TASK 10 Public awareness The role of the NGOs DAC PROJECT CAPACITY BUILDING IN BALKAN COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH CLIMATE CHANGE Prepared by: Stelios Psomas

TASK 10 – Public awareness Key targets Dissemination of the project’s outcomes to the administration, as well as to the public (including actions such as workshops, publications into regular technical reviews, publicity via press and media leaflets etc.) Actions for strengthening collaboration between local non- governmental organizations (NGOs) being active in climate change mitigation and research. Apart from promoting awareness, this action will allow for an information flow from NGOs to the project team and vice-versa and thus will provide the project team with useful insights in some policy areas and will maximize the impact of the project on target countries.

Why a particular role for NGOs? “All Parties … facilitate at the national level public awareness and public access to information on climate change. Suitable modalities should be developed to implement these activities through the relevant bodies of the Convention”. Article 10 of the KYOTO PROTOCOL

Why a particular role for NGOs? Freedom of access to information and public participation has become a cornerstone of EU policies in recent years. “The public should have access to information concerning the results of the monitoring, reporting and verification obligations… in accordance with Directive 90/313/EEC on the freedom of access to information on the environment… Member States publish their national plan, provide for comments to be made on it by the public and submit it to the Commission before taking any final decision, which must take due account of public comments… The proposed provisions are consistent with the Aarhus Convention”. European Commission,

Why a particular role for NGOs? "Although regional in scope, the significance of the Aarhus Convention is global. It is by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which stresses the need for citizen's participation in environmental issues and for access to information on the environment held by public authorities. As such it is the most ambitious venture in the area of 'environmental democracy' so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations". Kofi A. Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations