December 17, 2021. Tbilisi. Georgia, with the support of the European Union, continues to fight against climate change. Within the framework of the EU-funded project – Georgian Climate Program (GEO CAP), the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, in cooperation with CENN, held a second meeting of the National Climate Platform (NCP) on December 15. The NCP brings together stakeholders in the field of climate change – government, donor organizations, scientific institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. NCP aims to promote the effective involvement of stakeholders in the process of climate change.
The participants of the second NCP meeting discussed the results of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention (COP 26). During the meeting, a presentation was held of the project funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020 – Creating Innovative Climate Services through the Integration of Scientific and Local Knowledge (I-CISK). Furthermore, the parties reviewed the results achieved so far under the EU-supported project – Georgian Climate Program (GEO CAP) and the activities planned for 2022.
“Meetings of the National Climate Platform are a good opportunity to develop the climate sector in Georgia, increase capacity and share knowledge. Most importantly, such meetings are important for Georgia to meet its commitments on climate change mitigation.” – Alexandre Darras, Attaché, Connectivity, Energy, Environment & Climate Change Team Leader, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the Fifth National Communication of Georgia to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – currently a working version.
“It is important that countries are able to adapt to the already changed climate and that governments are actively involved in mitigating climate change to achieve concrete results. The Nationally Defined Contribution Document (NDC) has been approved, along with the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan required for its implementation. The National Climate Platform is an important tool for coordinating activities in the sector and exchanging information to effectively fulfil commitments.” Nino Tkhilava, Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Head of the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
The participants of the meeting decided to set up a working group to work on the draft document of the Fifth National Communication of Georgia to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as on the financial issues of climate change.
The meeting was attended by the EU Delegation to Georgia, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, academia, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
With the support of the EU, CENN launched the Georgia Climate Program (GEO-CAP) in 2021. The project supports Georgia to act on climate change by introducing climate friendly behaviour and reinforcing cooperation and trust between state and non-state actors, strengthening regional CSOs via supporting the implementation of concrete initiatives together with local communities and empowering people to engage in advocacy that will result in collaborative climate actions in the target regions of the project.
CENN will implement the GEO-CAP program over the next 4 years together with partner organisations in 4 target regions (Guria, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, and Kakheti) with the Human Rights-Based Approach.
The European Union supported Georgia Climate Action Program (GEO-CAP) is implemented by CENN together with the Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), the Chiatura Union (ACU), the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Agrotourism Development Association (RLS-ADA), and the Young Pedagogue’s Union (YPU). The target municipalities of the project are Gurjaani, Sagarejo, Akhmeta, Zestaponi, Tkibuli, Chiatura, Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti, Oni, and Ambrolauri. The total budget of the project is 1 million euros.
