How to Strengthen the Institutional Architecture for Capacity Building to Support the Post-2020 Climate Regime

The document argues that current capacity-building efforts under the UNFCCC are too ad hoc and project-based, leaving developing countries with significant institutional gaps. It recommends that the Paris Agreement establish a long-term objective for capacity building and a formal 'capacity-building mechanism' to act as an umbrella for coordination, monitoring, and review. The authors suggest a work program starting at COP 21 to determine whether this mechanism should be managed by a new dedicated body or by enhancing the mandates of existing thematic bodies like the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) or the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF).

• Developing countries continue to face capacity constraints that hinder climate action, including a lack of public awareness, fragmented information and research, and a failure to build long-term organizational and institutional capacity.
• The persistence of these challenges is attributed to a fragmented international institutional landscape and a dominant 'ad hoc, short-term project-based approach' that lacks a centralized coordination process or regular monitoring and review.
• The authors propose two main options for institutional reform: establishing a dedicated coordination and monitoring role (either via a new body or existing entities) or enhancing the mandates of all existing thematic bodies to improve their individual capacity-building strategies.
• The paper recommends that the new climate agreement include a specific long-term objective: enabling developing countries to identify, design, and implement adaptation and mitigation actions, develop and deploy technology, and absorb finance.
• A proposed 'capacity-building mechanism' would serve as an overarching framework to foster coordination among thematic bodies, provide robust monitoring and reporting of data, identify resource gaps, and promote subnational and regional cooperation.
• To implement these changes, the authors suggest a work program initiated at COP 21 in 2015 and concluded by 2020, involving surveys of operating entities, analysis of country needs, and a review of existing mandates to avoid institutional duplication.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). How to Strengthen the Institutional Architecture for Capacity Building to Support the Post-2020 Climate Regime. https://www.wri.org/research/how-strengthen-institutional-architecture-capacity-building-support-post-2020-climate

Chicago

World Resources Institute. How to Strengthen the Institutional Architecture for Capacity Building to Support the Post-2020 Climate Regime. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/how-strengthen-institutional-architecture-capacity-building-support-post-2020-climate.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=How to Strengthen the Institutional Architecture for Capacity Building to Support the Post-2020 Climate Regime |url=https://www.wri.org/research/how-strengthen-institutional-architecture-capacity-building-support-post-2020-climate |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendhow, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{How to Strengthen the Institutional Architecture for Capacity Building to Support the Post-2020 Climate Regime}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/how-strengthen-institutional-architecture-capacity-building-support-post-2020-climate}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }