Engaging effectively in climate diplomacy: policy pointers from the Gambia

The document argues that successful climate diplomacy for LDCs requires integrating climate change as a core national interest, mainstreaming it into development planning, and strategically engaging the media. It highlights the Gambia's appointment of its first special climate envoy in 2013 as a step toward building the capacity to influence international negotiations, such as those leading to the 2015 global climate agreement. The brief emphasizes that domestic political consensus and institutional reform are prerequisites for diplomats to effectively link national priorities with global climate regimes.

• For climate diplomacy to be effective, climate change must be established as a core national interest with the support of senior government officials. This domestic grounding provides diplomats with the authority to articulate national sentiments and grants them external credibility by demonstrating that the country 'practices what they preach'.
• Effective climate diplomacy requires a shift from reactive diplomacy to a proactive approach that merges climate and foreign policy. This enables diplomats to manage political trade-offs and balance conflicting goals across economic, energy, and diplomatic sectors to link national priorities with international negotiations.
• Mainstreaming climate change—integrating it into the decision-making processes of all national and sub-national sectors—is critical to avoid conflicts between climate policies and poverty eradication or economic development. This process shifts responsibility from a single agency to the entire government, civil society, and the private sector.
• The Gambia has implemented mainstreaming by integrating climate risks as a cross-cutting theme in its Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE 2012–2015) and developing a Climate Change Priority Action Programme (CCPAP) to address data needs and low-carbon strategies.
• Strategic engagement with the media is essential for climate diplomacy to shape public understanding and put pressure on governments. In Africa, climate reporting has often been left to international corporations due to local challenges such as inadequate comprehension of terminology and a lack of editorial support, leading to the creation of the Pan-African Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC).

APA

Jallow, B. P., & Craft, B. (2014). Engaging effectively in climate diplomacy: policy pointers from the Gambia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/17246IIED.pdf

Chicago

Jallow, Bubu Pateh, and Brianna Craft. Engaging effectively in climate diplomacy: policy pointers from the Gambia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/17246IIED.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jallow |first1=Bubu Pateh |last2=Craft |first2=Brianna |title=Engaging effectively in climate diplomacy: policy pointers from the Gambia |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=August 2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/17246IIED.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jallow2014engaging, author = {Jallow, Bubu Pateh and Craft, Brianna}, title = {{Engaging effectively in climate diplomacy: policy pointers from the Gambia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/17246IIED.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }