Building local government planning and implementation capacities was the theme of the training of coaches on the enhanced Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP), jointly organised by the Local Government Academy (LGA)-Department of Interior and Local Government and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on 25-28 June 2017. The training was supported by the Vertical Integration and Learning for Low Emission Development (VLED) Project which is implemented by UN-Habitat, in partnership with adelphi Research, and with support from the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (IKI-BMUB).
The training, which brought together over 85 participants from four regions in Northern Luzon in the Philippines, and spanning state universities and colleges, research institutions, and local and national government, emphasized the need for translating national priorities and targets on climate change into tangible action at the local level through local plans such as the LCCAP.
“Given the multi-sectoral nature of climate change, the process used in the LCCAP formulation can be used to strengthen the coordination structures and efforts among actors and between local government units (LGU) and national government agencies, and thus promote the participatory approach to local climate action planning”, said Climate Change Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman at the opening ceremony.

The four-day activity combined lectures and interactive learning sessions to deepen the participants’ knowledge on the nine-step LCCAP formulation process and on how such process can be used to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation in key LGU plans. Three more trainings for other regions of the Philippines will be conducted. The LCCAP coaches are expected to guide, train and backstop planning and technical staff of 1,710 local government units nationwide in formulating or updating their corresponding LCCAPs as required under the Climate Change Act of 2009 while also taking stock of the Philippines’ ratification of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
According to LGA director Marivel Sacendoncillo, “We reached out to academic institutions to help us build the capacity of the communities where they are situated, so together we can make them more adapted and resilient to climate change”.
The participants also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the CCC and LGA that will further strengthen collaboration efforts for rolling-out the training in the different regions of the country.

“In supporting this activity, we recognize our trainers and coaches as partners in strengthening the linkage among and between local governments, national government agencies and academic institutions and thus promoting inclusive and multi-actor engagement needed for creating more climate-science-informed, more analytical and responsive climate action plans”, says Cris Rollo, Habitat Programme Manager in the Philippines.