Inter-agency Learning Dialogue Evaluation for Climate Action: Strengthening Evidence from COP30 to COP31

As the international community moves from the outcomes of the thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) towards preparations for COP31, attention is increasingly focused on implementation. The first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement highlighted that, while important progress has been made, significantly greater efforts are required to accelerate mitigation, strengthen adaptation, mobilise climate finance and improve resilience. This has reinforced the importance of generating and using credible evidence to support more effective climate action.

Against this backdrop, EvalforEarth will convene a high-level inter-agency dialogue entitled " Evaluation for Climate Action: Strengthening Evidence from COP30 to COP31" The event will bring together senior representatives from independent evaluation offices of multilateral organizations to exchange lessons from recent climate-related evaluations, discuss emerging institutional priorities and explore opportunities for collaboration in the lead-up to COP31.

The dialogue will focus on how evaluation can contribute to improving implementation, organisational learning and evidence-informed decision-making. Rather than reviewing the negotiations or outcomes of COP30, the discussion will examine how evaluation functions can generate practical insights that strengthen climate policies, programmes and investments across institutions.

By convening organizations with complementary expertise in climate finance, agriculture, food systems, biodiversity, natural resource management and sustainable development, the dialogue seeks to strengthen cross-institutional learning and promote a more coordinated approach to the use of evaluation in advancing global climate objectives.

This inter-agency dialogue responds to that need by creating a platform for senior evaluation professionals to reflect on emerging evidence, discuss institutional priorities and explore opportunities for joint learning ahead of COP31. By bringing together diverse evaluation perspectives, the event aims to strengthen the contribution of evaluation to climate action while reinforcing collaboration across organizations working to support sustainable development.

 OBJECTIVES

The dialogue seeks to strengthen the contribution of independent evaluation to climate action by promoting evidence-informed learning and collaboration between COP30 and COP31.

Specifically, the panel will:

1. Share key findings, lessons and good practices emerging from recent climate-related evaluations undertaken by participating organizations. 
2. Discuss how evaluation can strengthen implementation, adaptive management and institutional learning in support of climate action. 
3. Identify priority evaluation themes and emerging evidence needs that can inform institutional engagement ahead of COP31. 
4. Explore opportunities for collaboration among evaluation offices, including joint learning activities, complementary evaluations and knowledge products that enhance the use of evidence across institutions. 

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

The dialogue is expected to contribute to stronger collaboration and knowledge exchange across the international evaluation community. Participants will:

1. Gain insights into recent climate-related evaluations undertaken by multilateral organizations and their implications for climate policy and programme implementation. 
2. Improve understanding of how evaluation supports organisational learning, accountability and evidence-informed decision-making in the context of climate action. 
3. Exchange experiences on innovative evaluation methodologies, approaches and practices relevant to climate adaptation, mitigation, resilience, biodiversity and sustainable food systems. 
4. Identify opportunities for strengthened collaboration among evaluation offices through joint learning initiatives, methodological exchange and complementary evaluation work. 
5. Contribute to the development of a shared evidence agenda that supports implementation between COP30 and COP31 and informs future climate-related evaluation practice. 

In addition to the dialogue itself, the event is expected to generate a concise summary of key messages and recommendations, which will be disseminated through the EvalforEarth Community of Practice and participating partner organisations to encourage continued learning and collaboration.

PANEL COMPOSITION

1. Dr. Manas Puri, Senior Professional, Independent Evaluation Office, New Development Bank (NDB IEO) 
2. Neeraj Kumar Negi, Senior Evaluation Officer, Independent Evaluation Office, Global Environment Facility (GEF IEO) 
3. Dr. Mònica Lomeña-Gelis, Senior Evaluation Officer, Independent Office of Evaluation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IOE IFAD) 
4. Andreea Nowak, Research Team Leader, Alliance for Climate Action and Project Coordinator, Climate Adaptation Activator, The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (CGIAR)
5. Jeehyun Yoon, Evaluation Specialist, Independent Evaluation Unit, Green Climate Fund (GCF IEU)

Moderator: Luisa Belli, Coordinator of the Environment Workstream, FAO OED