The event “Transversalization of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) in climate policies and lessons in accessing and managing Climate Finance” sought to enhance South-South cooperation and strengthen the link between Impulsouth project countries. Dominican Republic shared the experience of incorporating Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) in national Climate Policies, while Zambia presented actions on climate finance in the country.
Overall, the presentations from the Dominican Republic and Zambia provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities related to climate finance and ACE in Global South, sharing experiences and lessons learned in line with the main goal of promoting south-south cooperation.
Dominican Republic was represented by the adaptation specialist of the Climate Change National Council, Massiel Cairo, who discussed their strategy for integrating Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) into national climate policies.
In 2012, the national government conducted a survey of knowledge, practices, and attitudes related to climate change and as a result found that people lacked awareness of climate change and its causes. Based on this process, Dominican Republic created a national learning strategy focused on climate change, climate-resilient development, etc.. They produced materials for teachers to teach climate change and inserted climate change education in the school curricula at all levels. Additionally, International cooperation has been a key aspect of the Dominican Republic’s Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) strategy.
“We made sure to involve both ministries in the planning and implementation phases of the program, and we worked together to design the materials and curriculums for the schools. We also held regular meetings to discuss progress and to identify any challenges and opportunities for improvement”, indicated Cairo.
Overall, it’s important to have open communication and collaboration between different sectors to address climate change effectively, and to involve all stakeholders in the process, reflected the Dominican Republic was represented.
The second presentation of the event was by, Aurelius Nkonde, Senior Climate Change Officer at the Ministry of Environment of Zambia, who discussed the climate finance landscape in the country and highlighted the progress made by the country so far in addressing climate change.
Zambia has developed several policy instruments and institutional arrangements to coordinate climate change efforts across sectors, including the Climate Change Department and the Climate Change Gender Action Plan. It has also accredited its commercial and development banks with the Green Climate Fund, allowing better access to climate finance. In addition, Zambia has accessed funds from various multilateral organizations and for different sectors and has.
The country has also launched the Green Bond Guidelines and the Capital Markets Master Plan to guide climate change interventions and encourage green investments. Finally, it has developed interim guidelines for carbon markets to attract investment in the sector while it awaits the enactment of a legal framework.
The experiences shared by both countries demonstrate the importance of institutional arrangements, policy instruments, and a multi stakeholder approach in addressing climate change effectively.
The experiences shared by both countries demonstrate the importance of institutional arrangements, policy instruments, and a multi stakeholder approach in addressing climate change effectively.