IKI Co-Benefits: Mobilizing the Co-Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation through Capacity Building among Public Policy Institutions

Climate and energy policies in the target countries are currently at the crossroads – major investments particularly in coal power capacities would create and deepen path-dependencies for decades to come. At the same time, climate and energy policies in the target countries are increasingly considering renewable energy production to meet domestic energy demand, opening up a door to reconcile national development and climate strategies. The project strengthened public policy institutions in the target countries in their ability to advise their ministerial clients on the co-benefits of renewable power generation, in order to spur ambitious as well as effective INDC implementation. Climate protection measures were largely discussed in the light of “burden sharing” whereas important benefits – such as for local value creation, employment, health, water use, energy access, and energy security – were frequently overlooked. In collaboration with national knowledge partners, the project elaborated country-specific co-benefits of climate policies, with emphasis on the opportunities presented by renewable power generation. COBENEFITS linked these potentials to mitigation strategies and measures in the target countries. COBENEFITS enabled international mutual learning and capacity building among policymakers, knowledge partners, and multipliers on enabling environments to seize the co-benefits of climate change mitigation.