AD-HOC TASK GROUP ON FINANCIAL STABILITY (ATG-Finance)

Terms of Reference


The ATG-Finance was established by decision IPCC/XLV-3. IPCC Trust Fund Programme and Budget. Its terms of reference are contained in Appendix 1 to the decision document. It was established to propose to the Panel, funding options and their implications, that would provide predictable, sustainable and adequate means for a smooth implementation of the IPCC’s programme of work. The ATG-Finance will identify matters affecting the financial stability of the IPCC.
 
The Task Group’s mandate is complementary to the mandate given by the Panel on resource mobilization. While the primary aim of the efforts on resource mobilization is to secure the financial situation for the Sixth Assessment Report cycle, based on established funding options, the mandate of the ATG-Finance focuses on ensuring financial stability of the IPCC in the medium and long term beyond AR6, including the exploration of new funding options.
 
The mandate of ATG-Finance has been extended twice, by decisions at the 46th and 47th sessions of the IPCC. Under its current mandate, the ATG-Finance will report on progress to the 48th Session of the IPCC.


Co-Chairs


The ATG-Finance is co-chaired by Thelma Krug from Brazil and Youba Sokona from Mali, who are also IPCC Vice-Chairs. Its members are government representatives, the core members and Co-Chairs of the Financial Task Team (FiTT), and the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the IPCC.
 
The Task Group works under the leadership of the Co-Chairs and communicates principally via electronic correspondence. It holds teleconferences as appropriate and required and works in close collaboration with the Financial Task Team. The Secretariat of the IPCC provides advisory, legal and administrative support as needed.


Work conducted thus far


The Co-Chairs of ATG-Finance submitted a report to the 46th session of the IPCC describing options for:

  • increasing the contributions from governments, including in-kind contributions, and broadening the donor base in terms of contributing governments;
  • exploring means to mobilize additional resources, including from UN organizations and others (e.g., UNEP, GEF, GCF), and evaluating their potential implications, in particular issues related to conflict of interest and legal matters; and
  • providing guidance on the eligibility of potential donors, including the private sector. The ATG-Finance sought to reflect in the report experiences and lessons learnt from other international organizations.


Based on the discussions, the 46th Session of the IPCC decided that specific focus would be put on above parts 2 and 3 of its mandate in its further work. The Panel further decided to revisit the discussion on the fundraising options as contained in the report and requested the ATG-Finance to report back to its 47th Session with its proposals.
 
Based on the report presented to the 47th Session of the IPCC, the Panel acknowledged the valuable work of the ATG-Finance and recognized that while the financial situation of the IPCC for the forthcoming years has improved, there is still a need to discuss options for sustainable financing for the IPCC for the medium and long term.
 
On 3 April 2018, the Co-Chairs sent a letter to the members of the ATG-Finance, asking for comments on the proposed work plan and future activities of the Task Group.


Work plan


The work-plan of ATG-Finance encompasses planned activities:

  • to explore options to increase the contributions from governments, including in-kind contributions, and broadening the donor base in terms of contributing governments;
  • to explore means to mobilize additional resources, including from UN organizations and others (e.g., UNEP, GEF, GCF), and evaluating their potential implications, in particular issues related to conflict of interest and legal matters; and
  • to provide guidance on the eligibility of potential donors, including the private sector

As decided by the Panel at its 46th Session, specific focus will be on second and third bullet points.
 
The ATG-Finance will organize email discussion(s) among its members on advancing the activities mentioned above with the aim of reporting on progress to IPCC-48.


Documents and correspondence