UNFCCC and Paris Agreement Policy Training Course

Participants can explain the Convention’s principles, bodies and formal decision-making processes.

• UNFCCC objective, principles and common but differentiated responsibilities
• Equity, respective capabilities and historical responsibility in climate policy
• Conference of the Parties, subsidiary bodies and secretariat functions
• Party groupings: G77 and China, LDCs, AOSIS and Umbrella Group
• Decision texts, draft conclusions and consensus-based COP procedures
• National focal points, designated authorities and interministerial coordination arrangements
• Tracing obligations from Convention articles through COP and CMA decisions

Participants can identify the Paris Agreement provisions that shape national climate action.

• Paris Agreement purpose, temperature goal and long-term emissions direction
• Differentiated obligations: shall, should, encouraged and invited language
• Five-year ambition cycle linking NDCs, transparency and global stocktake
• Nationally determined contributions under Article 4 requirements and expectations
• Long-term low greenhouse-gas emission development strategies under Article 4
• Global goal on adaptation, adaptation communications and Article 7
• Compliance Committee facilitation function and non-punitive implementation approach

Participants can assess an NDC and translate commitments into implementation arrangements.

• NDC structure: mitigation targets, adaptation priorities and implementation needs
• Economy-wide targets, sectoral targets and greenhouse-gas coverage choices
• Reference years, target years, conditionality and target accounting assumptions
• Applying the ICTU guidance for clarity, transparency and understanding
• NDC implementation plans using milestones, owners and budget dependencies
• Stakeholder mapping for ministries, subnational authorities, business and communities
• Policy coherence checks against energy, transport, land-use and fiscal plans

Participants can distinguish Article 6 approaches and assess associated policy and accounting issues.

• Mitigation policy instruments: regulation, carbon pricing, subsidies and standards
• Article 6.2 cooperative approaches and internationally transferred mitigation outcomes
• Article 6.4 mechanism governance, methodologies and authorization requirements
• Article 6.8 non-market approaches and cooperation beyond carbon trading
• Corresponding adjustments for avoiding double counting in NDC accounting
• Additionality, baseline setting, permanence and leakage in crediting activities
• Host-country authorization procedures and national Article 6 governance systems

Participants can formulate adaptation policy responses using risk, vulnerability and resilience methods.

• Climate risk assessment using hazard, exposure and vulnerability components
• National Adaptation Plans and adaptation communication reporting purposes
• Adaptation options appraisal using effectiveness, equity and feasibility criteria
• Monitoring adaptation through indicators, baselines and learning cycles
• Maladaptation screening for infrastructure, livelihoods and vulnerable populations
• Warsaw International Mechanism and institutional arrangements for loss and damage
• Early warning systems, anticipatory action and climate-resilient public investment

Participants can outline reporting responsibilities under the enhanced transparency framework.

• Enhanced Transparency Framework purpose, common modalities and reporting cycle
• Biennial Transparency Reports: national inventory, progress and support information
• 2006 IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse-gas inventory preparation
• Emissions factors, activity data and inventory quality assurance procedures
• Tracking NDC progress through indicators, methodologies and accounting assumptions
• Technical expert review, facilitative multilateral consideration of progress procedures
• Institutional data flows between statistical agencies, ministries and sector regulators

Participants can identify climate finance sources and prepare policy-aligned funding concepts.

• Climate finance definitions: mitigation, adaptation, cross-cutting and loss-and-damage support
• Public finance sources: Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility and Adaptation Fund
• Concessional loans, grants, guarantees and blended finance structures
• Funding proposal logic: theory of change, results framework and investment criteria
• Country ownership, no-objection procedures and accredited entity roles
• Paris Agreement Article 9 obligations and support reporting requirements
• Assessing finance needs, technology transfer and capacity-building priorities

Participants can prepare and defend a national position within UNFCCC negotiation procedures.

• COP agenda setting, presidencies and formal negotiating session procedures
• Preparing national positions from mandates, evidence and political constraints
• Coalition building through regional groups and negotiating alliances
• Text-based negotiation: brackets, options, formulations and compromise packages
• Reading party interventions for interests, red lines and possible trade-offs
• Ministerial consultations, high-level segments and informal political dialogue
• Briefing delegates through issue papers, speaking points and decision trackers

Participants can produce an actionable implementation brief for their institutional responsibilities.

• Mapping treaty commitments against national laws, policies and institutional mandates
• Gap analysis between NDC commitments, budgets and delivery capacity
• RACI matrices for climate policy coordination and reporting responsibilities
• Prioritising actions using materiality, feasibility and emissions-reduction criteria
• Implementation dashboards with milestones, indicators, risks and decision points
• Ministerial briefing format: issue, evidence, options, recommendation and next steps
• Personal application plan for immediate workplace climate policy priorities