The Institutional Ecosystem beyond COPs

Till now, we have discussed COPs, agreements, pledges, and funds. But climate governance does not operate only through COP decisions. A large part of real-world climate action happens through specialised programmes, coalitions, partnerships, and technical frameworks.

This section brings together those supporting pillars of global climate governance.

🌳 UN-REDD Programme and REDD+

Let us first understand a very common UPSC confusion:
👉 UN-REDD and REDD+ are related but not the same.

UN-REDD Programme

The UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) is a multilateral collaborative programme.

Key Features

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Partner countries: 64
• Launched in 2008
• It is a joint programme of:
  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Nature

• A voluntary climate change mitigation approach
• Developed by Parties under the UNFCCC

Role

• Helps developing countries:
  • Build technical capacity
  • Establish monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems
  • Meet UNFCCC requirements for REDD+ results-based payments

📌 In simple words:

UN-REDD is the support system that helps countries get REDD+-ready.

REDD+ (Concept)

REDD+ goes beyond merely stopping deforestation.

It focuses on:

• Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
• Conservation of forest carbon stocks
• Sustainable management of forests
• Enhancement of forest carbon stocks

📌 REDD+ is a results-based incentive mechanism for developing countries.

Other Supporting Institutions for REDD+

Apart from UN-REDD:

• World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• Green Climate Fund (GCF)

🌲 Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility is a global partnership focused on REDD+.

Institutional Setup

• Trustee & Secretariat: World Bank
• Delivery partners:
  • World Bank
  • Inter-American Development Bank
  • UNDP

Objectives

1. Provide financial and technical assistance for REDD+ readiness
2. Pilot performance-based payment systems
3. Support livelihoods of local communities
4. Conserve biodiversity
5. Disseminate knowledge from Emission Reduction Programmes (ERPs)

📌 FCPF operationalises REDD+ on the ground.

🌫️ Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) was formed in 2012.

Founders

• A group of nations
• United Nations Environment Programme

Purpose

• Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs)

Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs)

Characteristics

• Atmospheric lifetime: days to decades
• Warming potential: many times higher than CO₂
• Responsible for up to 45% of current global warming

Examples

• Black carbon
• Methane
• Tropospheric ozone
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Why Reducing SLCPs Matters?

✔ Prevents crop losses
✔ Improves air quality and public health
✔ Can slow warming by ~0.5°C by 2050
✔ Critical for achieving the Paris Agreement’s 2°C target

📌 This is why CCAC is strategically important for near-term climate gains.

🌱 Other Important Climate Initiatives

BioCarbon Fund (ISFL)

The BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL):

• Managed by the World Bank
• Focuses on:
  • REDD+
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Smart land-use planning
• Targets land-sector emissions

Cool Coalition

The Cool Coalition aims to accelerate:

• Clean
• Efficient
• Climate-friendly cooling

Launched in: 2019

Led by

• UNEP
• Climate and Clean Air Coalition
• Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program
• Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL)

📌 Cooling is emerging as a major future emissions source, especially for tropical countries like India.

Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+)

• An initiative of the European Union
• Supports:
  • Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
  • Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

Focus

• Climate resilience
• Adaptation
• Paris Agreement implementation

Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA)

Promoted by FAO with governments.

Three Aspirational Outcomes

1. Improve agricultural productivity and incomes
2. Build resilience to climate variability
3. Reduce agricultural GHG emissions (where possible)

📌 Directly relevant for food security + climate adaptation.

GHG Protocol

The GHG Protocol provides global standards for measuring greenhouse gas emissions.

Developed by

• World Resources Institute (WRI)
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

Purpose

• Standardise GHG accounting for:
  • Governments
  • Cities
  • Corporations

📌 It forms the backbone of corporate climate reporting worldwide.

Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum, not a treaty-based organisation.

Members (8 Arctic States)

• Canada
• Denmark (with Greenland & Faroe Islands)
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Russia
• Sweden
• United States

Focus Areas

• Environmental protection
• Sustainable development
• Arctic Indigenous communities

📌 Climate change impacts are most intense in the Arctic, making this forum strategically crucial.