In light of the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Bonn, Germany, the UNFCCC Secretariat organised a session in order to provide an update on the work of the Paris Committee on Capacity Building and the implementation of its rolling workplan 2017-2019. The session would be followed by further informal sessions and discussions during the duration of COP23.

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The Paris Committee on Capacity Building is (PCCB) was established by the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2015 as part of the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The objective of the PCCB is “to address gaps and needs, both current and emerging, in implementing capacity-building in developing country Parties and further enhancing capacity-building efforts, including with regard to coherence and coordination in capacity-building activities under the Convention”. In 2016, at COP 22 held in Marrakech, Parties adopted the terms of reference of the PCCB in Marrakech.

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Moreover, the PCCB manages and oversees the 2016–2020 workplan, which was agreed in Paris and outlines various activities on capacity building in the identification of needs, gaps and synergies and fostering global, regional, national and subnational dialogue, cooperation and collaboration for activities under the Convention. 2017 marks an important year for the work of the PCCB as the first meeting of the PCCB was held in May, and the focus or the theme of the meeting was capacity-building activities for the implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in the context of the Paris Agreement, as per the directive of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). As one of the outcomes of the meeting, the committee agreed on the rolling work plan of 2017-2019.

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Accordingly, at COP23 in Bonn, the PCCB held a session focusing on elements and activities of PCCB, Technology Needs Assessments (TNA) and NDCs, and the human rights and gender consideration in the PCCB process with a representation of panelists including co-chairs of the PCCB, Mr. Matt Nummelin and Mr. Mohammed Nbou, Ms. Sara Traerup of  UNEP DTU Partnership, Mr.Vladimir Hecl of the UNFCCC Secretariat and Ms. Tara Shine of Mary Robinson Foundation on Climate Justice.

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At the session, the PCCB presented its recommendations to the COP which highlighted the need to align the thematic focus of the 2018 Durban Forum on Capacity Building with the thematic focus of the PCCB for the 2017-2018 years, which is on NDCs. Therein, the Committee will consider prior reports of the Durban Forum and will take stock of all capacity building activities and will identify the needs and gaps in the context of NDC implementation, while also ensuring the availability of information for all Parties and non-Party stakeholders.

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The session served to highlight the need for capacity building as a priority for the PCCB in terms of addressing cross-cutting areas of intergenerational equity, human rights, gender responsiveness and incorporation of indigenous peoples’ knowledge in the implementation of NDCs. “The PCCB has already established a task force on gender and human rights and recognizes the importance of intergenerational equity and therefore, invites youth to submit their views to the Durban Forum”, said Mr. Matti Nummelin, Co-Chair of PCCB.

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TNAs were another area focused on by the PCCB and emphasized in the need to incorporate the TNAs of countries into the NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) of countries. It was iterated that more than 70 percent of countries have TNAs referred to in their NDCs. Additionally, capacity building needs under climate technology pathways were discussed as priorities in terms of developing a technology action plan which would facilitate national, regional and global capacity building workshops, Technical support missions, etc. As a way forward the development of the Capacity Building Portal was discussed with the view to maintaining a repository of capacity-building data which would function as a global interface of stakeholders and provide support in collaborating and networking, identifying tools and lessons learnt, evaluating and assessing capacity-building needs and gaps as well as identifying synergies with other initiatives.

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The SBI will be hosting an informal consultation on the annual technical progress  of the PCCB on the 7th of November at COP23.