9. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT ACTION PROGRAMME

This section outlines the roll-out of the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’. Successful implementation of the Action Programme will improve the effectiveness of Danish development cooperation and reduce risks. Through Danida Aid Management Guidelines (AMG), the Action Programme is integrated into existing development aid procedures and policies, in order to ensure that climate change, where relevant, is addressed as one of several critical development factors.

9.1 Early Lessons, Good Practice, and Benchmarks

Linking the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ to the AMG will help ensure that Danish development cooperation is climate proofed at critical stages of strategy, programme and project development, and implementation.

In addition to the requirements of the AMG, new specific policy requirements for implementation of the Action Programme are not introduced. However, given existing resource constraints, there is a risk that implementation of the Action Programme may be given insufficient priority and that lessons and good practice may not spread fast enough. Therefore, a targeted approach will be taken to ensure follow-up and early action.

Benchmarks for rolling out the Action Programme include a minimum of three bilateral (national or sector level) or multilateral actions in 2005, and a minimum of five annual bilateral or multilateral actions in 2006-2007. If needed, additional assistance for targeted actions may be made available.

Actions

• Climate change screening to be linked to the mandatory environmental screening process of the AMG and aligned with the existing Environmental Screening Note.
• Early lessons and good practice on integrating climate change considerations, to be obtained from dialogues with partner countries and multilateral partners and from selected sector programmes (new or on-going), particularly on adaptation.
• Additional assistance to be offered to assist partner countries in early actions, stocktaking, and national climate change screening (ref. para. 4.3).

9.2 Aid Management Guidelines, Internal Capacity Development, Knowledge Sharing

The ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is designed as an integral part of the Danida Aid Management Guidelines, linked to the Guidelines for Programme Management.¹⁵

An operational website on climate change and development is developed as part of the Danida environmental professional network established by Danida’s Centre for Competence Development (DCCD).¹⁶ The website is a ’living’ instrument. Based on chapters 5-8 of this Action Programme, the website contains simple screening and action tools. As experience with the Action Programme is gained, the website will include examples from Danida policy dialogue, adaptation and mitigation in sector and country programmes, CDM activities, and climate proofing of mixed credit projects.

By including climate change and development as an element in relevant DCCD training courses, Danish development practitioners will be familiarised with the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’. This will happen in Copenhagen as well as in the field. The aim of such training is to ensure that best use is made of the Action Programme and the associated tools.

Knowledge sharing is important. Therefore, dialogue on climate change and development will continue with a wide range of stakeholders in Den-mark and abroad, including development practitioners, the Danish ’Research Network for Environment and Development’, and the UNEP Risø Centre on Energy, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development.

Actions

• Based on user feed-back, regularly update the environmental professional network website on the Climate and Development Action Programme, including the screening toolbox.
• DCCD internal training as part of the roll-out of the Climate Change and Development Action Programme.
• Dialogue on Action Programme and toolbox with partner countries, other donors, development practitioners, and research institutions.

9.3 Feed-back and Review

Through implementation of the Action Programme and by making use of the screening tools, experience will be gained. In order to develop the Action Programme further, feed-back from Danish embassies and development practitioners, partner governments, other stakeholders in partner countries, and from other donors is important.

Although general feed-back is welcome at all times, it is not expected that Danish embassies and other stakeholders carry out separate reporting on the use of the Action Programme and toolbox. By using established channels of communication, feed-back, therefore, should be included as part of normal reporting related to annual planning processes, consultation meeting, technical missions etc.

A review of the Action Programme will be made in year 2008. The objective of the review will be to assess the usefulness of the Action Programme and the toolbox, collect and disseminate best practice, and make adjustments in the Action Programme and the toolbox as necessary.

Furthermore, experience from implementing the Action Programme and the toolbox will be shared with EU partners as part of the overall review of the implementation of the three-year EU Action Plan on Climate Change in the Context of Development Cooperation. Thereby, Danish experience will feed into EU considerations on further action beyond 2008.

Actions

• Feed-back from Danish embassies and other stakeholders to Danida Copenhagen on use of the Action Programme and ’lessons learned’.¹⁷
• Review the Action Programme and toolbox by 2008.
• Share lessons with EU partners for developing further action.

¹⁵) Danida Aid Management Guidelines: http://www.amg.um.dk

¹⁶) Professional network to be accessed at: http://www.danida-networks.dk