United in tackling climate change impacts

Frankfurt School welcomed some 40 participants from 20 francophone and anglophone countries in sub-Saharan Africa to the campus for the NDC Financing Fellowship Academy in February. NDCs – Nationally Determined Contributions – are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

For the past three years, Frankfurt School and Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN) from Kenya implemented the NDC-Finance Fellowship Programme (NDC-FFP) for policymakers and researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa, funded by the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC).

The programme supports, promotes and trains individuals from policy and research who are interested in further enhancing their knowledge and skills on financing NDCs, building leadership in NDC finance, contributing to publications and reports, and promoting dialogue and peer learning among researchers and policymakers. Fellows are offered online and on-site training in Frankfurt and Nairobi. The programme aims to empower the participants to learn about different ways to finance commitments mentioned in the NDCs, to meet and exchange with other fellows and policy experts and researchers working in the field of NDC finance.

The programme led to a partnership between Frankfurt School and ARIN with the objective to jointly publish work on NDC finance in the future and organise joint sessions, for example at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27). The one-week onsite Academy at the Frankfurt School campus strengthened the capacities for these early career researchers and practitioners to understand and address the issues around the climate financing landscape.

This opportunity comes at a very timely moment when the international climate change regime continues to fundamentally transform given increased need to finance climate mitigation and adaptation action across the African continent.