Five Day Capacity Building and Training Program on Climate Finance

"TERI organized a five day residential programme co-sponsored by the USAID funded ADAPT Asia-Pacific project from 22-26 July 2013 at TERI RETREAT, Gual Pahari for policy-makers from India and other South Asian countries on the issue of Climate Finance.

Designed particularly for government officials, practitioners, and advisors on climate finance in their respective countries at national or sub-national levels, the programme had participation from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, including senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, NABARD, BIRD, Ministry of Environment and Forests, IDSE, Department of Economic Affairs, and Bureau of Energy Efficiency in India; Department of Environment, Minsitry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in Bangladesh; and Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Ministry of Environment in Nepal. Officials from the Governments of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Odisha were also among the participants.

The programme was conducted in three modules (Module A - introduction to climate finance, Module B - means to access climate finance, and Module C - practical examples related to project finance and other case studies) with the help of lectures, case studies, negotiating games, and other group exercises. Experts from the Basque Centre for Climate change (BC3), TERI, and TERI University were key in designing and delivering the modules. External resource persons from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, MNRE, and UNDP also shared practical experiences on Climate Finance.

The programme was well received by the participants. One of the participants, Additional Secretary - Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh and Managing Director - Bangladesh Climate Fund Mr Mohammad Didarul Ahsan noted, "I am taking back an enriching experience from this workshop and would recommend more such programmes in future."