United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - Based in Bonn, Germany, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat provides organizational support and technical expertise to the negotiations and institutions of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. Included in this mandate is support to the Executive Board of the clean development mechanism (CDM), through which projects in developing countries can earn saleable credits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To date there are more than 1,930 registered projects in 58 countries. Despite its recognized success in spurring investment in climate change mitigation and sustainable development, much remains to be done to expand CDM’s reach in less developed countries.

Contact: Lucy Waruingi, [email protected],

WEB: www.unfccc.org
 

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its UNEP Risoe Centre is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP's work emphasizes strengthening links between environmental sustainability and economic decision-making, an emerging nexus for public policymaking and market development. In the area of climate change, our approach aims at reducing barriers to market development, building capacities, and easing the costs and risks of entry of new actors, in both the public and private sectors. As a founding member of the Nairobi Framework, UNEP works with other UN agencies and partners, and UNDP in particular, on a range of activities to help African countries become more active in the carbon market.

Contact: Miriam Hinostroza, [email protected],

WEB: www.uneprisoe.org

The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) is a non-profit business organization of major companies and the leading voice of this community on emissions trading, whose goal is to ensure that the objectives of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change and, ultimately, climate protection, are met. IETA works for the development of an active, global greenhouse gas market, consistent across national boundaries. IETA currently has over 175 member companies from around the world, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminum, chemical, paper and banking; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal and consulting industries. IETA members seek to develop an emission’s trading regime that results in real and verifiable greenhouse gas emission reductions, balancing economic efficiency with environmental integrity and social equity.

Contact: Marion Gilodi, [email protected],

WEB: www.ieta.org

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - As the United Nations' global development network, UNDP’s goal is to align human development and climate change management efforts by promoting mitigation and adaptation activities that promote socio-economic progress. With a US$5 billion portfolio of energy and environment projects, UNDP is one of the world’s largest providers of technical assistance in the area of climate change. On the ground in 166 countries, UNDP has built links and considerable trust with governments, civil society and the private sector. Over the past seven years, UNDP has been involved in carbon finance capacity development activities in more than 20 countries across several regions. At both global and regional levels, UNDP’s capacity development activities have been supported by systematic review and compilation of best practices and lessons learned on CDM, which are being disseminated through a series of knowledge products and publications.

Contact: Marcel Alers, [email protected],

WEB: www.undp.org

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was founded in 1965 with the mission to deliver innovative learning products and conduct research on knowledge systems that develop the capacity of beneficiaries mostly national, local government officials and civil society actors. Within this framework, the UNITAR Climate Change Programme (CCP) seeks to enhance the capacity of developing countries to improve their participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. UNITAR-CCP has been engaged in supporting Developing Countries including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to develop their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) and also coordinates and mobilizes resources that enable its network of regional centers of excellence, to create and increase national, local and regional expertise on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Contact: Mamadou Moussa Diakhiite, [email protected],

WEB: www.unitar.org

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) - Established in 1964, UNCTAD promotes the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy. UNCTAD has progressively evolved into an authoritative knowledge-based institution whose work aims to help shape current policy debates and thinking on development, with a particular focus on ensuring that domestic policies and international action are mutually supportive in bringing about sustainable development. UNCTAD’s Climate Change Programme has a significant role to play in the international climate change debate on the effects of – and policy responses to – global climate change, as well as to the United Nations-wide response strategy. In particular, the programme focuses in addressing the economic aspects of climate change and its trade and development implications. Through its analytical, technical and capacity-building expertise, the programme assists developing countries in identifying opportunities under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and in designing low-carbon-intensive development strategies to attract investments in areas where national advantages exist. It is also involved in the implementation of the Nairobi Framework, a standing effort in promoting inter-agency collaboration and coordination, which aims to help developing countries, especially those in sub-Sahara Africa, to improve their level of participation in the CDM.

Contact: Lucas Assunção, [email protected],

WEB: www.unctad.org

The World Bank – The World Bank’s mission is to help developing countries and their people reach the goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable development by working with our partners. To do that we concentrate on building the climate for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, so that economies will grow, and by investing in and empowering poor people to participate in development. Addressing global climate change through market development is an important component of the overall mission. World Bank has played a pioneering role in engendering the carbon market, and so far utilized over $2 billion in promoting carbon mitigation projects, including in Africa. Capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries is an important endeavour of the World Bank, which complements its carbon finance activities. Carbon Finance Assist is World Bank’s flagship capacity building program implemented by the World Bank Institute.

Contact: Samira Elkhamlichi, [email protected],

WEB: www.cfassist.org

The African Development Bank (AfDB) was created in 1964 to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilize resources for Africa’s economic and social development. AfDB attaches great importance to environmental sustainability and low carbon growth and is supporting the efforts of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to switch towards cleaner energy technologies and renewable energy sources in the continent, including climate change risk management. The clean energy portfolio of the Bank stands at about USD $2.5 billion and this is still set to grow.
AfDB is reducing vulnerability to climate change within its RMCs by building climate resilience into past and future Bank financed development investments; and supporting policy, legal and regulatory reforms including knowledge generation and capacity building. AfDB is financing the institutional strengthening of four regional African climate centres as part of the ClimDev Initiative.
The Bank also seeks to play a leadership role in Africa in supporting the implementation of REDD+. In 2009, through its Africa Development Institute and sector departments, AfDB carried out a training workshop for 20 DNAs on carbon finance in general and on REDD+ in particular. This training will now be on an annual basis. The Bank is actively engaged in the CDM and thus far, fifteen eligible projects have been identified and are at advanced stages of preparation for registration.

Contact: Uzoamaka Nwamarah, [email protected],

WEB: www.afdb.org