ICAT is pleased to welcome 12 new countries and one additional sub-region to the Initiative. 

Following ICAT’s latest Call for Expressions of Interest in late 2022-early 2023, an evaluation process took place to thoroughly review all the applications and proceed with the selection of countries and regional entities eligible to receive ICAT support. The ICAT Donor Steering Committee confirmed yesterday, 22 March 2022, the final list which includes:

• 8 countries in Africa: Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Zambia;
• 3 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia;
• 1 country in Asia: Pakistan;
• 1 regional entity in Central America: CCAD (Central American Commission for Environment and Development ) / SICA (Central American Integration System Initiative). 

In addition, ICAT can now extend direct country support to all countries belonging to one of ICAT’s  Regional Climate Action Transparency Hubs, some of which had submitted an expression of interest. 

The selection process involved a technical evaluation conducted by a panel of experts, who carefully reviewed the submissions using a broad set of criteria. These included support needs, the economic and political profile of each country, other transparency support received, climate action commitments, vulnerability to climate impacts, geographical diversity and more. The panel’s recommendations were subsequently presented to the Donor Steering Committee, ICAT’s board, for its endorsement. 

The countries can now receive support from ICAT to build and enhance their national transparency frameworks in line with their specific needs and priorities. Letters of expression of interest included requests for support in key transparency areas like GHG inventories, NDC tracking, MRV/M&E frameworks and policy impact assessment. Some countries are seeking ICAT’s support to tackle topics like climate finance and just transitions. Building national capacity is at the core of ICAT projects, therefore, all countries will receive resources for work at the national level, for instance, engaging national experts and organizing training activities. They will also receive international expert advice and gain access to ICAT’s suite of innovative tools and methodologies and unique opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration and knowledge exchange.

On the regional level, ICAT will work with CCAD/SICA for the establishment of a Regional Climate Action Transparency Hub in Central America. This would replicate ICAT’s approach in Central Africa and Central Asia, where regional hubs have already been set up with centres of expertise providing tailored support to each sub-region’s countries. CCAD/SICA encompasses eight countries in Central America: Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

In the period ahead, ICAT will work closely with the new countries to develop work plans adapted to the transparency needs and priorities of each partner country/region, with the work set to begin in the second half of 2023. International implementing partners will be brought on board to accompany the in-country work providing expert support. ICAT country projects are planned for an initial period of 12 to 18 months, while subsequent project phases can be approved based on successful completion of the first phase and a need for additional support. ICAT’s regional hubs receive support and funding for a period of three years, to ensure sustained capacity over the long-term.