Commonwealth Launches eLearning Course to Help Africa Access Climate Finance
On 11 December 2023 at #COP28 in Dubai, the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patrica Scotland officially launched the ‘Commonwealth Climate Finance Essentials‘ Course which is available on the Commonwealth eLearning Platform.
The Course is based on the cumulated experience of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH) which has helped 17 small and vulnerable states in Africa, the Carribean and the Pacific to access more than USD 322 million in #ClimateFinance to implement mitigation and adaptation measures as a consequence of #ClimateChange.
The online course introduces core elements of drafting a successful application for #ClimateFinance which are compliant to financial requirements set by major funders and meet other technical requisites. The Course is primarily aimed at government officials and climate practitioners which are finding it a challenge to navigate the red tape.
Some Small Island Developing States (#SIDS) reported it takes two to three years to draft a Project Proposal, plus another year to iron out legal and implementation details before any #ClimateFund is actually disbursed, and the project can actually start. In response to such challenges, the Commonwealth Secretariat is thus offering this Course to build up the Climate Project pipeline.
As a matter of fac, at #COP28, Mrs Saber Chowdhury, Special Envoy of the PM of Bangladesh for Climate Change, drew attention to the numerous hurdles faced by developing countries to access #ClimateFinance in a timely manner.
“The Commonwealth’s eLearning course is a significant step towards helping government officials better understand the complex structures of multi-billion-dollar funds and access the finance they need. Th Course is a great tool. All the good practices from the Commonwealth are brought together and are now available in the form of eLearning. It will help with building that capacity that is so very essential.”
Commonweealth SG Patricia Scotland
It is worth noting that the Course is part of a package of resources developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat to support its 56 member states in tackling #ClimateChange. One of the major concerns of participants to COP28 concerns the scaling up of #ClimateFinance and it is hoped that such initiatives will contribute to remove certain bottlenecks.