Representatives from 12 Asian and Pacific countries attended two workshops held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. One was the ecbi regional workshop aimed at training new and junior negotiators from developing countries so that they may participate more effectively in the UN climate negotiations. Organised in partnership with the local NGO Janathakshan, the sessions, many of them delivered by seasoned LDC negotiators, combined presentations on some key thematic areas of the Paris Agreement with practical exercises and tips to help equip participants for the negotiations. Through break out groups and mock negotiations, participants were encouraged to engage and exchange, and fully did so.

This was helped by them having had the opportunity to get acquainted with each other over the previous two days, during a climate change experience sharing and lesson learning forum, organised by IIED and Janathakshan, and a new addition to the ecbi regional training programme. The forum started with a field trip to share lessons and experience of a flood mitigation area and urban space development initiative near Colombo, and was followed by an informal forum in which participants were invited to talk about their country’s experience in planning for a low carbon resilient development, translating their priorities into implementable projects and programmes and accessing funds, as well as the institutional and capacity challenges they face in implementing their NDCs. LRI presented on tools available to law and policy makers responsible for developing and reviewing climate-related laws and plans, including the climate legislation portal it is currently developing.