Twinning: lessons for a South-North climate policy context

Twinning is an innovative tool utilized in the EU enlargement process. It is designed to strengthen the institutional capacities of the candidate countries to implement the acquis communautaire. Twinning involves the long-term secondment of a Member State public servant to the domestic counterpart institution and thereby provides hands-on public sector experience. Arguably, the twinning concept is also applicable in South—North climate policy cooperation, and its potential is explored. Twinning serves as a valuable supplement to ongoing capacity-building efforts by assisting the actual implementation of policies. Its basic design addresses some of the frequently cited problems of developmental assistance.