ALM UNDP

Summary:

##### Background

Mainstreaming is seen as a more sustainable, effective and efficient use of resources than designing and managing separate climate policies. However, there is scant understanding of what mainstreaming actually involves in practice.

Mainstreaming climate issues into the broader development process is vital because, as we’ve now seen, these issues are closely linked. Those links can be clearly seen in the implications of some Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings for the global development targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The four steps to National Capacity Building on Climate Change include: Awareness raising and building scientific capacity; Targeted information and training; Pilot activities on Adaptation and Mitigation involving Governments, NGOs and private sector; Mainstreaming building in lessons to policy and planning to make adaptation part of "business as usual." These steps will take approximately 5 to 7 years to complete.

* Step one: Awareness Raising
The relevance of climate change to development pathways and processes
needs to be highlighted – and in some cases climate change must be identified as an urgent priority
across sectors.
* Step two: Targeted Information
Scientific information will need translating into a format that
different stakeholders, including policymakers, planners, civil society organisations and research communities,
can use in practice. Incorporating this kind of data will strengthen the links between processes
oriented to development and to the UN climate change convention.
* Step three: Piloted Activities
In this stage, action on adaptation and mitigation, involving government
and non government organizations and the private sector, need to be piloted to demonstrate good practice.
Policymakers and planners must be convinced of the relevance of climate change to their work and be able to
learn from demonstrable results.
* Step four: Mainstreaming
The phase where climate change is fully integrated. It demands a shift from ‘business as usual’ to investments and planning that incorporate climate change information.