help Committee Pointers. This can be a formative analysis of the programme, specializing in assessing the preliminary outcomes, effectiveness of the programme’s processes, and classes realized. The analysis can be supported by case research as an example examples of how the programme operates and to establish success components and classes realized.
IPS: How does your directorate contribute to constructing the capability of people and communities to reply to local weather change and have interaction in sustainable improvement? Are there particular coaching programmes or instructional initiatives?
Nair: The Commonwealth Local weather Change programme is targeted on constructing the technical and institutional capability of small and different susceptible states to have interaction and navigate by the advanced local weather motion panorama and to take motion to deal with the long-term impacts of local weather change. That is achieved by strengthening the technical and coverage infrastructure within the nation, thereby enhancing an enabling atmosphere for attracting technical and monetary help by devising long-term local weather motion plans and pipelining local weather finance tasks, insurance policies, and establishments.
Beneath the Commonwealth Local weather Finance Entry Hub (CCFAH), slightly than providing short-term session to nations, the challenge embeds certified nationwide advisers for a three-year interval to help the nation in all areas of local weather finance. This embeds information switch formally by workshops, coaching, and steady help in precedence areas for the federal government. This generates a crucial mass of nationwide authorities officers and related establishments instantly accountable for local weather motion who’re capacitated to deal with numerous points of local weather finance, together with challenge improvement, gender mainstreaming, environmental and social governance, coverage help, and many others. This CCFAH ‘write store’ method to capability constructing centered on studying by doing has confirmed to help the sustainability of outcomes. This method additionally helps develop a crucial mass of officers in authorities departments accountable for local weather motion.
IPS: What are your directorate’s main challenges in implementing local weather change, financial, and sustainable improvement initiatives? Are there notable alternatives or improvements that would positively influence your work?
Nair: The Commonwealth Local weather Change Programme is going through a number of challenges in implementing local weather change, financial, and sustainable improvement initiatives. The outstanding three are:
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Various Member States: The Commonwealth includes nations with numerous financial constructions, ranges of improvement, and vulnerabilities to local weather change. Tailoring initiatives to go well with every member state’s particular wants and capacities is a posh activity, requiring flexibility and inclusivity in programme design and implementation.
Restricted Assets: Useful resource constraints hinder the power of the programme to put money into complete local weather change and sustainable improvement initiatives. Mobilising satisfactory monetary assets to help these programmes, particularly for smaller and fewer economically developed nations, is a persistent problem.
Capability Constructing: Enhancing the capability of member states to plan, implement, and monitor local weather change initiatives is essential. Many nations inside the Commonwealth lack the technical experience and institutional capability wanted to hold out these programmes, necessitating focused capacity-building efforts.
IPS: How does your directorate collaborate on local weather change and sustainable improvement points with worldwide organisations and different nations? Are there ongoing partnerships which were significantly fruitful?
Nair: The Commonwealth Local weather Change Programme actively collaborates with worldwide organisations and different nations to deal with urgent local weather challenges. By way of diplomatic channels and multilateral boards, the programme fosters partnerships that transcend borders, facilitating the alternate of information, experience, and finest practises within the realms of local weather change and sustainable improvement. This collaboration entails joint technical initiatives, capacity-building programmes, and sharing finest practises geared toward inclusive local weather change adaptation and mitigation methods in step with nationwide sustainability practises. By taking part in worldwide dialogues and contributing to world initiatives, the programme strives to create a cohesive and coordinated method to deal with the advanced and interconnected problems with local weather change and sustainable improvement, recognising that solely by unified efforts can we successfully deal with the shared challenges going through our planet.
Among the very fruitful partnerships below the Commonwealth local weather change programme are with the next:
- Australian Authorities Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce
- Overseas, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace (FCDO), Authorities of the UK
- United Nations Institute for Coaching and Analysis (UNITAR)
- Norad (Norwegian Company for Improvement Cooperation)
- NDC Partnership
- United Nations Conference to Fight Desertification
- World Well being Group
- United Nations Framework Conference on Local weather Change (UNFCCC)
- PCCB Community
- Africa NDC Hub.
IPS UN Bureau Report
