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National Designated Entities

A Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) assigns a National Designated Entity (NDE) the responsibility to manage requests made of the CTCN. Establishment of an NDE is necessary before a Party to the UNFCCC can participate in the CTCN Technical Assistance process.

Contents

Roles and Responsibilities

NDEs play a fundamental role in ensuring that requests submitted to the CTCN reflect their national circumstances and priorities. NDEs also ensure that support provided by the CTCN is well coordinated at the national level with other processes that address climate change. For example, they ensure the engagement of relevant ministries, focal points for other UNFCCC mechanisms, the private sector, civil society and academia as appropriate.

NDEs facilitate support to their countries from the CTCN by:

  • Serving as National Focal Point on CTCN activities.
  • Supporting the articulation and prioritization of requests and proposals.
  • Managing the national submission process of technical assistance requests to the CTCN

 

Based on experience in facilitative roles played by national focal points in similar processes and programmes, NDEs could:

  • Facilitate effective support from the CTCN on national submissions by:
    • Identifying priority technology, and capacity-building needs, which are in line with national development and climate strategies, technology needs assessments (TNAs), low-emission development strategies (LEDS), national adaptation plans (NAPS, NAPAS) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and other relevant activities.
    • Identifying capacity building needs at the individual, institutional and organizational levels, as well as engaging in defining the most appropriate types of activities, target groups, scope, and key topics to be addressed. Assistance in defining further capacity building needs could be part of the support, along with identification of the best approaches to ensure sustainability and long-term availability of new capacity.
  • Engage representatives from national, provincial and local governments in the relevant process to guarantee feasibility of proposals developed at all levels.
  • Facilitate in-country activities such as training, capacity building and dissemination of information related to both the CTC and the Network.
  • Facilitate engagement of national organizations in the Network.
  • Participate in regional and global peer learning and collaborative projects conducted by the CTCN and where appropriate provide data and tools that the CTCN can share with other countries.
  • Coordinate with other national focal points of UNFCCC Mechanisms such as the Adaptation Fund’s Designated Authorities and National Implementing Entities; the Clean Development Mechanism’s
  • Designated National Authorities and the NAMA’s National Focal Points, to enhance effectiveness and scope of the CTCN interventions and leverage international funding for adaptation and mitigation activities.
  • Provide feedback to the CTC on the progress and results of CTCN projects within the country and the overall quality of CTCN assistance.

 

This description of NDE roles and responsibilities (PDF) provides examples of NDE roles and responsibilities, and it offer  additional thoughts and suggestions about how countries might structure their NDEs.

Nominating an NDE

An interested Party to the UNFCCC should have its National Climate Change Focal Point communicate its selected NDE to the UNFCCC Secretariat. If you are unsure whether your country has an NDE, check the UNFCCC list of current NDEs. To update your country’s details ask your UNFCCC national focal point to contact [email protected] and [email protected].

Training for NDEs

The CTCN conducts regional training workshops to prepare NDEs to exercise their role. These workshops present the CTCN and its services and country requests, as well as the roles and responsibilities of NDEs as climate technology champions at the national level. The regional workshops also provide training on specific subjects, and they help NDEs prioritize their needs. Learn more.

Submitting a Request

If you are an NDE that is registered with the CTCN, you can submit a request. Find information on request submission, example requests and a list of requests submitted here.

More Information

For general information about NDEs, see the list of NDEs by Party to the UNFCCC.

To learn about the scope of CTCN services available to NDEs—and the CTCN request process—see the CTCN Operating Manual for National Designated Entities.

To ask a question about NDEs, contact us by email ctcn​@un.org. If you are a newly selected NDE and you would like to register with us, please contact us.


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