Encouraging climate change mitigation
Climate change and sustainable development are two of the most pressing global challenges of our time. Addressing these problems through policy and action, especially in countries with emerging economies, requires international cooperation. The 'Knowledge transfer and research needs for preparing mitigation/adaptation policy portfolios' (PROMITHEAS-4) project was set up to train and facilitate scientists, market stakeholders and policy makers from 12 countries (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine) to meet these challenges. Governmental authorities (ministries) and market stakeholders (chambers of commerce) of the beneficiaries were continuously informed about intermediate findings during the three years duration of the project in the context of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) activities. Outcomes of the project were presented at three BSEC ministerial meetings, as well as the 41st meeting for environmental affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC countries (PABSEC). There were also six meetings of the BSEC - Working Groups and the UN central department of economic and social affairs (one meeting and continuous update). Three International Conferences, 12 National Conferences in the beneficiary countries, three workshops, one seminar, tele-training events and e-learning network facilitated knowledge transfer on M/A policy development and evaluation issues. Outcomes were disseminated through a bi-monthly newsletter to more than 23 000 recipients in 170 countries. At the end of the project, during the 3rd International Conference it was concluded that apart of the interest in green energy activities (RES and Energy Efficiency), uptake of climate mitigation policy was lacking. Overall, PROMITHEAS-4 succeeded in stimulating national interest in climate mitigation policy and improved the knowledge transfer process from EU to the beneficiary countries.
Keywords
Climate change, mitigation, policies, knowledge transfer, mitigation/adaptation policy portfolios, assessment
