The Regional Pacific NDC Hub was pleased to host the NDC Investment Planning Event at COP26 in November, where Pacific Island Countries shared about their efforts in Investment Planning and then discussed with Technical Agencies how they could help Pacific Island Countries in this regard.
The panel discussed the next steps for Pacific countries on NDCs and processes on NDC investment planning. In describing Fiji’s experience on NDC investment planning, Ms. Jeanette Mani described that the process as a “launchpad” for climate investments. She highlighted the need for a dedicated project development fund to support assessments at country level including feasibility studies for projects. She recommended the NDC Hub to actively explore opportunities for private sector engagement in the future– as Pacific governments “alone cannot drive the NDC agenda.”
Mr. Espen Ronneberg highlighted the need for a whole-of-organisation approach in NDC planning considering the diverse elements and priorities articulated in the NDCs of Pacific countries. This, he mentioned is critical for enticing donors in NDC related investment, as is the need for countries to distil their NDC priorities in a realistic and logical manner. He highlighted the need for capacity supplementation in PICs and the urgent need to mobilise the Regional Technical Support Mechanism (RTSM) to support Pacific countries, especially in crafting transformative project/programme proposals.
On the gender and NDCs nexus, Ms. Ashwini Prabha underscored that “climate change is a symptom of deeper injustice and inequalities. Gender justice and women’s human rights and empowerment is a precondition for climate, social, economic and ecological justice”. She highlighted that the inclusion of women and marginalised groups in national processes – such as climate policy making -- is critical to ensuring a fair and equitable NDC process given that climate change affects women and men differently.
In providing his reflections on NDC planning processes in PNG, Mr. Alfred Rungol reiterated the need for PICs to secure high-level political buy-in of the NDC commitments – a key approach adopted by the CCDA. The process has enabled PNG to develop an NDC implementation plan and a supporting NDC regulation. He highlighted that the mobilisation of the thematic working groups for energy and AFOLU sectors has been instrumental in communicating NDC commitments across government agencies as well as other non-government stakeholders.
The hour-long discussions also included reflections from the floor in support of the work of the NDC Hub. One reflection was that the NDC Hub is uniquely equipped to promote “peer learning on NDCs” in the Pacific region and promote deepened engagement across various stakeholders at the regional and national levels. It was also suggested that the Hub promote “best practices” as part of its service delivery in the region.
This summary was put together by NDC Hub Technical Advisor, Nilesh Prakash.
