Climate Finance Specialist At Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

A. About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADPC is an autonomous international organization established for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes with a vision of safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

Established in 1986 as a technical capacity building center, ADPC has grown and diversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction across a broad range of specialist areas. With over 100 staff from 19 different nationalities and a wide range of professional expertise from atmospheric scientists to social scientists with experiences from all levels of engagement typically required for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Resilience (CR) in an effective manner. ADPC is a competent regional resource center and has seven thematic departments: ADPC Academy, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience, Health Risk Management, Preparedness for Response and Recovery, Geospatial Information. These are supported by Finance, Human Resources and Administration, and Strategic Planning departments. In addition to the departments, ADPC works on three cross-cutting themes: Gender and Diversity, Poverty and Livelihoods, and Regional and Transboundary Cooperation through permanent working committees.

ADPC Strategy 2020 guides the organization in providing comprehensive risk reduction support to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC recognizes the importance of examining the linkages between disaster risk management, poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainability, rights-based approaches, climate change and regional cooperation.

For details please refer to ADPC website at http://www.adpc.net/

B. About CARE for South Asia

ADPC is implementing a five-year project, titled “Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) Project for South Asia” with financial support from the World Bank Group. The project aims to create an enabling environment for climate resilience policies and investments across South Asia. This objective will be achieved through enhanced regional cooperation and knowledge exchange for climate resilience and adaptation and mainstreaming of resilience and adaptation in national policies, plans, and investments.

Until Q3 2023, a considerable amount of effort has been taken through the provision of advisory services for policy and investment interventions, promotion of Climate Resilient Design and Standards for the South Asia Region, and Implementation Support to Climate-Risk Management Solutions for Participating Countries in the focus sectors of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Integrated Water Resources Management, Resilient Transport Infrastructure, and Climate Policy, planning and finance sectors in the three project countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. This initiative was successful because of close engagement and collaboration with over 35 government stakeholders across the three project countries.

C. Background

Natural disasters have severely impacted the development progress of South Asian countries, including a financial burden. From 2000 to 2017, disasters in the region have caused damages estimated at $149.27 billion. This recurrent loss has placed immense pressure on public expenditure, as governments are forced to divert funds from long-term development plans to immediate reconstruction efforts. Pakistan and Bangladesh are notable examples, with Pakistan incurring losses of approximately $16 billion since 2005 due to natural disasters, and Bangladesh’s Cyclone Sidr in 2007 causing damages amounting to 2.6 percent of its GDP.

In response to these challenges, there is an urgent call for transformative policies and institutions that promote climate-resilient investments. Investing in resilient infrastructure is not only profitable but also crucial to reduce the extensive costs that disruptions incur for governments, households, and the private sector. Nepal’s experiences show this urgency, with a significant proportion of property losses being attributed to natural disasters. The country’s economic losses due to climate change amount to an estimated 1.5–2% of its GDP annually, with this figure expected to rise substantially during extreme years. By 2050, the GDP loss due to climate change in Nepal could exceed $62 billion. To safeguard developmental gains and fulfill commitments to building a climate-resilient future, Nepal, like other South Asian nations, requires significant shifts in policy and financial strategies, incorporating climate risk considerations into national planning and budgeting.

The Constitution of Nepal (2015) transformed the country from a unitary system of governance to a federal one. Under the new structure, there are three federal, provincial, and local tiers. This transformation has brought a significant change in the fiscal decentralization system of the country. Nepal is proactively creating and refining its climate change-related policies, institutions, and Public Financial Management (PFM) reform process, in response to climatic stimuli and variability. These reform initiatives are expected to mainstream carbon pathways, thus proving helpful in mobilizing public expenditures and future resources toward climate change impacts and disaster risk management strategies.

ADPC, through the CARE for South Asia Project, is currently finalizing Nepal’s updated CPEIR using data from 2015/16 – 2019/20) within the federal context of the country. This review examined Nepal’s public financial management systems, institutional arrangements, and policy provisions for allocating and spending climate change-related finance for 2014/15 – 2019/20. The three key pillars are 1) Policy Analysis, 2) Institutional Analysis, and 3) Climate Public Expenditure Analysis. The climate change-related public policy analysis provides a synopsis of significant sectoral policies and their alignment with national climate change policies. An analysis of the current Climate Change Policy and its overall targets indicates that it meets Nepal’s National Determined Contributions (NDC) climate actions, per the Paris Agreement (2016).

The activity aims to better understand the current state of climate change policy and the institutional mechanism to deliver the expected results in relation to the existing policies and targets. The activity also aims to compare the climate change budget allocations and expenditure patterns together with analysis of the budget allocations and audited expenditures at all three tiers of the government. The findings of the activities will provide a comprehensive view and action points for developing a financing framework for climate informed investment plans.

CPEIR (2015/16-2019/2020) – In reference to the work plan 2022, and updated restructuring work plan 2023 activity 2.1/1, the CPEIR Nepal was due to be published after endorsement through Nepal Planning Commission (NPC). However, there is new data from 2020-2023 from Budget Speech and Red Books that needs to be included as recommended by NPC and WB. The overall objective of the consultant will be to update specific Chapters and analysis in Chapter 2,3 and 4 in the current version of CPEIR draft document.

Since its introduction in 2012, the Climate Change Budget Code (CCBC) has faced challenges due to its broad criteria. To improve the system, the ADPC, with MOFAGA’s support, has conducted workshops to share insights on Climate Change Budget Tagging (CCBT) for the MoFE. From 2022, the CARE SA Project has played a key role in forming the CCBT Technical Committee under MoFE, developing typologies, and a draft reference book through workshops and consultations. A final workshop is planned to review this draft book and secure MoFE’s endorsement. The consultant’s main goal is to facilitate this workshop, confirm CCBT findings with MoFE, and obtain Technical Committee approval for submission to the Ministry.

D. Statement of Intent

The Climate Public Finance Specialist will be responsible for coordinating with relevant government agencies on the outputs related to the assignment in providing updated chapters on the CPEIR and validate workshop and endorsements on the CCBT reference book for further use by development partners and government agencies.

The Nepal Planning Commission, and World Bank Nepal have recommended to provide additional information prior to the publication of the CPEIR. The additional information includes budgeting and expenditure data from 2020/21 – 2022/23, and the budget speech for 2023/24.

The objectives and outputs of this consultancy service are to update the analysis on the current draft of the CPEIR and CCBT by:

1. Conducting additional data collection on budgeting and expenditure data from 2020/21 – 2022/23, and the budget speech for 2023/24 for analysis and
2. Provide additional analysis and update the sections on public budget analysis, climate budget tagging, and public climate expenditure analysis sections of the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) report developed by ADPC
3. The objectives and outputs of this consultancy service will be to conduct a validation workshop and endorse the CCBT reference book for submission to MoFE.

• Field of work: The consultant must have experience in providing technical assistance on climate public finance management systems, demonstrated experience in qualitative data analysis on public finance and expenditures, and public finance management reforms in Nepal.
• Technical Expertise: The consultant must have the relevant qualifications and expertise in the field of climate change. The consultant is expected to be well versed in public financial planning & budgeting, revenue management and budget allocation, tax specialization, public or private procurement, and internal and external auditing at the federal or local government levels, or other professional experience in the finance and accounting field in the public or private sectors.
• Clear Scope of Work: The scope of work should be clearly defined to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings between the consultant and the client. The scope of work should include specific objectives, timelines, and deliverables.
• Communication: The consultant should maintain clear and timely communication with the client throughout the process. This includes providing regular updates on the progress of the review and any issues or concerns that arise.
• Independence and Impartiality: The consultant must be independent and impartial to ensure that the deliverables are unbiased and objective. The consultant must not have any conflicts of interest or any financial ties to the client or donor or have any benefit from the outputs being reviewed.
• Compliance with Relevant Standards: The consultant should be familiar with relevant industry standards and regulations and ensure that the outputs follow these standards.

Note:

It is not the intent of this Terms of Reference to cover every aspect of the position requirements, rather to highlight the most important areas of personal and joint responsibilities.

E. Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Finalize the draft Climate Change Budget Tagging (CCBT) Reference Book for Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE)
2. Prepare a flyer with infographics of the proposed typologies for the MoFE.
3. Conduct the validation workshop of the CCBT Reference Book
4. Conduct additional data collection on budgeting and expenditure data from 2020/21 – 2022/23, and the budget speech for 2023/24
5. Provide additional analysis and update the following specific sections based on the additional data:

Chapter 2

• Public Budget Analysis
• Public budget and expenditure
• Revenue and government dept

Chapter 3

• Climate budget tagging
• Climate budget code
• Efficiency and transparency

Chapter 4

• Public climate expenditure analysis
• Trend of public climate budget and expenditure
• Climate budget and expenditures
• Climate and gender budget
• Recurrent and capital climate budget (estimated vs. actual)
• Distribution of climate expenditures by sectors
• Climate expenditures by line ministries
• Provincial climate budget and expenditures
• Conduct a national validation workshop based on the updated analysis

F. Deliverables

The Climate Public Finance Specialist will have the following deliverables such as:

• Updated CPEIR chapters and publication by 15 March 2024
• Updated CCBT reference book for MoFE by 15 May 2024
• Facilitate the process of meetings, events and workshops under this assignment by 15 June 2024

G. Qualifications

The candidate should at least have:

• An advanced degree in public finance, climate finance, policy analysis or a relevant discipline of management and coordination around climate change and public policy
• At least fifteen years of experience in implementing projects related to Climate Change in South Asia and activity implementation.
• At least five years of experience in working with public sectors and public finance management systems and climate reforms in Nepal.
• The consultant must have experience in providing technical assistance on climate public finance management systems, demonstrated experience in qualitative data analysis on public finance and expenditures, and public finance management reforms in Nepal.
• An excellent understanding of the current regional (Asia-Pacific) and global discourse related to Climate Adaptation and Resilience is required.
• Experience with Multilateral Development Banks would be preferred.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills including MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams) and other relevant software and applications currently being used.

H. Reporting Relationships

The Short-Term Consultant will report to the Project Director and work in close collaboration with Climate Finance Specialist, with oversight from the Climate Policy, Planning and Finance Sector Lead from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center.

The Consultant is also expected to liaise with CARE for South Asia Climate Policy and Planning Specialist in Nepal, and with the project Sectoral Focal Point from the Nepal Planning Commission.

I. Contract Duration

The contract duration will be 5 months.

Start Date: 15 February 2024

End Date: 14 July 2024

J. Selection Method

The consultant will be selected in accordance with ADPC’s recruitment process and in compliance with the World Bank Procurement Regulations.