The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
UNEP, through its Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LAC Office), located in Panama City, Panama works closely with the 33 countries of the region – including 16 small island developing States – with a population of about 588 million people. The office works to serve the needs of the region, and its activities are integrated into the work programs approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly of UNEP (UNEA). The office works towards the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new Paris Agreement and the priority actions defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Adaptation Plans (NAP) of the region.
In terms of supporting countries in the region attain the global commitments signed within the framework of the Paris Agreement, the Latin America and the Caribbean UNEP Sub-programme on Climate Change aims at strengthening the ability of countries to move towards climate-resilient and low emission strategies for sustainable development and human well-being. In this framework, the UNEP Sub-programme on Climate Change, through its Climate Change Unit, leads and supports several initiatives oriented at designing, promoting and implementing innovative mitigation and adaptation solutions at the national and subnational level, and strengthening the transparency framework of the countries.
The expected accomplishment regarding climate change adaptation is that adaptation approaches, including the Nature based Solutions with an ecosystem-based approach, are implemented and integrated into key sectoral and national development strategies to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience to climate change impacts. Furthermore, the UNEP’s Sub-programme on Climate Change is also committed to ensure that cross-cutting issues such as gender equity and women empowerment are effectively integrated in the development of its tasks to guarantee an equitable development in line with its adaptation objectives.
In this context, the Ministry of Environment of Panama and UNEP, have agreed on the implementation of the project Building capacity for the development of the National Adaptation Plan in the context of the NDCs adaptation themes in Panama, framed within the Readiness program of the Green Climate Fund. The project is aimed at building sustainable country capacity and strengthen stakeholder engagement to plan, finance, implement, monitor, and report strategic adaptation processes and communicate knowledge about climate change adaptation.
The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process will cover ten adaptation themes in total, which are in accordance with Panama’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (presented to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – UNFCCC in 2020) to ensure alignment with national climate change strategies and priorities.
The project seeks to achieve its components and objective through:
• Adaptation planning, governance and institutional coordination strengthened.
• Evidence basis produced to design adaptation solutions for maximum impact.
• Private sector engagement in adaptation catalyzed; and
• Adaptation finance increased.
To fulfill the objectives of the project, the UNEP LACO Office is recruiting a Consultant in Private sector engagement for climate change to provide technical expertise in the design and the delivery of private sector engagement activities for the implementation of the Green Climate Fund funded project as set in the funding proposal document. The Consultant will bring international best practices while ensuring strong contextualization to the Panamanian institutional and market context. The Consultant in Private sector engagement for climate change will operate home based, under the overall supervision of the Deputy Regional Director UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office. Additionally, he/she will work in close collaboration with UNEP´s Adaptation team, the Directorate of Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment in Panama, Project Management Unit, other national consultants and government and non-governmental counterparts. Travel might be needed for consultation processes.