Organisation of three sets of Executive Training on Climate Change for the African Development Bank's Senior Management

BACKGROUND

Africa's major economic sectors are already vulnerable to current climate sensitivity, with huge economic impacts and this vulnerability is exacerbated by existing developmental challenges such as endemic poverty, complex governance and institutional dimensions; limited access to capital, including markets, infrastructure and technology, ecosystem degradation and disaster conflicts. These in turn have contributed to Africa's weak adaptive capacity, increasing the contintent's vulnerability to projected climate change.

Africa is the least industrialised continent and contributes least to global greenhouse emissions. Largely dependent on agriculture, the continent is adversely affected by changes in the climate. The threats of higher temperatures, unreliable rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and increasing frequent weather-related disasters include drought and floods, lower agricultural production and food shortages, extended use of marginal lands for agriculture provoking deforestation and lower carbon sequestration options, shortages of drinking water in dense urban centres, shifting patterns among pastoral and sedentary communities. The estimated cost of these climate change-related events have been assessed at % of the continent's annual product, or about $40 billion.

In response to Climate Change the Bank has adpoted in May 2009 its Climate Risk Management and Adaptation Strategy (CRMA) which sets out modalities for building climate resilience into Bank investments, as well as strengthening the capacities of RMS's to address their climate change risks. The Bank has also approved in July 2008 its Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) which is geared towards improving energy access and achieving energy security in RMCs while simultaneously encouranign the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the implementation of renewable energy and clean technology programs. An integrated Climate Change Action Plan is being developed for the implementation of the Bank's climate change policies and its success will depend to a great extent on how much senior management understands the issues at stake.

Currently the Bank is conducting a pilot regional training programme on issues pertaining to Environmental and Social Safeguards and Climate Change covering some Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern African countries. This programme aims at enhancing the capacities of the Bank's Task Managers, Sector Specialists and Country Portfolio Officers, as well as RMC officials on safeguards' issues and climate change mainstreaming.

As part of this training programme, the Bank is designing an executive training programme for the their senior management (the Bank's Executive Directors, Vice-Presidents, Sector and Regional Directors, as well as Managers).

OBJECTIVE OF THE TRAINING
The general objective of this training programme is to raise the awareness of senior management about the vulnerability of the continent and the additional burden to development caused by climate change. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to enhance the capacity of the Bank Management to understand and be up-dated on issue related to climate change and to increase skills of Bank Executive Directors, VPs and Managers to address climate change concerns in cilent dialogue and operations. This will ensure the communication of informaiton on climate change and increase the knowledge on adaptation, mitigation and financing among the different Bank's departments.

In addition to the above, the training has the following specific objectives:

- to meet the demand for improving skills on climate change in order to allow Bank Management to better mainstream climate change into decisions, programs, strategies and policies;
- to help Bank Management to better understand the on-going international discussions and negotiations on climate change, as well the institutional and legal frameworks under which these negotiations are being conducted, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changea (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol;
- to provide tools and methodologies to analyse climate change impacts and vulnerability on who to build resilience and adaptive capacity in key development sectors;
- to demonstrate the risks associated with climate change and all threats caused by not taking into account such risks into program and project design, implementation and decision making processes;
- to discuss practical options and best practices for adaptation in the context of development;
- to showcase the possibilitiy and benefits to put in place win-win projects which have both adaptation and mitgataion effect;
- to showcase the relevance of climate change mitigation in Africa, though inside this continent emissions are few and also the opportunity to adopt a low-carbon pathway;
- to demonstrate the benefits associated with the harnessing of renewable energy and energy efficiency in terms of low-carbon development, job creation and energy security;
- to demonstrate some mitigation oiptions in the energy, transport, agriculture sectors and explore other possibilities for climate change mitigation actions;
- to provide opportunity to Bank Managers to understand the role of forest in the context of climate change mitigation and the role of local knowledge and institutions in sustainable management of forests;
- to update the management on the existing and potential financial frameworks and mechansim and on the possibilities of financing options for developing countries, particularly for African countries.

EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE TRAINING:
- raised awareness about the risk of climate change in Africa and all benefice associated with taking into account such risk in designing, implementing and financing projects and also in decision-making processes;
- enhanced capacities and skills of Bank Management on climate change issues;
- recognising the opportunities associated with following an alternative low-carbon development path;
- improved understanding of climate change concepts, terminologies, methodologies;
- increased capacities of Bank Management on mainstreaming climate change into Bank operations in RMC's;
- developed intellectual and operational aptitude associated with the design, development and deliverty of climate change negotiation processes, policy analysis and project co-implementation and coordination.