ICAT actively participated in the UNFCCC SB 56 Conference, held in Bonn, 6-16 June 2022, which provided the first opportunity for countries and organizations to meet since the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26 last year. In this new phase of cooperation, partner countries showed strong interest in support for the implementation of their NDCs through reliable data and information. This included advancing in parallel both climate action and sustainable development through evidence-based policy-making; and building national ownership and accountability to achieve development priorities and enable transformational change. The latter was particularly highlighted during the ICAT side event.

Below is a brief summary of ICAT’s activities during the SB sessions. For more information about any of the events, projects or partnerships included below, please contact the ICAT Secretariat.

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Liberia/UNOPS/GHGMI Side Event: The role of transparency on sustainable development impacts for NDC financing and implementation

Showcasing the work in six ICAT partner countries, ICAT’s side event at the SB 56 provided a platform for discussion and knowledge-sharing on the role of transparency on sustainable development impacts to support NDC financing and implementation. Featuring a keynote speech from Prof. Wilson K. Tarpeh, Executive Director/CEO of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia; a panel discussion with representatives from Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Ghana and Mozambique; and opening remarks from the UNFCCC Secretariat and the ICAT Director, the event highlighted the importance and benefits to be gained from linking climate action to sustainable development priorities and assessing sustainable development impacts of climate action.

The speakers shared valuable country experiences in using transparency to align climate targets to the SDGs, engage a broad range of stakeholders, mobilize financial institutions and resources and apply relevant tools and methodologies, such as the ICAT Sustainable Development Methodology. 

View event recording

Access the ICAT Sustainable Development Methodology

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UNFCCC Secretariat Side Event: Supporting the Implementation of the MRV Arrangements and Enhanced Transparency Framework

The side event was organized by the UNFCCC secretariat to present their work on transparency and invite international partners, including ICAT, the GEF Secretariat, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Center and others, to showcase the support opportunities available for developing countries to implement the ETF. The ICAT Director contributed to the panel discussion, presenting ICAT’s “capacity building support for national transparency frameworks” and highlighting ICAT’s current focus on supporting transparency efforts as a basis for tracking and advancing NDC implementation, including the upcoming ICAT tools and methodologies for tracking climate finance, collecting and managing data for the transport sector and linking article 6 and transparency.

View event recording

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Presentation of the ICAT Transport Data Tool

The new ICAT tool for collecting and managing data in the transport sector, developed by Climate SI, was presented to representatives from four countries (Belize, Cambodia, Nigeria and Uganda), who were interested in using it as a component of their ICAT project. An earlier version of this tool has already been applied in Sri Lanka, while the new, more sophisticated version, can be used by any country and be adapted to the national context. The tool has four modules, out of which countries can select the most relevant, and can be applied using internationally agreed upon or nationally developed methodologies. Technical support will be provided by the developer (ClimateSI) on how to set up the tool and integrate it within the different national MRV and data collection systems.  

View presentation of the tool 

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Informal Meeting of the ICAT Central Africa ReCATH countries

After the official launch of the ICAT Regional Climate Action Transparency Hub for Central Africa at the end of March, work has advanced in engaging with countries, identifying their gaps and needs and understanding their priorities, to best prepare for the next steps for the Hub. The meeting welcomed representatives from Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, while representatives of ICAT’s regional and technical partners in Central Africa, ECCAS, Aether and Fokabs, joined virtually. The importance of strong data systems, effective climate action and adequate support for capacity building, as well as the eagerness to move forward as soon as possible with the regional activities was shared by all participants. The upcoming COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh  and the pre-COP in Kinshasa, as well as the 2022 Africa Climate week in Gabon, were highlighted as important events for climate action hosted in the African continent. 

Learn more about ICAT’s work in Central Africa

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Meetings with transparency networks and partners

The SB56 offered an excellent opportunity for the ICAT secretariat to exchange and coordinate with key partners in climate transparency and capacity building, as well as to open new roads for collaboration. ICAT participated in the 11th meeting of the ETF Group of Friends (formerly MRV/Transparency Group of Friends), organized by the UNFCCC secretariat with the objective of enhancing collaboration and synergies amongst the members to support developing countries more effectively and efficiently. ICAT discussed with the organizers and the rest of the members about the way forward for the optimal use of the network. In addition, the UNFCCC/ICAT Secretariat joint proposal for a series of ETF Dialogues to be organized on the occasion of the upcoming Regional Climate weeks, starting from the Africa Climate Week in Gabon in August 2022, was introduced to the network members, which were invited to co-host and contribute to the events if interested. 

In addition to this, ICAT participated in the 26th Partnership Meeting of the PATPA and had bilateral meetings with important partners, such as the GEF Secretariat staff in charge of CBIT, and the Director of the Energy Transition Partnership. 

Read more about the ETF Group of Friends

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Bilateral Meetings with ICAT Countries

Across the two weeks of the SB 56, the ICAT Secretariat met with 23 countries in person to discuss the progress of current ICAT country projects, potential activities for continued work in subsequent phases/work plan development for new countries, as well as to flag potential problems, risks and bottlenecks and think of their respective solutions. In addition to discussing the in-country work, ICAT used these meetings to inform countries of the upcoming peer-to-peer exchange and learning opportunities, such as the ETF Dialogues in the Regional Climate Weeks and the ICAT Community meetings in September 2022, and encourage their active role and engagement with the transparency community. The Secretariat met with: Argentina, Belize, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Learn more about ICAT’s work in direct country support

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UN Open House Event

At the sidelines of the SB 56 and the opening of the Climate Tower, the UNFCCC secretariat invited diplomatic representatives from the Bonn area to a UN Open House Event, with the aim of bringing together diplomatic representations based in North-Rhine Westphalia and Hesse to develop a shared understanding of the latest activities and projects of the 25 UN Agencies based in Bonn and to provide UN Agencies with a platform to introduce and showcase their work in an exhibition setting and tour de table. The ICAT Director presented ICAT’s mission and activities to the diplomatic representatives present at the event, many of whom represented ICAT partner countries. An exhibition/reception followed, in which ICAT, together with the NDC-Partnership, which is also hosted under UNOPS, set up an information stand and discussed ICAT’s work on climate transparency with the different diplomatic representatives.