Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture (SCALA)

The Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through nationally determined contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) programme responds to the urgent need for increased action to cope with climate change impacts in the agriculture and land use sectors. SCALA supports twelve countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to build adaptive capacity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet targets set out in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as well as contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are co-leading this 20 million euro programme (2021-2025) with funding from the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).

In focus

SCALA supports 12 countries to translate their NDC and NAPs into actionable and transformative climate solutions in land use and agriculture with multi-stakeholder engagement. The three main outcomes of the programme are:

This will be done partly by reviewing NDCs and NAPs to identify climate solutions, for both mitigation and adaptation, that could contribute to changes across social, economic and environmental systems in land-use and agriculture. SCALA also provide assistance to identify tools for assessing existing options for transformative climate action, such as cost-benefit analysis, impact evaluation, gender-analysis and others, as well as developing new tools and guidance material.

To do this, a whole-of-government approach in which all relevant stakeholders collaborate will be adopted. Activities will focus on working with countries to monitor the implementation and achievement of their NDCs and NAPs, by strengthening their monitoring systems and report on progress toward mitigation and adaptation targets at domestic and international levels.

It will do so by addressing barriers and catalyzing private investment through public policy instruments and other climate investment funds, as well as promoting innovative technological and financial tools. In addition, guidance on private sector engagement in NDCs and NAPs will be developed based on experience and best practices from countries, as well as research on innovative climate solutions regarding technologies, financial instruments and others.