Expertise France is assisting the ECOWAS Commission with the development of its Regional Climate Strategy
Climate change knows no borders. It is for this reason that Expertise France is convinced of the added value of a change of scale to complement national actions. The fight against climate change must also be implemented at regional level.
AFD Group has thereby assisted the ECOWAS Commission with the process to develop its first Regional Climate Strategy, via the GCCA+ WA project with technical assistance from Expertise France and financial support from the European Union. This support has been provided through various activities, such as institutional capacity building, access to financing, the emergence of pilot climate-smart agriculture projects and access to scientific data. To support the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy, a team of experts has been set up to assist the ECOWAS Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources (DAEWR), which is responsible for conducting the development and consultation process for the draft Regional Climate Strategy for 18 months.
AFD Group will continue to be involved, alongside the West African regional institutions and countries, by scaling up and diversifying its action for a climate response in the region, which is a priority.
A robust diagnostic as a starting point
The technical expertise mobilised by Expertise France via the GCCA+ WA project firstly conducted identification, opportunity and feasibility studies to prepare the development of the strategy document. The initial diagnostic covered a broad scope: analysis of the region’s vulnerabilities, level of integration of the climate in ECOWAS regional policies (energy, agriculture, transport, health, trade, water, natural resources, etc.), as well as an analysis of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the 15 ECOWAS Member States.
Expertise France has also conducted a detailed analysis of the mandate of ECOWAS. The objective was to propose tools and activities to reveal the potential for climate action of ECOWAS as an organisation for regional integration, respecting its founding principles such as subsidiarity, solidarity and cooperation. It also capitalised on what already exists and the rich history of ECOWAS for climate action. Finally, the expertise involved building coherence between the future Regional Climate Strategy and two other structuring documents for regional policies: the ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the African Union Agenda 2063.
Consultation: cornerstone of the coordinated mobilisation of all the stakeholders
In addition, Expertise France has provided international and regional expertise to support the consultation process in the ECOWAS Commission and with the Member States, share knowledge and the outcomes of the diagnostics conducted, and move forward the process to involve all the stakeholders whose mobilisation is essential to the success of the Regional Climate Strategy (regional institutions, ECOWAS Member States, technical and financial partners, civil society).
Expertise France has helped organise consultations online (essential in order to maintain the momentum in the context of Covid-19) and face-to-face with the regional stakeholders. These consultations presented the strategic elements of the future strategy and gathered the opinions of the Member States, civil society organisations, other regional organisations (African Union, WAEMU, African Development Bank) and technical and financial partners.
A pioneering mechanism for the development of the Regional Climate Strategy
Expertise France has also helped the ECOWAS Commission set up a pioneering mechanism for the internal management of the development of the Regional Climate Strategy. The objective is to ensure that the entire institution is mobilised and involved, in a cross-functional manner and at the highest level, through a steering committee gathering all the sectoral departments, as well as the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission.
During the development phase, the technical expertise also involved proposing a pragmatic strategy with institutional arrangements and operational mechanisms for its implementation, outlining the roles and responsibilities of the cross-functional and sectoral departments of ECOWAS and the other regional institutions. It also defined an action plan for 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ECOWAS regional strategy: an ambitious strategic document for the long-term climate action of ECOWAS in all sectors
The ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy sets out sectoral objectives for adaptation – a priority issue for the region – and for the contribution to climate change mitigation by sector (transport, agriculture, energy, land use, water, health, etc.).
These objectives have been set for 2030, in line with the deadline for the commitments made by Member States under the Paris Climate Agreement. A review has been planned in 2050, as part of a process of continuous improvement in keeping with this Agreement.
The Regional Climate Strategy also outlines the way in which the regional institutions, Member States, their partners and civil society stakeholders will cooperate for its implementation. The strategy targets an institutional paradigm shift and major transformations in society, which should mean that each project and regional policy will be compatible with the Paris Agreement and foster the resilience of local communities.
Find out more: http://www.climatestrategy.ecowas.int
ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy Press Kit: https://cutt.ly/SRC-Presse