UNFCCC Capacity Building for Least Developed Countries

The project trains delegates from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to engage in the international climate decision-making processes. Three regional training workshops for delegates from Africa, Asia and the Pacific region and a further workshop before the climate change Conference of the Parties (COP) are held and they feature a negotiation simulation in a UNFCCC-like environment. The aim of these events is to improve participants’ knowledge of the international climate decision-making process, so that they can engage effectively in the negotiations once they reach the United Nations. Financial and logistical support to selected women delegates is provided so that they can attend the UNFCCC sessions. They are also offered a mentoring scheme to pair the delegates with experienced negotiators and to achieve multiplier effects through an alumni network.

Project data

IKI funding
1,939,417.65 €
Duration
01/2023 till 12/2026
Status
open
Implementing organisation
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Online
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State of implementation/results

  • Since the beginning of 2023, IIED has been leading a project to equip negotiators from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with the knowledge and the skills needed to aptly engage in negotiations around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The project organises regional training workshops and provides mentorship support to emerging negotiators to become climate leaders. It explicitly focuses on levelling the gender gap by increasing the number and strengthening the capacity of female negotiators. The project is led in partnership with Prakriti Resources Centre, ENDA Energie, and Legal Response International, in consultation with the LDC Group.
  • To date, the project has trained 99 participants from 45 countries, 57% of whom were women, with 71% reporting improved knowledge and skills across trainings. In 2023, project partners organized two training workshops for African negotiators from 8-10 and 10-12 May in Senegal, followed by one for the Asia-Pacific region on 21-22 September in Nepal. A pre-COP training workshop on priority negotiation topics was also held in Dubai on 28 November 2023.
  • In 2024, IIED, with ENDA Energie and LRI, held the Africa Regional Training Workshop for LDC Female Negotiators from 10-12 September in Senegal. Co-funded by IKI and IIED, it trained 13 female LDC negotiators on the UNFCCC process and key negotiation topics. 100% reported knowledge improvements, with 57% of Anglophone and 67% of Francophone participants rating it excellent.
  • COP28 on-site and virtual attendance list analysis reveals 53 of 78 IIED trainees in 2023 (or 68%) attended COP28 in person – 27 women (51%) and 26 men (49%) – confirming a solid selection process and good returns on training efforts. A similar analysis for COP29 is underway.
  • Since 2023, seven mentees, all women, have benefitted from dedicated mentorship. They are paired with seasoned LDC group negotiators and supported by project partners throughout negotiation sessions. Mentees receive financial support to travel to and attend one or more UNFCCC negotiation sessions.
  • Ahead of SB62, IIED supported two new female negotiators for their participation in Bonn from 16 May to 26 June 2025. They received media engagement training from IIED and a training on legal skills for climate negotiators from LRI. Two mentees graduated from the mentorship programme at IIED’s networking event at SB62 in Bonn. Additionally, one lawyer was mentored by LRI in 2025, after two had joined in previous years; they were also integrated into IIED’s mentorship scheme.
  • Project partners produced knowledge products to support LDC negotiators. LRI developed explainers on Loss & Damage, Just Transition and carbon markets, Summaries of COP28 and COP29 outcomes, and updated its A to Z Paris Agreement App in 2023, 2024 and 2025. IIED published updated versions of the toolkits "Becoming a UNFCCC delegate: What You Need to Know" in English and French and with LRI, a Guide to Climate Negotiations Terminology.

Latest Update:
12/2025

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