Evaluation of FAO’s support to climate action (SDG 13) and the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Climate Change
This evaluation assesses the extent to which FAO adopted an effective, coherent and transformative approach to its work on climate action from 2015 to 2020, by contributing to the achievement of SDG 13 targets and the Paris Agreement.
Evaluation’s findings
- FAO’s Strategic Framework is aligned with SDG 13 and the Paris Agreement. However, FAO has not expressed a long-term vision on its leadership role in agriculture for climate action; nor does FAO governance yet reflect a clear and strategic focus on its mission on climate action.
- The 2017 Climate Change Strategy has effectively supported FAO’s work, but it is not fully integrated into corporate decision-making.
- FAO has made relevant contributions by supporting national capacity building for climate action.
- FAO’s contributions to SDG 13 and the uptake of products and tools are not systematically monitored and reported.
- There is little alignment of portfolios between divisions and no systematic approach to trade-offs. Consequently, the root causes of climate change on agriculture are not being addressed in an integrated way.
- FAO has strong capacity, but the current business model results in uneven distribution of human and financial resources and in fragmented, short-term projects reach.
- FAO contributed to climate adaptation and mitigation by collaborating with Members and other partners, although it has engaged less in innovative partnerships with the private sector, financing institutions and civil society.
- FAO
has progressed on the inclusion of gender-specific climate action
initiatives.
Key recommendations of the evaluation
- Developing a corporate narrative on climate change and food systems
- Formulating a new Climate Change Strategy and action plan
- Improving the climate change labelling of its project portfolio
- Mainstreaming climate action into all offices, divisions and levels, and including coordination and guidance to embed procedures in the project cycle, quality assurance and learning mechanisms
- Adopting a climate action-focused programmatic approach
- Running an assessment to identify capacity gaps, needs and opportunities and, accordingly, strengthening the capacity of staffing, funding and inter-office communication
- Enhancing its partnerships and seeking out innovative partnerships
- Mainstreaming the core “leave no one behind” by including women, youth, the extreme poor, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.
