The overall goal of the CCA Program is to "assist countries to meet, and even surpass, the targets outlined in their NDCs by enhancing national capacities to meet diverse but specific needs—technical, institutional, and policy-related". The intended outcomes are (i) a strong cadre of government officials, private sector managers, NGOs and other key actors capable of identifying and managing climate change responses, and accessing the necessary financial and other resources to implement these responses; and (ii) enhanced climate change training capacity in Asia's universities and training institutions. The Program has two broad outputs: (i) to build capacities of at least 5,000 government officials, private sector managers, NGOs and other key actors in identifying and managing climate change responses, over the next five years, consistent with nationally determined contributions; and (ii) to translate these enhanced capacities into on-the-ground action, by equipping countries with the knowledge and skills required to prepare, secure financing for, and implement about 500 'bankable' climate change mitigation and adaptation projects worth approximately US$1 billion so that they would eventually establish their own capabilities and systems to fully utilize climate finance available in Asia to deliver maximum climate benefits without any support afterwards.
The capacity building needs in Asia are huge. To make a truly meaningful difference to the existing state of affairs, CCA will need to collaborate with like-minded partners and organizations. Hence, CCA will tap into not only the whole of AIT's resources (including faculty and post-graduate students, AIT Solutions, Extension Service, and the Regional Resources Center for Asia-Pacific) but also its extensive network—of education and research institutions, training institutes (such as the Climate Change International Technical and Training Center (CITC) in Bangkok and the International Center for Climate Change and Development (ICCAD) in Bangladesh), international agencies, regional networks, and public and private sector organizations—for jointly addressing the capacity building needs in Asia. CCA will also collaborate with bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors to ensure capacities are converted to on-the-ground action.
As part of knowledge enhancement and capacity building, CCA focuses on the following:
