IMPROVING GOVERNANCE FOR CLIMATE COMPATIBLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.

The elections of new Governors and Mayors in 2015 as well as the prospect of the elaboration of municipal and departmental development plans and Territorial Management Plans (POT) offered a unique opportunity to incorporate climate change considerations into these local territorial planning instruments. For this reason, the Climate and Development Alliance (CDKN), Semana Sostenible, Semana Educación and the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development joined forces to develop a didactic guide that explains in a simple and practical way to local officials what climate change is, how it becomes a development issue for their territories and how to take actions aimed at improving their performance in terms of adaptation and mitigation as a result of the new climate projections for the future. It has been shared with the 1199 municipalities of Colombia and the 33 governorships, as well as in several events attended by mayors and governors prior to the development of their development plans for the next four years. In addition, a 10-hour online course was developed for local officials, which is now available on the virtual platform of the ESAP University.