
Climate Protection Manager
In Podluží, Moravia, and Timisoara and surroundings (Romania), local climate groups will gain knowledge to support sustainable environmental and climate policies and behaviours in their communities. Our capacity-building programme provides comprehensive knowledge, concepts, and tools for local climate governance.
Climate Protection Management Training (CPM Training)
To briefly outline the specific objectives of ELCA Capacity Building as defined at the beginning of the ELCA project together with the partners from the Czech Republic, Romania and Germany, the first planning phase of ELCA was concerned with discussing shared information on training needs in climate protection management to develop a training curriculum for a core group of trainees from the Czech Republic and Romania.
To accommodate the time constraints of the predominantly working participants, the ELCA team opted for a part-time online format. The first phase (TP1) took place from 16 April to 26 June 2024. It provided a general overview of the complexity of 'project management in climate protection'. It created a knowledge base for the second phase (TP2).
TP1 consisted of four work packages which virtually-connected an interdisciplinary group of experts from two countries to provide knowledge exchange and much space to get to know each other. A regular weekly online CPM training and a discussion platform (2 hours each) were implemented in 13 training sessions.
TP2 has been running since 24 September and will conclude at the end of March 2025; it deepens the knowledge and skills already acquired by the participants and helps them to understand complex CPM concepts and their connection with their own work experiences. As in many adult learning programmes, great emphasis is placed on collaboration and knowledge-sharing between experts. Specific objectives are pursued to strengthen practical experience team dynamics to enhance participant skills.
The ELCA Study Tour to Witzenhausen, as part of TP2, participants undertook a study tour to Witzenhausen from 6 - 11 October 2024. The tour was designed by the ASD (Association for Sustainable Development) in Witzenhausen. The participants familiarised themselves with the cultural, social, and economic conditions in the North Hesse region. They learned how these factors influence local climate protection. The tour programme included institutional and practical experiences, and visiting innovative climate protection projects, technologies, and practices in the region. They were examined and discussed from various perspectives. The study trip offered participants ample opportunity to network with other experts, organisations, and stakeholders.
Since November 2024, , the planning for the creation of country-specific CPM plans for 'Project Management in Climate Change' has started and requires a sound application of knowledge and theories with regard to future professional opportunities and challenges. To establish sustainable concepts in local climate protection practice, this training has provided valuable learning experiences for the country teams and created the potential for a viable sustainability strategy in the ELCA project, especially when it comes to developing plans for EU funding applications.
The final week: Climate Protection Conference in March 2025
In the final week, the CPM knowledge will be further deepened. Once again, we will set out to become climate protection managers in practice and look into the working world of German climate protection managers in urban areas. The final conference will be an opportunity to bring the ELCA CPM to a fitting conclusion and an important step towards further advancing local climate action through awareness raising, knowledge transfer and networking. As part of the conference, participants will share their experiences and present their project work or action plans. Joint reflections, expert discussions, specialist lectures and workshops will help to strengthen commitment and networking in climate protection and raise awareness of various climate protection issues. Professional contacts can be made and networks expanded. The final week culminates with the ceremonial presentation of the ELCA CPM certificate to the trainees.
ELCA CPM was made possible by European Climate Initiative funding.
Download ELCA Climate Protection Management Handbook