Ahead of the COP28 held in Dubai, a project sponsored by the British High Commission (BHC) seeks to strengthen some Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) engagement with climate policy.
Three not-for-profit organisations – Centre For 21st Century Issues (C21st), EnviroNews Development Network (Endenet) and Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) are involved in the project aimed at improving the communication, lobbying and advocacy competencies of climate commuted CSOs ahead of COP28, to ensure more active participation at the global summit.
This is contained in a joint statement by the CSOs made available to newsmen on Saturday in Lagos.
The statement noted that COP28, the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2023.
According to the statement, the BHC-sponsored project is also aimed at developing a harmonised engagement approach for CSOs to engage with government and COPs processes.
It said that the project would ensure that there is a strong synergy between the CSO government and other relevant stakeholders at COP28 to ensure Nigeria gets the best outcomes that would protect its people from the devastating effects of climate change.
“The project plans to conduct a scoping study on Nigeria’s CSOs and other CSO participation and role in climate change negotiations and UNFCCC processes at COPs in the past two years.
“The study will identify gaps and issues that need to be addressed in ensuring effective CSOs’ engagement with climate change processes at national and global policy levels towards COP28.
“The findings of the scoping study will be used to design capacity-building initiatives, and communication plans and, facilitate multi stakeholders’ dialogues with relevant government climate and related institutions to foster joint advocacy and networking in influencing climate negotiations on the road to COP28 and beyond.
“The project will prioritise effective communications of climate issues among CSOs,” the statement said.
It stressed that the virtual capacity building and knowledge sharing sessions, which commenced on Friday, Nov 10, were designed to navigate the various negotiating streams at the UNFCCC, explore the different negotiation interests, and crystalise Nigeria’s interest within the African climate change position.
The statement said that the Friday session, Themed: “Nigerian CSOs on the Way to COP28: Navigating UNFCCC Processes and Participation”, Friday’s (Week One) session focused on “Overview of UNFCCC”, and featured two presentations: “Understanding UNFCCC” and “The UNFCCC Governance Structure.”
“Week Two will focus on “Climate Justice and other related concepts” and “Concept of Nationally Determined Contributions and the Paris Climate Agreement.”
“Week Three features “Overview of the UNFCCC Negotiation Process” and “Negotiation Streams at COP28.”
“The Week Four has “Understanding the UNFCCC Major Groups and Constituencies” and “Media Engagement and Coordination at COP28,” the statement said.
The statement quoted Titilope Akosa, Executive Director of C21st, as saying:
“This timely training programme will equip climate-focused CSOs in Nigeria with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complexities of UNFCCC negotiations.
” By participating in an informed manner, CSOs can effectively contribute to global climate policy discussions.
“Armed with knowledge, Nigerian CSOs will be better equipped to advocate for their priorities, influence policy outcomes, expand their network and drive meaningful change.”
The statement said that a communications plan that prioritised campaigns on critical points of negotiations for Nigeria at COP28 such as adaptation and mitigation priorities, loss and damage, climate finance and global stocktake will be articulated and implemented.
It explained that the dissemination of relevant information among CSOs, government officials and the public before, during and after COP28 would be pursued by the project.
The statement explained that the project is expected to link participants to ongoing processes such as the Technical Committee on Loss and Damage, Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSOC), African Group of Negotiators (AGN), the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), Country BLOCS and other relevant climate change processes in Africa to understand the African position and mainstream it into Nigeria’s CSOs campaigns and advocacy on the road to COP28 and beyond.
“Gender is a key component of the project, and a key output is dedicated to gender awareness project implementation and activities.
“Gender will be mainstreamed throughout the project implementation,” the statement said.
