Regional Dialogue on the Role of Climate Proofing Growth and Development to achieve the SDGs 4th – 6th March 2019, Bangkok, Thailand Climate Budget tagging with focus on policies, risks and gender-based beneficiaries Madhukar upadhya Regional Climate Change Policy and Institutional Expert

Background Tagging for gender and climate change. It was broad and did not connect climate and gender as expected. The tagging was done after the development programmes were already formulated to meet particular sectoral objective. The GoN in its CCFF categorically identified refining coding method to include climate prior to planning as an important reform. And suggested improving tagging method to increase budget accuracy and sectoral specificities in the climate budget. The improvements have been initiated in agriculture sector – the most vulnerable and important sector.

Background Introduction of GRB in the budgeting to enable planners to incorporate gender in investment decisions. It helped monitoring and tracking gender-related expenditure in the national annual budget. But it was difficult to see how climate investment help or hinder supporting gender in reducing vulnerability or increasing resilience It required climate planners to think of gender consideration while planning climate-related investments. This brought MoF and MoALD (to work with as a pilot case) together to make necessary improvements in the method of tagging as well as in the database for budgeting that MoF uses for budgeting purpose.

Background Unpacking the existing criteria of defining climate related programmes to group them under various climate change related typologies and reduce subjectivity in defining them, and; Assessing level of relevance of the investment based on climate vulnerability and gender-based beneficiaries of the programmes.

Methodology Typology classifying climate related activities Climate functions Climate related programme within each typology for 2018/19 Sub-category Sustainable water management Rehabilitation of degraded pasturelands; M Fisheries development Expansion of 100 hectares of fisheries Programmes to prevent erosion and landslides; A Agriculture mechanization promotion Vegetable block demonstration 190 hectares. Watershed restoration; B Integrated water resource management project 1050 shallow tube well installation

Level of relevance The weighting of relevance is based on three factors reflecting: Availability of information about climate risks and vulnerability Information about the gender-based beneficiary (who does it help?) The degree to which a climate activity links to polices and national commitments.

Screening for beneficiries and level of relevance The availability of information about climate risks and vulnerability There information about the climate vulnerability of the area where the activity will be implemented is available and measurable. No Yes The degree to which a climate relevant activity targets the identified gender-based beneficiaries The beneficiaries including gender that the activity will support with specified climate function are known and countable. Links of the activity to climate change policy and national commitments such as the NDC The linkages of the activity with national climate policy , SDGs and /or NDCs is established

Level of relevance If 2 or more than 2 of the above three factors are positive (answer being ‘Yes’) for an activity, it will be considered ‘highly relevant’ and if 2 of the factors are negative (answer being ‘No’), the activity will be considered ‘relevant’. The budget for each of the activity is already specified in the LMBIS.  

Benefits Only activity level budget is tagged, which helps improve accuracy of climate budget, The planners need to consider climate risks that the activity will address, the gender-based target beneficiaries who will benefit, and the policy links of the activity to help meet national commitments before tagging. It encourages planners to use available climate information, place demand for it from relevant agencies. Connects information generating agencies with the agencies using the information. The need to consider climate vulnerability while tagging will begin a cycle of demand and supply of climate information across sectors in the long run.

Thank You