The Regional Climate Action Transparency Hub will support capacity building for climate transparency within the eight countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA): Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

More specifically, the hub is expected to support the following goals, critical for climate action in Central America and Dominican Republic:
● Provide support to institutions and technical actors in the region, leading to the establishment of robust transparency frameworks;
● Enable the SICA countries to participate effectively in the Paris Agreement, for example, through effective measurement, reporting and verification frameworks, climate policy assessments, and structures to facilitate the mobilization of finance;
● Build capacity among transparency practitioners, creating a network of experts in the region; and
● Promote collaboration between SICA member countries and facilitate the sharing of knowledge.

The project is based on cooperation between ICAT, SICA and the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.

The specific objectives of the Regional Hub are:

1. To establish itself as a specialized knowledge center.
2. To respond to the needs and priorities of the countries, identifying the key gaps to be addressed through the Hub’s work plan;
3. To increase human and institutional capacity in the SICA region to improve transparency in order to enable the SICA countries to participate effectively in the Paris Agreement (MRV, policy assessment, mobilization of finance);
4. To create a network of experts and officials from SICA member states through working groups, trainings and peer-to-peer exchange activities;
5. To disseminate transparency guidance and tools (such as ICAT tools and methodologies) and promote their use in the countries of the region, by adapting and further developing them to their specific needs and priorities;
6. To support resource mobilization for climate action in the Central American region;
7. To facilitate the coordination of support for transparency, including coordination with transparency initiatives, ensuring the optimal use of resources and avoiding duplication of efforts,
8. To integrate links to the climate transparency platforms of the SICA countries in the Hub’s website, thus facilitating the access and use of relevant information.

The hub is hosted by the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), which is SICA´s specialized environmental body. It operates through a centre based in Belize and build a network of transparency experts across the region. CCAD assumes the responsibility of coordinating the Hub aimed at supporting climate action transparency in the SICA countries.

ICAT provides resources to fund the international technical implementing partner, core Hub personnel and regional experts, regional training and peer-to-peer exchange activities, as well as other technical work to support transparency efforts in the region.

On 25 October 2023, in Panama City, ministers of Central American countries, and regional and international representatives celebrated the creation of a new hub aiming at building capacity for climate transparency within the eight countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA): Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

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