Climate and Biodiversity Policy Support

Germany is supporting partner countries in strengthening their ability to adapt to climate change impacts and in fostering more low-carbon and sustainable economic structures. By gaining access to know-how and cooperation on technology, policy advice and investment measures, partners of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) are able to develop and apply appropriate methods and instruments for adaptation and transformation processes.

With the Paris Agreement coming into force in November 2016, the national governments must now begin implementing their nationally determined contributions. Along with targets for reducing climate-damaging emissions, many NDCs specify the necessary adaptation measures and goals for restoring ecosystems.

The NDP Partnership initiated by Morocco and Germany will support countries in the South in realising their national climate goals. It highlights the will to jointly implement and coordinate ambitious climate change mitigation measures and aims to help merge existing climate and development goals, and better harmonise the various donor programmes. IKI projects have been and will continue to support these processes.

Building Capacity for NAPs

In response to the increased necessity to consider medium- to long-term planning for climate change adaptation within the framework of national development priorities, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process was established in 2010 under the Cancun Adaptation Framework (CAF) at the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The NAP process is designed specifically for least developed countries (LDCs), but invites all developing countries to follow the developed guidance. The NAP process will help countries identify key adaptation issues, gaps, priorities and related resource requirements and as such, will be an organic part of the formulation and implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
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Building Capacities for (I)NDC Formulation

With ratification of the Paris Agreement, concluded in December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, industrialized countries as well as emerging economies and developing countries commit themselves to take action in order to limit global warming to 2 and preferably 1.5 degree Celsius.
The actual “climate outcome” of the Paris Agreement will mainly depend on implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), that all states must submit to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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Championing Action Against Climate Change in South Africa

South Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change owing to its environmental and socio-economic conditions. The impacts of climate change affect almost every sector, including agriculture, water, health, trade, transportation, infrastructural development, tourism and finance. Extreme weather events such as droughts or flooding will be felt most strongly by the poor. In addition, South Africa is a major emitter of greenhouse gases. The country's dependency on domestic coal has resulted in a yearly per capita emission rate of approximately 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is 43% above the global average, making South Africa one of the 15 largest emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide and number one on the continent.
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Conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural carbon sinks

Globally, forests are the biggest terrestrial carbon sink. Their destruction and unsustainable use cause major greenhouse gas emissions which contribute considerably to global climate change. Currently, forest loss is particularly severe in tropical developing countries – mainly due to the rising global demand for agricultural and livestock products such as soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, rubber, meat and leather. Halting deforestation and re-growing forests can contribute approximately 24 to 30% of the global greenhouse gas mitigation potential. In other words, keeping global warming well below 2 °C can only be achieved if we jointly manage to significantly reduce deforestation and enhance forest restoration in the coming years.
A concept to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, including forest conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) has been developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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Building Capacity for NAMAs

Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are voluntary measures by developing countries and emerging economies to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in the form of projects, programmes, or policies, ideally aiming at transforming whole sectors. They should be embedded in Low Carbon Development Strategies (LCDS), which have been developed in most countries, and are building blocks of the (Intended) Nationally Determined Contributions ((I)NDCs) to an international climate change agreement. An MRV (Measurement, Reporting and Verification) system is necessary to determine the actions’ effectiveness, i.e. whether the planned GHG emission reductions were achieved.
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Building Capacity for Ecosystem-based Adaptation

The concept of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) has become an increasingly important aspect of the international climate policy debate. For instance, over 20 countries refer explicitly to EbA in their INDC submissions (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) to the UNFCCC while over 100 countries indicate ecosystem-based visions for adaptation . Furthermore, EbA measures are often embedded in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) as well as many other decisions and planning making processes. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) specifically promotes the approach through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).
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Building Capacity for MRV

With the Paris Agreement (2015) the world is set on course for transformative climate action to cut emissions and build climate resilience. Transparency is one of the backbones of the Agreement and important for building international trust and – inter alia - tracking of progress towards achieving Parties' INDCs. Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is central to this transparency system, since it describes all measures which Parties take to collect data on emissions, mitigation actions and support, and to compile this information in reports and greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories which are then subject to some form of international review or analysis.
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IKI-Film: Funding the Future

'Funding the Future' talks about the successful work of BMU's IKI. It offers project partners from different countries a platform to talk about how they contribute supported by IKI to mitigate emissions and to provide support to adapt to negative impacts of climate change.
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Protecting paradise on a budget

One of the major challenges in protecting the planet's biodiversity is lack of funds. The marine protected area in the Philippines' Tanon Strait is a case in point. But help is at hand.
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Using microcredit to tackle a mega-problem in Colombia

Small loans are helping farmers in Colombia arm themselves against climate change and protect the ecosystem. But they have to prove they are spending their microcredit on sustainable measures.
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Cash for biodiversity in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a frontrunner when it comes to nature conservation but finding the cash to keep its status isn't easy. Conservationists, lawmakers and NGOs are searching for solutions.
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Coexistence in the river delta

At the border between Togo and Benin, coexistence between people and animals hasn't been easy. A new biosphere reserve is helping.
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Green Cooling for a Warming World

As part of the International Climate Initiative, GIZ Proklima implements the Green Cooling Initiative in order to promote environmentally-friendly cooling with natural refrigerants for a sustainable future worldwide.
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A desert country sets green targets

Morocco is embracing a greener future by building the world's largest solar power plant. And that's not all. A series of smaller initiatives are helping Moroccans adapt to climate change in a sustainable way.
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Protecting Micronesia's Islands

It's the small island-nations in the Pacific Ocean that suffer most from climate change: On the Marshall Islands, on Palau and other Micronesian islands, people are faced with steadily rising sea levels. Coasts are eroding and drinking water is becoming scarce. But the world is barely aware of the problem.
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Dominican Republic: A country takes aim at climate change

The Dominican Republic aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2030 - an ambitious goal that has made the country one of the global leaders in the effort to combat climate change.
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Climate Finance

Mitigation measures, the preservation of natural carbon sinks, adaptation to the impacts of climate change and measures to conserve biodiversity all require financial resources. Germany is reliably fulfilling these commitments by financing numerous international climate activities.
to key area

International
Climate Initiative (IKI)

Climate and Biodiversity Policy Support

IKI fact sheets on Climate and Biodiversity Policy Support

Building Capacity for NAPs

Building Capacities for (I)NDC Formulation

Championing Action Against Climate Change in South Africa

Conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural carbon sinks

Building Capacity for NAMAs

Building Capacity for Ecosystem-based Adaptation

Building Capacity for MRV

IKI films on Climate and Biodiversity Policy Support

IKI-Film: Funding the Future

Protecting paradise on a budget

Using microcredit to tackle a mega-problem in Colombia

Cash for biodiversity in Costa Rica

Coexistence in the river delta

Green Cooling for a Warming World

A desert country sets green targets

Protecting Micronesia's Islands

Dominican Republic: A country takes aim at climate change

Further key areas

Climate Finance