On 2 September 2025, the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) and Citepa co-hosted two French-language workshops in Songdo, Republic of Korea, ahead of the Global Transparency Forum. These sessions brought together representatives from Francophone developing countries to enhance their skills in climate finance transparency and sustainable development impact assessment.
As the two topics are essential for effective climate action under the Paris Agreement, ICAT has developed targeted guidance for policymakers, recently translated into French: the Climate Finance Transparency Guide and the Sustainable Development Methodology.
The workshops marked an important step in ICAT’s ongoing effort to make its tools and methodologies accessible to a wider audience. ICAT has developed a suite of transparency tools and guides covering mitigation, adaptation, and other priority topics, such as climate finance, just transitions, and Article 6 cooperative approaches. In response to growing demand from French-speaking countries, ICAT mandated Citepa to translate six key guides into French, aiming to support their effective application within national contexts.
The workshops were attended by representatives from Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Madagascar, and Togo, who joined experts from ICAT, Citepa and UNDP.
The first workshop focused on climate finance transparency. Experts presented ICAT’s step-by-step methodology and explored how countries can design frameworks that are practical, effective, and adapted to their particular national needs. Discussions emphasised that climate finance transparency does not require overly complex systems or advanced accounting skills, but depends on clarity, usability, and institutional coordination.
Participants reflected on the status of their national systems. Many acknowledged challenges, such as limited capacity, fragmented institutional arrangements, and data scarcity. Yet, solutions are emerging, including “green budget” approaches that integrate climate priorities into national financial planning across ministries, or climate-sensitive finance initiatives and links to Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) planning and implementation.
The discussions also highlighted the benefits of transparency in attracting finance and enabling governments to design and implement stronger policies.
“Transparency, as conceived in the Paris Agreement, is more than a reporting exercise. It is the foundation of effective action, aligned with national development objectives,” stressed ICAT Director Henning Wuester.
The second workshop focused on sustainable development, examining how countries can systematically evaluate the social, economic, and environmental impacts of climate policies using ICAT’s dedicated methodology. Participants worked through case studies on solar energy, efficient cookstoves, and public transport, examining both the positive impacts and the negative unintended consequences.
Country experience varied, from NDC evaluation to the assessment of the social benefits of green transport initiatives. In one case, mangrove protection measures were found to have negative impacts on local communities; evaluation enabled corrective measures through improved cookstove distribution. These exchanges revealed how assessments help governments anticipate trade-offs, communicate impacts, and align national climate strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Across both workshops, common challenges emerged: limited national data, insufficient capacity, and weak institutional frameworks. Participants called for capacity-building support, stronger regional cooperation, and practical tools adapted to local contexts. Several countries expressed interest in applying ICAT methodologies, while indicating that targeted technical assistance is needed to accelerate implementation.
Looking forward, ICAT, with support from Citepa, will launch the French translations of the ICAT’s guides on agriculture, just transitions monitoring, and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Webinars tailored for Francophone audiences will provide opportunities to present the guides and facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges among participating countries.
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