GCCA+ Global Learning Event 2016 - "GCCA+ Innovative and effective approaches to climate change adaptation by post COP21 agreement"

1.        Context

The Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) was established by the European Union in 2007, and benefited from a budget of €285 million from 2008 to the end of 2013[1], to support developing countries, and in particular, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in their endeavours to adapt to climate change. To date, the GCCA has supported more than 70 programmes in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Pacific, Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.

In line with the European Commission’s new Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, the GCCA has entered a new phase: the flagship initiative Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+)[2], focusing on the following three priority areas:

(i)     Mainstreaming climate change into poverty reduction and development efforts;

(ii)    Increasing resilience to climate related stresses and shocks; and

(iii)   Supporting the formulation and implementation of concrete and integrated sectoral based climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

By fostering effective dialogue and cooperation on climate change, the GCCA+ helps to ensure that those developing countries which are most vulnerable to climate change increase their capacities to adapt to the effects of climate change, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris COP21 outcomes.

The EC plans to hold a GCCA+ Global Learning Event (GLE) in Brussels from 12 – 14 September 2016, at the Sofitel Brussels Europe, in Brussels, Belgium.

2.        Objectives of the Global Learning Event

As experiences from the GCCA, the recent COP21 Paris Agreement and other programmes accumulate across the globe, it is important for the GCCA+ to ensure that lesson learning is an integral part of the development process and that knowledge generated from implementation is shared across countries and regions and with key stakeholders and development partners. Therefore, the main objectives of this event are to:

(i)     Share past GCCA and current GCCA+ best-adaptation practices for scaling-up, and increasing development and cooperation impacts amongst beneficiaries and potential donors in a post-COP 21 setting;

(ii)    Present recent and updated adaptation strategies and examples across various development sectors and actors;

(iii)   Extract decisions for the GCCA+ from discussions on key issues and commitments made under the Paris Agreement such as INDC implementation and updates, work on adaptation including mobilising financing, engagement with new stakeholders, climate financing, climate metrics, greenhouse gas emissions reporting and associated capacity building issues.

3.        Expected Results of the Global Learning Event

The GLE is framed within on-going efforts to improve the understanding of how countries are addressing challenges posed by climate change, common difficulties faced in implementing climate-related programmes, and will bring to the forefront those practices that are proving to be the most effective and efficient. The event will also explore how experience on the ground has influenced policy development at the local, national and international level, and therefore the linkages between the two pillars of the GCCA+[3].

More specifically, the event intends to support:

·       Learning from experiences to date which address the three priority areas of the GCCA+, apply the principles of effective development cooperation to climate change support and explore the linkages between projects, programmes and policy development; and

·       Learning on how best aid delivery methods and approaches can be adapted to address the climate change challenge.

4.        Content and Methodology of the Global Learning Event

Over 2.5 days, the GCCA+ GLE 2016 will more specifically address four topics:

1. How the INDCs could be effectively linked to other climate change policy processes (e.g., NAPA, NAPs, National Communications);
2. How the social benefits of climate change policies and interventions could be increased (e.g. number of beneficiaries, dissemination of best practices, etc.);
3. Linking gender, poverty and climate change mainstreaming - challenges and opportunities; 
4. Risk management solutions and tools (climate models, risk assessments, insurance schemes, adapted technologies, etc.) as a response to the adverse effects of climate change.

The content to be used during the various sessions will be generated via different means in the months preceding and following the conference:

·       Call for submissions (more than 100 proposals received by 15 June 2016);

·       GCCA+ Facility assessments and project updates;

·       Guest speakers and key stakeholder representatives (Key to broadening perspectives on the global context and approaches to adaptation, outside those of the GCCA+ implementing partners).

Following the conference, the emphasis will be placed on the dissemination of knowledge that will have emerged from the conference via multiple channels (see also section 6 on outputs below).

In terms of methodology, the conference will first start by looking at the context in which it is being organised, narrowing it down from global to local GGCA+ perspectives. In a second step, the perspective of project implementers on current programmes and projects, as well as ways to respond to the Paris Agreement commitments, will be extracted from sessions combining reviews of experiences and expectations from the field (using lectures/presentations, debates, ‘open spaces’, market places, etc.). During the first and second day, whilst keeping in mind commitments, the conference will, in a third step, call for the perspective of key stakeholders with which the GCCA+ will have to engage in the coming years if it is to significantly contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. To close the conference, the fourth and final step will look back at the key lessons and messages to be extracted from the two days’ work, with the aim of developing key actions or recommendations for the GCCA+.

5.        Target audience of the Global Learning Event

Over 150 participants are expected to attend the event. The primary target audience are technical experts from GCCA/GCCA+ programmes and stakeholders responsible for GCCA+ design and funding, including: developing countries and regional organisations benefitting from GCCA/GCCA+ funds; EU Delegation staff; the ACP Secretariat, which oversees the intra-ACP support programme to the GCCA+; EU services involved directly or indirectly in GCCA+; development partners; EU member states; civil society organisations, selected scientific institutions researching climate change adaptation and policy, and private sector representatives.

6.        Outputs of the Global Learning Event

The key outputs of the event will be:

·       Report of the event to be circulated with participants and wider GCCA+ audience;

·       GCCA+ annual publication (2016) on relevant experiences, good practices and material captured during the event.

[1] For the period 2008-2013: This figure is composed of (in millions): DCI €210.00, Intra-ACP €37.50, Member States €37.50.

[2] For the period 2014-2020: The GCCA+ is funded under the EU Global Public Goods and Challenges programme 2014-2020, with an initial budget of around €350 million.

[3]GCCA+'s two pillars are Policy dialogue, and Technical & financial support.