In a positive atmosphere, 23 participants from 17 countries in Asia - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam - spent 10 days learning the ins and outs of economic analysis for climate change adaptation projects. In the end, all participants were highly satisfied, not only with the quality of the training, but also with the opportunity to establish new professional networks with some trainees forging interesting collaborations for their future work.
The second run of the Economics of Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA) training programme took place between 26 February and 9 March, at the Sukosol hotel in Bangkok. Participants spent the first week learning the basics of proposal development for climate change projects and where economic analysis feeds into it, which is a requirement by some key financiers such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The climate change impacts on economic sectors, especially on agriculture, were particularly discussed. There was also time for exercises and games related to the training topics - an element that was especially appreciated by participants. On the second week, the focus was on the necessary steps in conducting a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of different adaptation options with the trainer, Benoit Laplante, providing many useful insights and practical examples from his vast experience doing economic analysis for GCF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank climate change projects in Asia.
“Overall, very useful. I definitely will use more economic analysis at a scale relevant to my work. This week has been a wonderful inspiration, a refresher and beyond in terms of learning what have been the challenges or errors made in real world. I will further look into the use of CBA (and other techniques) in the context of the current and potential climate related future work.” - ECCA participant
Following the innovation from the first ECCA run to introduce off-hours mentoring, participants also had the opportunity to consult with senior experts during the “evening clinics”, as well as during some sessions that were dedicated to provide feedback on participants' project ideas.
With some participants working in country teams - Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines - in total 15 project ideas were developed, many of which show potential for future development and may rely on AIT’s follow-up mentoring and advisory opportunities.