Economic Advisory Initiative
Advice and support for a green recovery
By financing economic advisors, IKI is providing support to its partner countries during the coronavirus crisis as they work to combine economic recovery goals with climate and biodiversity targets.
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be an especially challenging time for emerging and developing countries. In response to this, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) developed a ‘Corona Response Package’ that it is using to help International Climate Initiative (IKI) partner countries address these challenges, while also promoting a ‘green recovery’ – a return to economic prosperity that is sustainable in terms of climate change and biodiversity.
NDC Partnership initiative: advice for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation
One key measure for the green recovery is the financing of teams of specialists capable of providing expert advice to partner country governments. This was the reason behind the NDC Partnership (NDCP) launching its Economic Advisory Initiative in June 2020.
The Initiative provides teams of economic advisors whose help can be requested by finance and planning ministries in emerging and developing countries. These experts draw up detailed proposals for linking the implementation of measures for NDCs and biodiversity conservation in the coronavirus crisis to the goals of economic recovery, job creation and sustainable economic development. Worldwide, the Initiative supports over 50 advisors in 33 countries.
"Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. We want to safeguard this rich natural capital by making nature-based solutions a core component of our national recovery strategies. In practice, we seek to advance green infrastructure projects and promote bioeconomy products."
Mónica Parra, advisor in Colombia
“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Ethiopia continues to pursue its agenda for green growth. As an advisor to the national Planning and Development Commission, I am working on establishing a business forum that shall provide a platform for the private sector to take an active role in the country's Green Recovery.”
Bamlaku Alamirew Alemu, advisor in Ethiopia
Engagement of the International Climate Initiative
The IKI Corona Response Package is funding advisors in different countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. These IKI partner countries had requested economic advisory support as provided by the NDCP Initiative. The deployment of advisors to ministries in these countries receives financing and specialist support from IKI projects.
Complementary to the Initiative of the NDC Partnership, IKI has also utilised an OECD project to support the deployment of advisors to another four countries: Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Uzbekistan.
Alongside climate change mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change, IKI supports biodiversity conservation as a key focus of the work conducted by these advisors. In each case, the orientation of this work is matched to the country’s needs. While the advisor in Colombia is focusing her attention on nature-based solution strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation, the support provided to Indonesia targets the sectors of agriculture, waste and energy. In Ethiopia, the advisor is working on expanding the participation of the private sector in measures for the green recovery.
Sharing knowledge and experience: networks for experts
Together with other members of the NDCP, IKI is also promoting the exchange among all advisors who are part of the initiative.
In addition, six IKI projects are also providing specialist expertise for all NDCP member countries. These projects feed into a thematic expert group that has been set up separately to provide support to partner governments in relation to more wide-ranging technical and sectoral issues for the green recovery. The group’s expertise encompasses the harmonisation of climate change mitigation and sustainable development as well as the topics of climate finance, climate reporting, biodiversity, AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land use) and transport.
Outlook
Many of these advisors have been deployed since the beginning of 2021, and will provide their support to finance and planning ministries for six to twelve months. During this time, they will develop detailed proposals that can be incorporated into the development of economic programmes and long-term strategic policymaking for development.
The overall aim is to use the Covid-19 crisis as a chance to harmonise current economic measures with climate change mitigation, adaptation to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity conservation, so as to create a long-term and sustainable transformation.
IKI's advice and support
Support/funding for advisors
Advice in the thematic expert group
- Supporting the design and first implementation steps of the new global framework for biological diversity
- Support for SDG Review and Implementation Processes (SDG-RI)
- Green Economy Transformation in Cooperation with the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) – Synergies between…
- Supporting climate strategies in countries where motorisation is rapidly increasing
- TRANSfer III - Facilitating the development of ambitious transport mitigation actions
- Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA)
Experiences from the countries
IKI commitment to a sustainable new start
IKI Corona Response Package
Briefings for an economic green recovery
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