Developing countries and bilateral donors come together to coordinate billions of dollars of annual investments to address climate change impacts

On June 5th, 2015 on the margins of the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, representatives of developing country governments and bilateral donors will present perspectives on how to enhance bilateral support for formulating and implementing national adaptation plans (NAPs). The panel is convened by the new NAP Global Network, which aims to improve coordination among bilateral development partners, strengthen developing countries’ leadership on adaptation, and facilitate peer learning and exchange on the NAP process.

The Network was launched by Peru, the USA, Germany, the Philippines, Togo, the UK, Jamaica, and Japan in December 2014. The Network will support the NAP process, which was introduced by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience of developing countries to the impacts of climate change, and to facilitate integration of climate change adaptation into relevant new and existing policies.

“In 2013, about USD 10.8 billion—or 8%—of bilateral official development assistance (ODA) involved support for adaptation to climate change,” said Anne Hammill, Director of the Resilience program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), host of the Secretariat for the Network. “This proportion should be higher, considering how much ODA goes to climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water and health.” The NAP Global Network strives to address this by bringing together actors involved in adaptation activities on the ground to coordinate efforts, and ensuring that developing countries play a role in determining how bilateral aid is used to support their climate resilient development. This aligns with the underlying principles of the NAP process, which is meant to be country-driven, non-prescriptive, and non-duplicative.

The NAP Global Network is overseen by a Steering Committee of representatives from developing countries and bilateral donor agencies. BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the US State Department are providing initial financial support for the Network. To connect with the NAP Global Network, attend the side event at the Bonn Climate Change Conference on June 5th at 6:30pm CEST in Room Bonn I. See the side event program for details.

For more information about the NAP Global Network please visit our website or contact info@napglobalnetwork.org.

Photo credit: Alec Crawford