13.3.3.6 Capacity building
The literature on climate change has not addressed capacity building to any extent, despite its critical relevance to the climate change issue. Part of the solution to the climate change problem has been cast in terms of helping developing countries with technology transfer and assistance. The importance of this is recognized in the text of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol as well as in the more detailed implementing framework of the Marrakech Accords.
The capacity building framework within the climate change regime focuses on developing the capacity in developing countries to implement decisions. Capacity building has been defined historically as the formal training of employees, technological gate-keeping and learning-by-doing, with the recognition that this is a slow and complex process. According to Yamin and Depledge (2004), the Marrakesh Accords have been partially successful in bringing some additional coherence, coordination and prioritization into the process of capacity building. These authors argue that the effort to promote country-driven and contextually tailored efforts that are both iterative and involve learning-by-doing are appropriate.
Other ideas on capacity building also abound. Sagar (2000) argues that it may be more relevant to strengthen the domestic capacity for undertaking policy research and innovation as well as for managing technological and institutional change rather than merely creating the capacity for implementing policies developed elsewhere. This proposal is based on the idea that only context-relevant policy instruments are likely to work within the specific domestic circumstances of the relevant countries.
A number of recent analyses carried out on this subject have questioned whether capacity building can be initiated from outside a country. Since capacity issues are embedded in local contexts, the OECD has argued that it may be a mistake to assume that capacity building can be easily accomplished from outside this context.
Najam et al. (2003) note the importance of capacity building for developing countries and require that it be an integral part of any future agreement if it is to have wide support from this group. In particular, they argue that inasmuch as efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable development are ‘two sides of the same coin’ enhancing the capacities of communities and countries to fight climate change will have multiple benefits. They also make the case that the most pressing need in this context is to strengthen the social, economic and technical resilience of the poorest and most vulnerable countries against extreme climatic events.