@FAO-RNE Pre Cop22 regional dialogue at the League of Arab States

Cairo, 4 October 2016

At the pre-22d Conference of Parties (COP22) sub-regional meeting currently taking place at the League of Arab States (LAS), representatives of 14 Arab countries and officials from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) discussed a number of issues related to the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and climate finance.

Country representatives and their FAO counterparts are discussing in this preliminary meeting areas of collaboration between FAO and the LAS member countries on agriculture and climate change in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda as well as thematic priorities for climate finance and support including through the GCF, GEF (with a new GEF cycle -- GEF 7 -- starting in 2018) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN).

The meeting kicked off yesterday, Monday, and will conclude on Wednesday 5 October. Four working sessions were held on the first day. The First session focused on the Paris Agreement and Agriculture and sought to achieve better understanding of the key elements of the Paris Agreement and challenges for its implementation. It also sought better understanding of the elements related to agriculture, water, fisheries and forests in the Paris Agreement and their relevance in the implementation of INDCs and other policies, especially those related to food security. It also included a presentation by FAO and UNFCC.

Held under the theme "The role of forests, water, fishery and agriculture in INDCs" the second session worked to achieve better understanding of the scope and actions that are included in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of participating countries for forests, water, fisheries and agriculture and how mitigation and adaptation are considered.

The third session discussed the implementation of the agricultural components of INDCs in in the context of the 2030 Development Agenda while the fourth and final session for the day discussed priority areas for joint action and identified priority topics and capacity gaps for collaboration at sub-regional level and with FAO.

On the second day of the meeting, the participants debated finance for implementation, with the fifth session discussing domestic finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agricultural components of NDCs. This included experience-sharing, identification of financing gaps, and enhancing South-South cooperation for knowledge transfer and capacity building on the design of institutional arrangements and mechanisms for funding climate action in the agriculture, water, fishery and forestry sectors.

The sixth session, themed "international climate finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agricultural components of NDCs," discussed experience-sharing for improved understanding of international financing options for NDC implementation and improved understanding of the priorities of climate finance mechanisms, as well as enhanced capacities to formulate and develop project proposals. It identified expectations of the countries of the region regarding access to climate finance.

The seventh session, titled "priority areas for climate finance actors in the invited countries," sought to enhance understanding of the specificities of different sources of climate finance and their respective priorities. It included presentations by GCF, CTCN and GEF representatives.

Workshops for targeted countries’ national policymakers and experts on agriculture and climate change were also held to share experiences and identify common interests and opportunities for common action.

Upon conclusion, the meeting is expected to produce a roadmap for further collaboration based on the above priorities in 2016 and beyond. These include identification of sub-regional thematic priority areas in agriculture based on INDCs, identification of thematic priorities for the sub-region for funding applications, e.g. to the GCF, GEF and CTCN, and identification of priority areas for collaboration between FAO and LAS countries in agriculture and climate change.

FAO and representatives from the respective organizations provided advice on building GCF and CTCN portfolio in the sub region based on country priorities, and strengthening the existing GEF portfolio in the Near East and North Africa region.

The meeting was jointly organized by the Governments of Egypt and LAS with support from FAO. It was the second in a series of FAO-sponsored regional dialogues on INDC's related to agriculture and climate finance.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the region. It was also attended by the National Designated Authorities to the Green Climate Fund, National Designated Entities to the Climate Technology Centre and Network, and National Focal Points to the Global Environment Facility, as well as representatives from the GCF and GEF to complement the exchange.

This sub-regional meeting followed up on the outcomes of the 21st Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21) in December 2015, where the 195 Parties to the UNFCCC adopted the landmark Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement sets out to limit anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to levels that limit an average increase of global temperature 1.5-2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while explicitly recognizing that such climate action is vital to sustainable development and food security.