| | | | Africa Dialogue opening with (from left to right) Mariana Castaño Cano, Bogolo Kenewendo, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, Beatrice Atim Anywar, Ovais Sarmad, Henning Wuester, Jigme and Kavydass Ramano / Photo credit: UN Climate Change | 15/09/2022 17:41 |  Yali Wang | 15/09/2022 17:41 | 15.09.2022 | The French version of the article can be found here.
For the first time, ministers, and other regional and international leaders met with policymakers at Africa Climate Week 2022 to advance the implementation of the new Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement.
Building on the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) process under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, the new universal ETF foresees that all countries will biennially report transparent information on climate action and support, including implementation and achievement of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The Africa Dialogue on the Enhanced Transparency Framework took place in Libreville, Gabon, on 31 August and 1 September. On the first day, ministers, and other regional and international leaders laid out their vision for ambitious implementation of the new transparency arrangements. They underlined that the ETF allows countries to not only comply with their international climate obligations but also to benefit from relevant data collected and reported under the UNFCCC reporting and verification processes. This will help them strengthen their mitigation and adaptation plans and be better equipped to mobilise financial support for their implementation.
On the second day, dozens of national policymakers and international experts exchanged experiences and perspectives about the challenges and opportunities for faster and stronger climate action offered by the ETF. They discussed various aspects of how transparency can foster the NDC process, including the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation and just transitions, tracking of climate finance and related capacity development.
With the negative impacts of the climate emergency accelerating everywhere, ministers underlined the urgency for nations to move forward in the implementation of their national climate plans while building robust transparency mechanisms.
“We take transparency seriously. At home, Uganda is accountable to its people, and we must be accountable to the global community as well. Transparency also enables countries to identify financial, technological development and transfers, and capacity building from different perspectives,” said Beatrice Atim Anywar, Minister of State for Environment, Uganda.
“The shared transparency data can be adequately used, and it also gives us an opportunity to have informed decision making as leaders. It also enhances the opportunity to access financial institutions and the capacity building that can support developing countries,” she added.
Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, President of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), said: "In light of the warnings of our scientists, strengthening our joint action against the adverse effects of climate change is no longer up for negotiation. This region of Africa and of the world is unique in its tropical forest ecosystems, and important projects are underway to provide sustainable solutions to the fight against climate change, including effective climate diplomacy."
"We need to strengthen our capacity for climate transparency. In this sense, the Regional Centre for Transparency, in partnership with ICAT, is a world first" he added.
The new Regional Climate Action Transparency Hub for Central Africa, hosted by the ECCAS with a centre in Douala, Cameroun, will support the 11 ECCAS member States.
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Tourism and Environment of the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville, underlined the importance of enhancing transparency and thanked ICAT for financing the new regional hub.
The Congolese minister started by reminding participants of the importance of the Congo basin region for global climate stability.
"The peatlands of the central Congo Basin alone capture 31 billion tonnes of CO2 ー 30 times more than the Congo Basin forests; 20 times the annual emissions of the US; and three to four years of global greenhouse gas emissions. They are both a treasure for humanity and a time bomb. Hence the urgent need to break the lock on Africa's access to carbon finance,” she said.
Also speaking about the importance of climate finance, Lee White, Minister of Forests, Oceans, Environment and Climate Change, Gabon, urged for increased transparency to track the support from developed to developing countries.
"Not all developing countries have invested as much as Gabon, and need technical and capacity-building support from developed countries. We have a very clear policy of transparency in Gabon, some developed countries could be inspired by our position,” he said.
Kavydass Ramano, Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mauritius, also shared his vision for transparency underlining the need for tracking climate finance.
"We share everyone's concern about the issue of the enhanced transparency framework, transparency both in terms of NDCs, and in terms of financing tools. The legal framework, the engagement of the right people, capacity building and knowledge sharing are key ingredients to make things happen," he added.
Gilberto Silva, Minister for Agriculture and Environment, Cape Verde, explained
"Africa has a great opportunity to develop while maintaining itself as a low-emissions continent."
"To strengthen transparency and implement the enhanced transparency framework at home, we have some needs but there are achievements at the administration level. We think this is a good time for the more consolidated construction of the enhanced transparency framework while taking advantage of the opportunity for capacity building," he concluded.
“Without transparency, the implementation of all actions, promises and commitments do not hold value,” said Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary.
“What matters is not from where we start; but what matters is to take the steps that are necessary now. Special attention has to be placed on strengthening institutional arrangements and developing capacity and skills.”
Apart from reinforcing institutional capacities, governments need to engage all stakeholders in the implementation of their national climate plans. The importance of engaging the private sector was highlighted by Bogolo Kenewendo, Africa Director and Special Advisor to the High-Level Champions.
“The private sector is a very key requisite part of climate action in order to increase any ambition over time and reach any long-term goal that the continent has in relation to the Paris agreement. Africa has a share of only 0.4 per cent of the total world green bonds, we haven’t provided for private sector participation and mobilised climate finance on the continent.“
“It is very key in reporting by African countries that there is a very strong reference and call towards an overall finance climate strategy that includes domestic and international private sector finance, and have those investment plans in the NDCs,” she said.
Strengthening the institutional arrangements and stakeholder engagement in the region was one of the topics discussed in a roundtable with top country officials, who also talked about the national social and economic benefits of building strong transparency systems. National policymakers and international experts exchanged about the needs and the existing opportunities to access financial and capacity-building support for transparency.
At the closing of the Africa Dialogue, Jigme, Manager of the Transparency Division at the UNFCCC said: “The high-level policy exchange has created a space for national experts to hear first-hand from ministers, senior policymakers, and regional and international leaders about their vision for implementing the ETF and the co-benefits that transparency can bring to their countries. This first Africa regional dialogue has set a clear policy direction for universal participation in the ETF, with the goal of all countries submitting their climate action reports by 31 December 2024, as per the deadline established in the Paris Agreement.”
Henning Wuester, ICAT Director, said: “This is the year for Africa in the climate change process. Transparency is the backbone of the Paris Agreement, so it bodes well for the future of the Paris Agreement that this topic is discussed here in the heart of Africa, in a manner that resonates at the highest political levels. Transparency is an enabler, it is a service that will allow policy development to turn NDCs into a useful tool,” he said.
The Africa Dialogue kicked off a series of regional dialogues on the ETF, to be organized within the framework of the UNFCCC Regional Climate weeks. The UN Climate Change secretariat, the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of regional organisations, such as COMESA and ECCAS, and PATPA, organised the first regional dialogue on the ETF during the 2022 Africa Climate Week. The next regional dialogues will take place at the 2023 MENA and Asia-Pacific Climate Weeks.
To learn more about the ETF, visit the UN Climate Change website and check the Enhanced Transparency Framework Handbook and Manual. | | | | | Ouverture du Dialogue Africain avec (de gauche à droite) Mariana Castaño Cano, Bogolo Kenewendo, Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, Beatrice Atim Anywar, Ovais Sarmad, Henning Wuester, Jigme et Kavydass Ramano / Crédit photo: UN Climate Change | 15/09/2022 17:35 | Yali Wang | 15/09/2022 17:38 | 15.09.2022 | ONU Climat Infos, 15 septembre 2022 - Des ministres et d’autres dirigeants régionaux et internationaux se sont réunis avec d’autres décideurs politiques à l'occasion de la Semaine Africaine du Climat 2022 à Libreville, Gabon, au début du mois, pour établir leur vision d’une mise en œuvre ambitieuse des nouvelles dispositions pour la transparence, en vertu de l'Accord de Paris.
Les discussions étaient conçues pour faciliter la mise en place du nouveau cadre de transparence renforcé (CTR) qui s’appuie sur le processus de mesures, de déclaration et de vérification de la CCNUCC et du protocole de Kyoto. Le nouveau CTR universel prévoit que tous les pays communiquent tous les deux ans des informations transparentes sur l'action et le soutien en faveur du climat, y compris la mise en œuvre et la réalisation de leurs Contributions Déterminées au niveau National (CDN), qui constituent des plans d’action climat de l’Accord de Paris.
Les ministres et d’autres dirigeants régionaux et internationaux ont souligné que le CTR permet aux pays non seulement de se conformer à leurs obligations internationales, mais aussi de bénéficier de données pertinentes recueillies et déclarées en vertu des processus de la CCNUCC et celui de vérification. Ceci les aidera à renforcer leurs plans pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effets de serre et s’adapter au changement climatique, et à être mieux armés pour mobiliser les moyens financiers et le support à leur mise en œuvre.
De plus, des dizaines de décideurs nationaux et d'experts internationaux ont échangé leurs expériences et leurs perspectives à propos des défis et des possibilités d'action climatique plus rapide et plus forte offerts par le CTR. Ils ont discuté des divers aspects de la façon dont la transparence peut favoriser le processus des CDN, notamment le suivi et l'évaluation de l'adaptation et des transitions justes, le suivi du financement climatique et le développement des capacités correspondantes.
Les impacts négatifs de l'urgence climatique s'accélérant partout, les ministres ont souligné l'urgence pour les nations d'avancer dans la mise en œuvre de leurs plans climatiques nationaux tout en mettant en place de solides mécanismes de transparence.
« Nous prenons la transparence au sérieux, l'Ouganda est responsable chez lui devant son peuple, nous devons être responsables devant la communauté mondiale. La transparence permet également aux pays d'identifier les financements, le développement technologique, les transferts, le renforcement des capacités sous différents angles », a déclaré Beatrice Atim Anywar, Ministre d'État chargée de l'Environnement en Ouganda.
« Les données partagées en matière de transparence peuvent être utilisées de manière adéquate, et elles nous donnent également, en tant que dirigeants, la possibilité de prendre des décisions en connaissance de cause. Elles améliorent également la possibilité d'accéder aux institutions financières et au renforcement des capacités qui peuvent soutenir les pays en développement », a-t-elle ajouté.
Gilberto Da Piedade Verissimo, Président de la Communauté Économique des États d'Afrique Centrale (CEEAC), a déclaré : « À la lumière des avertissements de nos scientifiques, le renforcement de notre action commune contre les effets néfastes du changement climatique n’est plus négociable. Cette région de l’Afrique et du monde se singularise par ses écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux, et d’importants projets sont engagés pour apporter des solutions durables à la lutte contre le changement climatique avec, entre autres, une diplomatie climatique efficace. »
« Nous avons besoin de renforcer nos capacités en matière de transparence climatique. Dans ce sens, le Centre Régional pour la Transparence, en partenariat avec l’ICAT, est une première mondiale. »
Le nouveau Centre Régional de Transparence de l'Action Climatique pour l'Afrique Centrale, hébergé par la CEEAC avec un centre à Douala au Cameroun, soutiendra les 11 États-membres de la CEEAC.
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Ministre du Tourisme et de l'Environnement de la République du Congo-Brazzaville, a souligné l'importance de renforcer la transparence et a remercié l'ICAT pour le financement du nouveau centre régional.
La ministre congolaise a commencé par rappeler aux participants l'importance de la région du bassin du Congo pour la stabilité climatique mondiale.
« Les tourbières de la cuvette centrale du Congo séquestrent à elles seules 31 milliards de tonnes de CO2, soit 30 fois plus que les forêts du bassin du Congo, 20 fois les émissions annuelles des EU et 3 à 4 années d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre de la planète. Elles sont à la fois un trésor pour l’humanité et une bombe à retardement. D’où l’impérieuse nécessité de faire sauter le verrou de l’accession de l’Afrique à la finance carbone. »
S'exprimant également sur l'importance du financement du climat, Lee White, Ministre des Forêts, des Océans, de l'Environnement et du Changement Climatique du Gabon, a appelé à une plus grande transparence pour suivre le soutien des pays développés aux pays en développement.
« Tous les pays en voie de développement n’ont pas investi autant que le Gabon, et ont besoin d’appui technologique et de renforcement de leurs capacités de la part des pays développés. Nous avons au Gabon une politique très claire de transparence, certains pays développés pourraient s’inspirer de notre position. » a-t-il déclaré.
Kavydass Ramano, Ministre Mauricien de l'Environnement, de la Gestion des Déchets Solides et du Changement Climatique, a également partagé sa vision de la transparence en soulignant la nécessité de suivre le financement du climat.
« Nous partageons la préoccupation de tout un chacun en ce qui concerne la question du cadre de transparence renforcé, la transparence à la fois en termes de CDN, et en termes d’outils de financement. Le cadre juridique, l’engagement des personnes appropriées, le renforcement des capacités et le partage des connaissances sont des ingrédients clés pour faire bouger les choses, » a-t-il ajouté.
Gilberto Silva, Ministre de l'Agriculture et de l'Environnement du Cap-Vert, a expliqué que
« L’Afrique a une belle opportunité de se développer tout en se maintenant comme un continent de référence en matière de faibles émissions. »
« Pour renforcer la transparence et mettre en œuvre le mécanisme de transparence renforcé chez nous, nous avons quelques besoins mais il y a des acquis au niveau de l’administration. Nous pensons que c’est un bon moment pour la construction plus consolidée du cadre de transparence renforcé tout en profitant de l’opportunité de renforcement des capacités », a-t-il conclu.
« Sans transparence, la mise en œuvre de toutes les actions, promesses et engagements n'a aucune valeur » a déclaré Ovais Sarmad, Secrétaire Exécutif Adjoint de la CCNUCC.
« L'important n'est pas de savoir d'où l'on part, mais de prendre dès maintenant les mesures qui s'imposent. Une attention particulière doit être accordée au renforcement des dispositions institutionnelles et au développement des capacités et des compétences."
Outre le renforcement des capacités institutionnelles, les gouvernements doivent faire participer toutes les parties prenantes à la mise en œuvre de leurs plans climatiques nationaux. L'importance d'impliquer le secteur privé a été soulignée par Bogolo Kenewendo, Directrice Afrique et Conseillère Spéciale des Champions de Haut Niveau, qui a déclaré :
« Le secteur privé est une partie requise très importante de l'action climatique afin d'augmenter toute ambition dans la durée et d'atteindre tout objectif à long terme que le continent a en relation avec l'accord de Paris. L'Afrique n'a qu'une part de 0,4 % du total mondial des obligations vertes, nous n'avons pas prévu la participation du secteur privé ni mobilisé le financement climatique sur le continent."
« Il est très important dans les rapports émis par les pays africains qu'il y ait une référence très forte et un appel en faveur d’une stratégie globale de financement du climat qui inclut le financement de la part du secteur privé national et international, et avoir ces plans d'investissement dans les CDN. » a-t-elle ajouté.
Le renforcement des dispositions institutionnelles et de l'engagement des parties prenantes dans la région a été l'un des sujets abordés par les hauts représentants des pays, qui ont également parlé des avantages sociaux et économiques nationaux de la mise en place de systèmes de transparence solides. Les décideurs politiques nationaux et les experts internationaux ont échangé sur les besoins et les opportunités existantes pour accéder à un soutien financier et de renforcement des capacités pour la transparence.
Lors de la clôture du Dialogue Afrique, Jigme, Responsable de la Division de la Transparence à la CCNUCC a déclaré : « L'échange de politiques de haut niveau a créé un espace permettant aux experts nationaux d'entendre directement des ministres, des hauts responsables politiques et des dirigeants régionaux et internationaux leur vision de la mise en œuvre du CTR ainsi que les co-bénéfices que la transparence peut apporter à leurs pays. Ce premier dialogue régional africain a permis de définir une orientation politique claire en faveur d'une participation universelle au CTR, l'objectif étant que tous les pays soumettent leurs rapports sur l'action climatique d'ici au 31 décembre 2024, conformément à l'échéance fixée dans l'Accord de Paris. »
Henning Wuester, Director de l’ICAT, a dit : « C'est l'année de l'Afrique dans le processus de changement climatique. La transparence est l'épine dorsale de l'Accord de Paris. Il est donc de bon augure pour l'avenir de l'Accord de Paris que ce sujet soit discuté ici, au cœur de l'Afrique, d'une manière qui résonne aux plus hauts niveaux politiques. La transparence est un catalyseur ; c'est un service qui permettra de faire des CDN un outil utile à l'élaboration des politiques », a-t-il déclaré.
Le Dialogue Afrique a donné le coup d'envoi d'une série de dialogues régionaux sur le cadre de transparence renforcé, qui seront organisés dans le cadre des Semaines Climat Régionales du CCNUCC. Le Secrétariat des Nations Unies pour le Changement Climatique, l'Initiative pour la Transparence de l'Action Climatique (ICAT) et le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD), avec le soutien d'organisations régionales, telles que le COMESA la CEEAC et PATPA, ont organisé le premier dialogue régional à propos du CTR durant la Semaine Climat Afrique 2022. Les prochains dialogues régionaux auront lieu lors des semaines du climat MENA et Asie-Pacifique de 2023.
Pour en savoir plus sur le cadre de transparence renforcé, visitez le site web des Nations unies sur le changement climatique et consultez le Manuel de référence et le Handbook du Cadre de Transparence Renforcé. | | | | | Meeting participants of the 8th CGE meeting | 15/09/2022 17:00 | Yali Wang | 15/09/2022 17:09 | 15.09.2022 | Building the capacity of developing countries to deal with climate change is a core part of the work of the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), which met in Bonn earlier this month to take stock of its progress.
The CGE provides technical advice and support to developing country Parties. It does this by helping developing countries prepare and submit national communications, biennial update reports and biennial transparency reports.
Following the adoption of CGE’s revised terms of reference at COP26 and the development of its work programme for 2022–2026 and 2022 workplan, the 8th meeting of the CGE took place in Bonn on 1 and 2 September 2022. The meeting reviewed the progress of implementation of the CGE’s annual workplan and considered the submission of its progress report to the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).
Key highlights among the achievements of the CGE in 2022 include:
Upcoming CGE events include:
- Regional hands-on training workshops on tracking progress of nationally determined contributions under the enhanced transparency framework. One workshop will be organized for the Asia-Pacific region from 19 to 21 October 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. Two workshops will be organized for the Africa, and Latin America and Caribbean regions from 6 to 8 December 2022 in Bonn.
- A side event at COP27 in November and the 5th informal forum of the CGE in December to showcase its achievements and to learn from the experiences of Parties in their transition to the enhanced transparency framework and preparation of biannual transparency reports.
More information on the outcomes of the 8th meeting of the CGE can be found here. | | | | | Aperçu du programme Dialogue Africain | 26/08/2022 14:41 | Yali Wang | 26/08/2022 15:42 | 26.08.2022 | Les plans
climatiques nationaux, également connus sous le nom de Contributions
Déterminées au niveau National (CDN), sont au cœur même de l'Accord de Paris.
De façon similaire, un cadre de transparence solide constitue l'épine dorsale
des efforts déployés par les nations du monde pour atteindre leurs objectifs
dans le cadre de l'accord, et pour s'attaquer ensemble à l'urgence climatique.
S'appuyant sur
les dispositifs de mesure, de reporting et de vérification de la CCNUCC et du
protocole de Kyoto, l'accord de Paris a établi en 2015 un cadre universel de transparence renforcé (Enhanced Transparency Framework - ETF) exigeant
de tous les pays qu'ils communiquent régulièrement des informations
transparentes sur la mise en œuvre et la réalisation de leurs CDN.
La période
2022-2024 est cruciale pour que les pays consolident des systèmes robustes de
collecte et de communication des données climatiques au niveau national, qui
incluent également les contributions à l'action climatique de la part des
acteurs non étatiques.
Les avantages
d'une mise en œuvre solide de l'ETF sont clairs. Un cadre de transparence bien
structuré n'est pas seulement une condition de base pour la responsabilisation
et l'instauration de la confiance entre les nations, mais c'est aussi un outil
puissant qui à l’avenir permettra aux gouvernements d'élaborer des
contributions déterminées au niveau national efficaces et fondées sur des
données.
Pour renforcer
les capacités nationales en matière de transparence, un Dialogue Africain interactif
à propos du Cadre de Transparence Renforcé aura lieu les 31 août et 1er
septembre, lors de la Semaine Africaine du Climat à Libreville, au Gabon.
Des dirigeants
internationaux, des ministres, des points focaux nationaux et des experts se
réuniront pour fournir des idées sur les politiques en la matière, apprendre de
leurs expériences respectives et écouter des experts internationaux travaillant
dans toutes les régions du monde.
Participer en ligne
Le Dialogue Africain
sera un événement hybride avec des participants en personne à Libreville, au
Gabon, et d'autres se connectant en ligne depuis toute la région.
Inscrivez-vous ici pour recevoir des informations actualisées et le
lien de connexion pour la participation en ligne.
À propos des Dialogues Régionaux sur le Climat
concernant le Cadre de Transparence Renforcée
Le Dialogue Africain
fait partie d'une série de dialogues régionaux sur le cadre de transparence
renforcée, organisés par le secrétariat des Nations unies pour le
changement climatique, l'Initiative pour la transparence de l'action climatique (ICAT) et le Programme des Nations unies pour le développement (PNUD), avec le soutien d'organisations
régionales, telles que le COMESA et la CEEAC dans le cas du Dialogue Africain. Le prochain dialogue régional aura lieu
lors de la semaine du climat Asie-Pacifique de 2023.
En savoir plus
Site web de l'ONU
sur le changement climatique
Manuel du Cadre de Transparence Renforcée
| | | | | Programme overview | 26/08/2022 14:33 | Yali Wang | 26/08/2022 14:59 | 26.08.2022 | National climate plans also
known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are the beating heart of
the Paris Agreement. In the same way, a robust transparency framework is the
backbone of world nations’ efforts to achieve their goals under the agreement
and tackle the climate emergency together.
Building on the
monitoring, reporting and verification process under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol,
in 2015 the Paris Agreement established a new universal enhanced
transparency framework (ETF)
requiring all countries to regularly report transparent information on the
implementation and achievement of their NDCs.
The 2022-2024 period
is critical for countries to consolidate robust climate data collection and
reporting systems at the national level that also include non-State actors'
contributions to climate action.
The benefits of solid
implementation of the ETF are clear. A strong transparency framework is not
only a basic condition for accountability and trust building among nations, but
it is also a powerful tool for governments to develop impactful and
data-supported nationally determined contributions moving forward.
To reinforce national
capacities on transparency, an interactive Africa Dialogue on the Enhanced Transparency
Framework will take place on 31 August and 1 September, at the Africa Climate
Week in Libreville, Gabon.
International leaders,
ministers, national focal points and experts will gather to provide policy
insights, learn from each other’s experiences and hear from international
experts working across all world regions.
Join online
The Africa Dialogue
will be a hybrid event with participants in person in Libreville, Gabon, and
more connecting online from across the region. Register here to receive updated information and the
connection link for online participation.
About the Regional
Climate Dialogues on the Enhanced Transparency Framework
The Africa Dialogue is
part of a series of regional dialogues on the enhanced transparency framework
organised by the UN Climate Change
secretariat, the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of regional
organisations, such as COMESA and ECCAS in the case of the Africa Dialogue. The next regional dialogue will
take place at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Climate Week.
Learn more
UN Climate Change website
Enhanced Transparency
Framework Manual | | | | | Figure 1 Participants of the 11th Group of Friends meeting | 05/07/2022 13:13 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 26/08/2022 15:48 | 05.07.2022 | The ETF Group of Friends (formerly referred to as the "Group of
Friends on the MRV/Transparency") is an informal network of entities
actively supporting developing countries on transparency issues. Since 2016, the group has served as a platform
to exchange information, lessons learned and experiences in engaging with and
assisting developing countries and promote coordination and collaboration
amongst support providers.
As Parties transition from the existing measurement,
reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the Convention to the enhanced
transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement, support for developing
countries is viewed as a critical factor in the successful implementation of
the ETF. In this context, the group gathered for the 11th time on the margins of the
just-concluded Bonn Climate Change Conference in June 2022.
At this meeting, the group reaffirmed its current and ongoing aspiration is to contribute to a successful implementation of
the ETF by ensuring that no country is left behind and achieve universal
participation by 31 December 2024. The group identified some
strategies to strengthen its network: developing a common vision and consistent
messaging; improving information sharing on transparency; engaging with
regional climate networks and hubs; continuing meeting at the global and
regional level to create an enabling environment for facilitated coordination
when supporting developing countries.
35 representatives from 24 member entities attended
the meeting: Canada, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
German Environment Agency, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Global Green
Growth Institute (GGGI), GRA Inventories and NDC Research Network, Greenhouse
Gas Inventory Office of Japan (GIO), Greenhouse Gas Management Institute
(GHGMI), Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT), Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), International Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED), Korea - Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center
(GIR), Latin American Network on National GHG Inventories (RedINGEI), Ministry
of Environment Japan, NDC Partnership, NDC Support Network, Partnership on
Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA), Singapore, Switzerland, UNFCCC
secretariat, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), United States, and World Resources Institute
(WRI).
| | | | | Some of the participants at the ETF Group of Friends meetings for the Latin America and the Caribbean. | 28/04/2022 16:03 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 05/07/2022 13:15 | 28.04.2022 | The existing measurement,
reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the Convention and the enhanced
transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement are important tools for
countries to assess the implementation and achievement of their national climate
objectives. The ETF will also provide a snapshot of global efforts in achieving
the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
The ETF Group of
Friends (formerly referred to as the "Group of Friends on the
MRV/Transparency") is an informal network of stakeholders providing
financial, technical, and capacity-building support to developing countries on
MRV and transparency issues. Between 7 December
2021 and 5 April 2022, the Group has met at the regional level for
Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean to foster
collaboration and synergies amongst themselves in these regions.
The messages coming
out of these regional discussions were clear - a high level of interest in continued
exchange of information,
experiences and lessons learned on previous, ongoing and planned MRV/ETF
activities. They were also keen on exploring collaboration opportunities and
synergies amongst themselves. They noted more coordinated and systematic
approaches would help the efficiency and effectiveness of the support provided to
developing countries. The participants also brainstormed on possible ways to
strengthen the use of the ETF Group of Friends as a tool for coordination and
promoting synergies.
These three regional meetings convened 79
participants from 19 institutions. These institutions
include Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, European Commission,
Food and Agriculture Organization, German Federal Foreign Office, GIZ, Global
Green Growth Institute, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, Initiative for
Climate Action Transparency, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies,
IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Latin American Network
on National GHG Inventories, Ministry of the Environment (Japan), NDC
Partnership, New Zealand Agricultural GHG Research Centre, Partnership on
Transparency in the Paris Agreement, the UNFCCC secretariat, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
In
conjunction with the 56th session of the Subsidiary Bodies, the Group
will have its global meeting in June 2022 in Bonn, Germany.
| | | | | Some of the participants at the ETF Group of Friends Meeting for the Africa region. | 29/03/2022 17:43 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 30/03/2022 14:41 | 29.03.2022 | COP26 in Glasgow finalized
the remaining technical details to bring the enhanced transparency framework
(ETF) under the Paris Agreement to life. The final biennial update reports under
the existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under
the Convention by developing countries shall be submitted no later than 31
December 2024. On the other hand, the
first biennial transparency reports and national inventory report, if submitted
as a stand-alone report, under the ETF shall be submitted at the latest by 31
December 2024. As Parties transition from the existing MRV arrangements to the ETF,
support to developing countries is viewed as a critical factor to achieve universal
participation in the ETF.
The ETF Group of
Friends (formerly referred to as the "Group of Friends on the
MRV/Transparency") is an informal network of stakeholders providing
financial, technical, and capacity-building support to developing countries on
MRV and transparency issues. To better
support developing country Parties in this critical period, the Group has been meeting
at the regional level to foster collaboration and synergies amongst themselves.
Following the meeting organized for the Asia-Pacific region in December 2021,
the Group met again on 17 March with a focus on the Africa region.
The UNFCCC secretariat and Global Green Growth
Institute co-organized this meeting. Meeting participants exchanged experiences
and lessons learned on ongoing and planned support activities in the field of
MRV/ETF system building, discussed collaboration opportunities and challenges,
and brainstormed potential solutions to address these challenges.
Many participants were
of the view that the support needs on MRV and ETF from the developing country
Parties are enormous. Synergies among different support activities will increase
their effectiveness, and active information sharing is a crucial enabling
factor for improved synergies. Some participants proposed that the Group of
Friends should meet more frequently at the regional level to better coordinate
support activities in each region.
28 participants from 10 institutions attended
this meeting. These institutions include Common Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization, German Federal Foreign Office, Global
Green Growth Institute, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, Partnership on Transparency
in the Paris Agreement, Initiative for Climate Action Transparency, IPCC Task
Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, United Nations Environment
Programme, and the UNFCCC secretariat.
The next Group of Friend regional meeting is for
Latin America and the Caribbean and will be held on 5 April 2022.
| | | | | Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the CEEW and Mr. Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary UNFCCC at the MoU signing ceremony in New Delhi. | 23/03/2022 12:11 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 07/09/2022 16:12 | 23.03.2022 | The
United Nations Climate Change secretariat and the Council
on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) are pleased to announce their strategic partnership to
develop a framework and tools that will enhance the capacity of developing
countries to report on climate change as part of the Climate Change Convention and
Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement.
The ETF modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs) emphasise the
need for developing country Parties to ascertain their capacity constraints
and requirements for reporting climate action and support. It urges them
to better understand their national circumstances, develop a continuous
improvement plan and use the flexibility provisions in the MPGs in light of
their capacities.
The UN Climate Change secretariat-CEEW
partnership is premised on the recognition that developing countries that are Party to the Paris Agreement are at
different starting points with respect to their capabilities and the
institutional arrangements to effectively report on climate action and support
in accordance with the MPGs. Building
on the research done previously by CEEW, the partnership envisions to develop a
framework and tool that can be used by developing country Parties to enhance
their capacity to report on climate change.
“Developing
country Parties need support
to transition to the
ETF MPGs. We look forward to working with the UN Climate Change secretariat to support
developing country Parties to
enhance their climate change reporting as a critical pillar of building confidence,
and highlighting their capacity needs and the challenges so that commensurate
resources can be provided to them,”
said Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
‘’We welcome this collaboration with CEEW to
help developing country Parties to identify their capacity needs as well as access support opportunities to enhance and submit their biennial transparency reports,’’ said Mr
Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change secretariat.
It is envisaged that the framework and tool
should be ready for piloting within the next 12 months.
For more information, please contact:
Transparency
Division, CGE/ETF Support Unit, tisu@unfccc.int
| | | | | The 7th CGE meeting took place from 28 February to 1 March 2022 in a virtual format. At the meeting, the group successfully revised their mission vision and strategic priorities (taking into consideration the revised terms of reference from COP 26), and they also successful developed their work program in addition to the key activities for 2022. | 15/03/2022 08:52 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 07/09/2022 16:13 | 15.03.2022 | COP 26 in Glasgow demonstrated a strong political
signal from the global community of the urgent need to fight against climate
change. For the enhanced transparency framework (ETF), COP 26 adopted further
technical work on the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the ETF, with
tables, outlines and other formats for the reports agreed. It also committed enhanced
support for implementing the ETF, including guidance to the role of Consultative Group of Experts (CGE).
At the seventh meeting of
the CGE, the
group successfully
developed its work
programme for 2022 – 2026 based on its revised terms
of reference, and also identified its key
activities for 2022. The meeting of the CGE took place virtually on 28 February and 1
March 2022 and
elected Mr. Alpha Kaloga (Guinea) as the Chair and Ms. Tian Wang (China) as the
Rapporteur for 2022.
The CGE has so far played a leading
role in supporting the implementation of the measurement, reporting and
verification (MRV) arrangements under the
Convention and facilitating the transition to the ETF under the Paris
Agreement. The outcomes of COP 26 can further inform and strengthen the role of
the CGE in providing technical advice and support to developing country Parties
through its strategic priorities and activities in accordance with its work
plan. For example, the CGE agreed to organize its regional hands-on training
workshops focusing on tracking progress of NDCs under the ETF, including
mitigation assessment, tracking progress of implementation and achievement of
NDCs through use of indicators, and support needed and received in relation to
tracking progress of NDCs.
In the coming years, the CGE will continue supporting the
developing country Parties in implementing the existing MRV arrangements under
the Convention and facilitating transition to and implementation of the ETF
under the Paris Agreement. It will also stock take the lessons learned and good
practices, understand the areas of improvement, refine the approaches and tools
used to provide technical advice and support in facilitating the implementation
of the existing MRV arrangements and the ETF. Meanwhile, the CGE will promote
collaboration and engagement with key stakeholders and enhance outreach
activities.
| | | | | Visual summary of the 4th informal forum of the Consultative Group of Experts | 17/12/2021 11:21 | Bhava Dhungana | 17/12/2021 11:23 | 17.12.2021 | The Glasgow COP26 outcomes
demonstrate a strong political signal from the global community of the urgent
need to accelerate progress to ensure that the world can fulfil the fundamental
goals of the Paris Agreement. For the enhanced transparency framework (ETF), further
technical work on the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the ETF was
completed, with tables, outlines and other formats for the reports agreed.
With the recent conclusion of the terms of
reference of the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) at COP26, CGE is now poised to play its
role in making further progress and enhancing international collaboration so
that countries are in a position to implement the enhanced transparency
framework. To inform the key stakeholders on its current and future work and seek
their feedbacks, the CGE virtually organized its fourth informal forum on 8
December 2021. More than 100 experts worldwide participated in this forum. They
included both country experts and support providers
from various organizations involved in the implementation of the existing measurement, reporting and verification
(MRV) arrangements under the Convention and the ETF under the Paris Agreement. The
discussions will
feed into the development of CGE’s work programme for 2022 – 2026.
The Deputy Executive Secretary of the
UNFCCC secretariat, Mr. Ovais Sarmad, the Chair of the CGE, Ms. Virginia Sena, and
the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for the Implementation, Ms. Marianne
Karlsen laid out the key messages and ETF-related achievements at COP 26 and
shared their expectations on this informal forum and the CGE’s future work.
The CGE used innovative approaches and
methods to successfully implement its workplans for 2020 and 2021, which
resulted in:
- Training
609 national experts through 14 virtual regional hands-on training workshops;
- Reaching
709 experts, through webinars on key thematic issues;
- Developing,
translating and disseminating online training resources, which included
animation videos, technical handbooks, and hands-on exercises; and
- Compiling
and summarizing capacity-building needs for the preparation of national communications
and biennial update reports.
Participants shared their reflections on the
achievements and lessons learnt of the CGE, and requested the CGE to continue
its support on MRV and ETF in 2022 and beyond. One participant highlighted the added
value of the virtual webinars/workshops organized by the CGE in the last two
years. According to her, these virtual
events helped broaden the engagement of national experts from line agencies which
would not have been possible otherwise due to the limited number of
participants from each country when the events were organized as in-person. The
sharing of materials and recordings also allowed more people to benefit from
these events. She hopes the CGE can organize more of such webinars/workshops in
future.
Participants also informally
reflected and exchanged views around the experiences on domestic political
buy-in, capacity-building and access to finance, which are critical to
sustaining national efforts to enhance reporting under the Convention and the
Paris Agreement. For example, participants shared some emerging needs for
capacity building, such as training on the reporting tables, outlines and other formats for ETF agreed at
COP26. One country shared how they received financial support from their
international MRV/ETF support provider partners by conducting a need assessment
of the governmental agencies and request for very specific supports, etc.
Participants
also proposed some areas that they wish the CGE to take into consideration for
the development of its workplan. The key messages from this forum will be
utilized to inform the CGE’s future
workplan thereby ensuring that the activities rolled out respond to the needs
of developing country Parties on their important journey to implement the MRV
arrangements and use that as a foundation to prepare for and implement the ETF.
Event video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex2FRH2ZNmc
More info: https://unfccc.int/event/4th-informal-forum-of-the-consultative-group-of-experts
| | | | | The MRV Group of Friends organized a virtual meeting for the Asia-Pacific regional meeting on 7 December 2021. | 16/12/2021 12:20 | Sharon Kirabo-Steffens | 16/12/2021 12:29 | 16.12.2021 | Measurement,
reporting and verification (MRV) and enhanced transparency framework (ETF) are
critical in achieving the objectives of the Convention and the Paris Agreement.
Despite the shadow cast by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the international
community continues supporting the implementation of MRV and ETF with great
effort.
The
Group of Friends on the MRV/Transparency is an informal network of stakeholders
providing financial, technical, and capacity-building support to developing
countries on MRV and transparency issues.
On
7 December, the UNFCCC secretariat and Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies co-organized the first Group of Friends regional meeting in the Asia
Pacific. This meeting provided international and regional MRV and ETF support
providers, that are active in the Asia-Pacific region, a platform to exchange
experiences and lessons learned on ongoing and planned MRV and ETF support
activities. 29 participants from 15 organizations/programmes shared their
project updates and exchanged their views and experience.
For
example, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is implementing a Mutual
Learning Program for Enhanced Transparency with support from the Ministry of the
Environment, Japan. This program aims to support countries and organizations in
learning and practising reporting of climate actions over a 7-month period or
longer. The program’s current objectives are to understand how to apply the
reporting guidance under the Paris Agreement, explore what areas to improve in
the reports, including the first biennial transparency report (BTR), and
strengthen the network of institutions and individuals that are working on
BTRs. In 2021, eight organizations from five countries (Chile, Indonesia,
Mongolia, Japan, Thailand) participated in the program and worked on reporting
topics under Article 6.2 and Article 13 of the Paris Agreement.
To overcome COVID limitations, FAO developed and
rolled out a one-to-one 'mentoring modality' to support countries in addressing
the Enhanced Transparency Framework. This modality is featured
with weekly/bi-weekly calls over three to five months and training a dedicated
team on country-specific challenges with practical application and validation.
FAO has applied this modality in Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia,
Guinea, Sudan and Mexico and produced tangible outcomes. For example, FAO
supported Papua New Guinea in setting up a transparent climate data archiving
system. Other
participating organizations and programmes include European Commission, GIZ,
Global Green Growth Institute, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, Initiative
for Climate Action Transparency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
Ministry of the Environment Japan, NDC Partnership, New Zealand Agricultural
GHG Research Centre, Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement/GIZ,
IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, United Nations
Environment Programme and the UNFCCC secretariat.
In
2022, the secretariat will organize a series of informal Group of Friends
regional meetings to bring together and provide a platform for exchange for
Group of Friends members and other organizations active in the respective
region to support developing countries in MRV and transitioning to the ETF. | | | | | Over 300 participants from across the globe, joined the 3rd Informal Forum of the Consultative Group of Experts, held during the ongoing Climate Dialogues. | 27/11/2020 13:08 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 27/11/2020 13:08 | 27.11.2020 | As part of the ongoing
Climate Dialogues, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) held its 2020 informal
forum on 26 November 2020 to showcase its achievements in 2020, and engage with
and seek feedback from its key stakeholders.
In opening the forum, both the Chair of
the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI), Ms. Marianne Karlsen and the
Deputy Executive Secretary for UNFCCC, Mr. Ovais Sarmad, highlighted the
important role played by the CGE in building capacities of developing country Parties
to implement the measurement, reporting
and verification (MRV) arrangements under the Convention and to prepare for the
transition to the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement.
They noted that as countries prepare for enhanced climate ambition,
transparency will play a greater role towards accelerated implementation. As
such, they iterated the importance of the informal forum, where participants
would learn more about the work of the CGE, and the CGE would receive feedback and
suggestions from key stakeholders, in particular on how the CGE could improve
the provision of its support to developing country Parties.
Ms. Jenny Mager, representing COP 25 Presidency,
also appreciated the important role and the work undertaken by the CGE as being
critical to the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals. On her part, Ms. Eve
Deaken, who represented the incoming COP 26 Presidency, indicated that the UK
would seek and urge the Parties to finalise the outstanding work (negotiations)
on the ETF, and clearly define the kind and level of support required for
developing countries to participate in the ETF processes.
The informal forum attracted over 300 participants
from across the globe. The participants included country experts
and policy makers who are the key drivers of MRV/transparency efforts at the
national level, and the key bilateral and multilateral agencies, who provide
financial and/or technical support on MRV/transparency.
The CGE showcased its achievements in 2020,
which included the knowledge products it developed, and the virtual training workshops, webinars and platforms for peer exchange it offered.
The CGE also shared the key findings from its assessment on needs and gaps of developing
country Parties. Some of needs expressed by participants during the session included:
continued technical support on enhancing institutional arrangements and data
management systems; formulation of indicators for tracking progress of
implementing and achieving NDCs; preparation of BTRs; technical support in
using the 2006 IPCC guidelines for national GHG inventories; and development of
M&E system for NAPs.
In closing
the forum, the Chair of the CGE, Mr. Arif Goheer, expressed his appreciation to
the participants for joining the event and sharing their views. Mr. Goheer noted
that the informal forum had provided important feedback directly from the CGE
target audiences, which would help the CGE in ensuring that its technical
support addresses the state of play, priorities, constraints, gaps and needs.
He assured the participants that the CGE would consider the suggestions
provided, when formulating its annual work plan for 2021.
A channel to provide
your suggestions to the CGE remains open until 4 December 2020. Go to www.menti.com and use the code 3012323. Presentations made
during the informal forum and its recording will be shared here, and a procedural
summary of CGE informal forum will also be shared on the CGE webpage https://unfccc.int/CGE soon. | | | | | The GHG inventories are a critical component of the National Communications and Biennial Update Reports, which are important in tracking climate action progress under the Convention. Photo - Unsplash Scott Graham
| 25/06/2020 14:36 | Bhava Dhungana | 29/06/2020 17:09 | 25.06.2020 | Despite the COVID-19
crisis, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), an expert group under the
Convention and the Paris Agreement mandated to provide technical support to developing
Parties in meeting their reporting requirements under the Convention and the
Paris Agreement, has during the first half of 2020, engaged with over 200
experts on national GHG inventories.
The CGE is determined to minimize the impacts of the
corona virus to its 2020 work plan and is therefore
fully committed to implementing its activities, including enhancing capacity of
developing countries on methodologies to prepare national GHG inventories. The regional
webinar series target greenhouse gas inventory compilers and sector experts to
discuss technical issues and share lessons regarding transitioning from the Revised 1996 to 2006 IPCC guidelines for national
GHG inventories.
The first webinar
targeted the Asia-Pacific region and was held on 22 April where 47 experts from
23 countries participated. The second
session was for the African and Eastern Europe regions and took place on 20 May
with 52 participants from 34 countries. The
third webinar was held in Spanish for the Latin America and Caribbean region on
18 June with 122 participants from 30 countries. The participants appreciated
the timeliness and relevance of the webinars, and the informative exchange during
the QA sessions.
| | | | | The enhanced transparency framework for action and support established by Article 13 of the Paris Agreement. | 19/06/2020 14:41 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 19/06/2020 14:41 | 19.06.2020 | The
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), mandated to provide technical support and
advice to developing country Parties to improve capacities to implement the
existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the
Convention and the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris
Agreement, has published a technical
handbook on preparing for implementation of the ETF.
The
handbook aims to improve awareness and understanding of the ETF and its MPGs by
national experts and practitioners from developing country Parties, so that they
may consider opportunities to improve current reporting and start planning for
the establishment of institutional arrangements and reporting under the ETF. In
this regard, the technical handbook among others, provides and explains in
detail the information to be reported; describes the technical expert review
(TER) and the Facilitative Multilateral Consideration Progress (FMCP) processes.
Learn more about the EFT processes and access the handbook here
and its addendum here.
| | | | | CGE reinforces committment to its mandate and convenes an ad-hoc virtual meeting to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on its 2020 workplan. | 11/05/2020 13:07 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 11/05/2020 14:07 | 11.05.2020 | The
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), mandated to provide technical support and
advice to developing countries improve their capacities to implement the
existing MRV arrangements under the Convention and the ETF under the Paris
Agreement has underlined its commitment to
deliver its mandate and work despite the COVID-19 pandemic. To this extent, The CGE convened an ad-hoc virtual meeting on 14 April 2020 from 14:30 –
16:30 CET (Bonn time) to assess
the potential impact of on-going worldwide effects of COVID-19 on its 2020 work plan and discussed how the potential impacts could be
managed. The CGE will continue assessing such potential impacts as the
situation unfolds and take necessary measures to ensure successful
implementation of its workplan.
This
level of commitment is critically important given that the current MRV system
is set to transition to ETF under the
Paris Agreement, which will increasingly require more detailed reporting by all
countries. Learn more about the CGE continued commitment here and the adjustments made to its 2020 workplan in the
light of COVID-19 is here. | | | | | The UNFCCC secretariat conducts virtual review of 16 developed country Party BRs. | 11/05/2020 12:26 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 11/05/2020 12:26 | 11.05.2020 | Determined
to continue its crucial mandated work even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN
Climate Change secretariat conducted a virtual review of the climate policy and
climate action reports from 16 developed country Parties in March and April
2020.
The
virtual review included Biennial Reports from Austria, Canada, France,
Greece, Ireland, Spain, Australia, Germany, Finland, the EU, Italy, Netherlands,
Norway Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland and was conducted by 67 international
experts, who performed their function as reviewers.
The
virtual review found that due to climate policies and actions implemented, and
based on 2017 factual greenhouse gas emissions data, almost all of the 16
developed countries are reaching their 2020 climate targets. The UN
Climate Change will publish reports on the review in due course. Learn more
about the review here. | | | | | The Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), has rolled out some of the planned capacity building initiatives for 2020 despite the COVID-19 crisis | 11/05/2020 11:41 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 11/05/2020 11:41 | 11.05.2020 | The
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), an expert group under the Convention and
the Paris Agreement mandated to provide technical support and advice to
developing countries on MRV and transparency has rolled out some of the planned
capacity building initiatives for 2020 despite the COVID-19 crisis.
The CGE planned a number of capacity building initiatives for its
2020 workplan such as regional webinar training sessions on transitioning from
the revised 1996 to 2006 IPCC guidelines for national GHG inventories, regional
webinar trainings on ICTU and NDC progress tracking; training session on
institutional arrangement to support MRV and ETF process. To this
extent the CGE has already conducted webinars on transitioning from the revised
1996 to 2006 IPCC guidelines for national GHG inventories for the Asia-Pacific
region, which was conducted on 22 April 2020. A total of 44 experts attended
the webinar and this presents an example of concrete effort by the CGE to
assist developing countries enhance their technical capacity to prepare for and
implement reporting requirement under the Convention and Paris Agreement.
| | | | | The Consultative Group of Experts held its 3rd Meeting from 18 to 19 February 2020 in Bonn, Germany. | 11/05/2020 10:45 | Mutisungilire Kachulu | 11/05/2020 10:55 | 11.05.2020 | The Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), mandated to
provide technical support and advice to developing countries to improve
capacities to implement the existing MRV arrangements under the Convention and
the ETF under the Paris Agreement, held its 3rd Meeting from 18 to 19 February 2020
in Bonn, Germany. To this end, the CGE formulated its Vision, Mission statement and Strategic objectives to guide its work up to 2026. The CGE’s Vision
is to comprehensively achieve its mandate of assisting developing country
Parties improve their capacities to implement the existing MRV arrangements
under the Convention and the ETF under the Paris Agreement in a timely and
sustainable manner. The CGE’s Mission Statement seeks to provide targeted technical support
and advice, consistent with its mandate, to developing country Parties that
responds to their technical assistance needs to implement, in a timely manner,
the existing MRV arrangements under the Convention and the enhanced
transparency framework under the Paris Agreement, including putting in place
sustainable institutional arrangements and data management systems.
| | | | | The CGE successfully held its 2nd Pilot Informal Forum at COP 25, on on on institutionalization of data management system. Country experiences were shared by Thailand, Indonesia and Australia | 20/12/2019 14:44 | Justice Khumela | 20/12/2019 14:44 | 20.12.2019 |
The
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) successfully held its 2nd Pilot Informal
Forum on the margins of the twenty-fifth session of UN Climate Change
Conference (COP 25). The CGE collaborated with the Paris Committee on
Capacity-Building (PCCB) and was organized as part of the “Transparency Day” at
the Capacity-building Hub on 5 December 2019. The focus of the second pilot
informal forum was on institutionalization of data management system.
The
2nd forum convened with opening statements by the Chair of the CGE, Mr. Gervais
Ludovic Itsoua Madzous and Co-Chair of the PCCB, Ms. Marzena Chodor, and
introductory remarks by the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation, Mr.
Emmanuel Dumisani Dlamini, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
secretariat, Mr. Ovais Sarmad and COP25 Presidency, Ms. Carolina Urmeneta.
To
set the scene, the CGE Chair, Mr. Itsoua Madzous, provided an overview of the
work that the CGE undertook in 2019 to develop technical capacity of developing
countries to institutionalize data management for their national GHG
inventories. He also presented the key findings from the assessment undertaken this
year by the CGE to better understand the existing and emerging constraints,
needs and gaps in relation to implementing the existing measurement, reporting
and verification arrangements under the Convention and preparing for the
enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement.
Country experiences and lessons
learned to institutionalize data management systems were presented by Indonesia,
Mr. Joko Prihatno and Australia, Mr. Aaron Kirby. They provided concrete
examples of how data management is institutionalized through live demonstrations
of their data management systems. They also shared their experiences and
lessons learned in developing and maintaining such systems, including key
success factors that benefited the process of institutionalizing data
management, key challenges and constraints faced in the process, and how the
countries overcame them and what remains to be addressed. The data management
systems that were demonstrated in the forum included:
In
addition, Thailand who has recently set up their GHG inventory system
(TGEIS) in collaboration with Australia, also shared their experiences.
In
the discussion and exchange session, participants shared experiences and
lessons learned, which included:
· How
putting in place a national data management system and institutionalizing data
collection and management led to benefits beyond reporting under the UNFCCC
process. The data management system can result in a robust data and flexibility
in terms of archiving and documentation of the data. Further, it helps to
communicate with broader stakeholders, which then contributes to getting
support on MRV process.
· Governance
system and leadership, including legal and regulatory frameworks that mandate
regular reporting and establishment of national data management system, was
identified as key success factors. It is vital not only for setting up the
national data management system, but for its operationalization, especially
when there is lack of readiness or willingness of sectoral agencies and various
levels of stakeholders (i.e. local and/or provincial levels) to use the
established data management system and provide the required input data.
· In
terms of the design of the national data management system, it is important to
incorporate the system into a broader national inventory plan. In case a
country has separate sectoral data collection/reporting systems, it is
important to integrate them into the national system and ensure the consistent
flow of data and information without duplicative work.
If you missed the event, the
presentations can be obtained here.
| | | | | Presenters at the side-event. From left to right: government of Lebanon (Ms. Yara Daou Chalfoun); the government of Chile (Mr. Richard Martinez Caro); GEF (Ms. Milena Gonzalez Vasquez); Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (Mr. Henning Wuester); UNFCCC secretariat (Mr. William Agyemang-Bonsu); UNEP/UNDP GSP (Mr. Damiano Borgogno); and Global Green Growth Institute (Mr. Gebru Jember Endalew). | 18/12/2019 15:45 | Justice Khumela | 18/12/2019 15:45 | 18.12.2019 |
An event showcasing the efforts, including experiences and lessons
learned, of Chile and Lebanon to strengthen their institutional arrangements
and governance structures to support implementation of the existing measurement,
reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the Convention and the enhanced
transparency framework (ETF) was held on 5 December 2019 on the margins of 25th
session of the Conference of the Parties in Madrid, Spain. The event also included representatives from
international agencies and programmes (Initiative for Climate Action
Transparency, Joint UN Environment/UNDP Global Support Programme, the Global Environment
Facility and Global Green Growth Institute) who are actively involved in
supporting developing countries to share their perspective, including
experiences and lessons learned, and support opportunities available from them.
The modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs) adopted in
Katowice, provide the operational details for the ETF. The MPGs are applicable to all Parties to the
Paris Agreement with flexibility to those developing country Parties that need
it in the light of their capacities. This is a significant shift in the UNFCCC
process as the ETF builds on and enhances the existing MRV arrangements under
the Convention, including the need to report information on climate action and
support biennially. This necessitates having in place sustainable and
functional national institutional arrangements.
Recognizing such a need, a number of developing country Parties are
starting to enhance their efforts to improve their institutional arrangements
with support from international community.
Lebanon shared their experience of how they built their institutional
arrangements for reporting over time as they delivered four national
communications and three BURs. They encountered
challenges with respect to institutionalizing data collection; addressing data
gaps, and undertaking quality control and quality assurance measures to validate
the data and the reports produced. They
started to address these by piloting a data sharing agreement between the
Ministry of Environment and another ministry and thereafter expanded the
approach to include other ministries. They
highlighted that stakeholder involvement is key. Further, building human resource capacity
within the country helped stabilize the reporting process.
Over time, Chile was able to put in place two key institutional
arrangements that supported them to produce three national communications and
three BURs to date: the Inter-Ministerial Technical Team on Climate Change
(ETICC) and the National GHG Inventory System of Chile (SNICHILE). The ETICC is
a cross government body that includes experts from ministries and their other institutes,
coordinated by Ministry of Environment.
Similarly, SNICHILE is a decentralized body that includes the Ministry
of Energy and Agriculture and is coordinated by Ministry of Environment. Chile explained
that in order to strengthen institutional arrangements over time, it is
important to take stock of gaps, needs and constraints and to seek support.
They currently have a Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT)
project to strengthen their institutional arrangements for National Determined
Contribution and ETF.
Other presenters shared an overview of the scope and depth
of support provided to developing countries for effective participation in the existing
MRV arrangements under the Convention and in terms of preparedness for
participation in the ETF.
The GEF shared information on the programming status of the
CBIT. So far, 59 CBIT projects were approved to the total value of 91 million USD.
Of these, 29 projects have begun implementation. 80% of CBIT projects aim to
enhance institutional arrangements. The GEF said that a single body responsible
for overall coordination and management of the climate change reporting process
which is well-located within a government ministry and having sufficient
capacity and authority to carry out its role was the key pillar around which further
institutional strengthening could be achieved.
ICAT explained that its objective is to provide policymakers
around the world with tools and support tailored to country-needs for enhanced
transparency and to assess the effectiveness of their country’s climate policies and actions in
line with the Paris Agreement. ICAT has published a road-map
for establishing information systems for climate action and support to help
countries set-up information systems to meet their climate change reporting
needs. They highlighted that buy-in from stakeholders; drafting regulatory and
procedural documents for the operationalization of the institutional framework
for reporting; and developing an integrated data management system were key to
setting up a robust system for reporting.
The Global Support Programme (GSP) jointly implemented by UN
Environment and UNDP and funded by the GEF, discussed the support provided to some
developing countries to strengthen the capacity of the single body responsible
for overall coordination and management of the climate change reporting process.
The GSP highlighted that high-level political buy-in was important to cement
inter-ministerial coordination.
The Global Green Growth Institute said that it was important
that countries move away from the project-based approach that does not improve
institutional memory or build long term capacity within government to meet
climate change reporting needs to more permanent institutional arrangements.
This is especially so because the enhanced transparency framework and its MPGs
have many more ‘shall’’ (mandatory) requirements for
preparing biennial transparency reports that will require a more robust
reporting system. GGGI have successfully assisted few countries in doing
exactly that.
| | | | | Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, opens the 8th workshop of the Facilitative sharing of views | 12/12/2019 11:38 | Justice Khumela | 12/12/2019 11:38 | 12.12.2019 |
UN Climate Change News, 11 December 2019 – At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, fifteen countries presented the latest information on their climate actions at events called the Facilitative Sharing of Views ( FSV) and Multilateral Assessment ( MA).
Operating since 2014, the MA and FSV processes provide multilateral platforms for countries to share the latest information on their climate actions and engage in a constructive exchange of views. These processes play a crucial role in building trust among countries by enhancing the transparency of climate actions, thereby allowing countries to track progress of implementation and raise ambition levels.
In her opening remarks at the FSV workshop, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, said:
“It is becoming clearer than ever how transparency is central to increasing climate action. Ensuring data is shared openly is vital to our collective climate change efforts. When we see what is working in one country, we are more likely to try it in our own, if it’s applicable. This transparency directly helps inform governments as they increase levels of ambition to tackle climate change.”
Facilitative Sharing of Views
At the 8th session of the FSV workshop, five developing countries - Chile, Ghana, India, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia – shared their achievements and remaining challenges in climate action.
The latest FSV workshop demonstrated strengthened efforts by developing countries in addressing climate change. The discussion highlighted various policies and measures being actively implemented by developing countries, including carbon pricing, low-carbon electricity generation and sustainable forest management.
Countries also noted that developing the biennial update report ( BUR) and participating in the international consultation and analysis ( ICA) have been beneficial to strengthen their capacity in tracking progress of mitigation actions and increase awareness.
COP25 President and Minister of Environment of Chile, Carolina Schmidt, said: “Data and transparency are core elements for driving commitments and increasing ambition.” She also added: “The international consultation and analysis (ICA) and facilitative sharing of views (FSV) have particular importance not only to establish dialogue, but also to understand areas for improvement and approaches to overcome potential gaps.”
See here for highlights of the presentations made by these five countries.
Multilateral Assessment
Underlining the importance of the MA sessions, Kyriakos Psychas, Head of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Greece, said: “The Multilateral assessment process is a pillar for transparency and robust reporting.”
The sessions showcased the concrete climate actions developed Parties are taking to meet their 2020 emission reduction targets, which are crucial to achieving the goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The sessions showed how climate actions are improving as countries integrate lessons learned, and that the portfolio of climate actions continues to expand as countries progress towards meeting their strong political commitments for 2020 and beyond.
Not only the 2020 climate action targets were on show; countries referred to their 2030 targets under the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that the short-term 2020 targets are essential stepping stones to reaching the mid- and longer-term targets.
Some countries also outlined their ambitious goals for carbon neutrality by 2050. For example, Portugal and Switzerland presented their 2050 net zero emissions targets. Eduardo Ferreira Santos, Head of the Department for Climate Change at the Portuguese Environment Agency said: “The next decade is crucial in terms of emissions reduction and climate policy and trajectory that puts us on track to 2050”. See video from Portugal here: http://bit.ly/2LM7Iww
Novel approaches to tackling transportation emissions were also presented, such as free public transit (Luxembourg) and consideration of including road fuel into emissions trading systems (Austria).
| | | | | 5 December 2019, 18:00 - 20:00 | 26/11/2019 16:32 | Justice Khumela | 03/12/2019 14:10 | 26.11.2019 |
The enhanced transparency framework
of the Paris Agreement (ETF) requires that all developing country Parties
submit their biennial transparency repots, at the latest, by 31 December 2024.
The availability and quality of the data will determine the credibility of the
information provided. While most developing countries have experience, at least
once, in compiling data for the preparation of their national greenhouse gas
inventories, through their experience in preparing national communications
(NCs) and in some cases the biennial update reports (BURs), constraints and
challenges continue to exist.
Data-related challenges are the
most prevalent challenges faced by developing countries. These challenges fall in two broad
categories: primary data collected and data management. The challenges around the primary data
collection stems from either lack of access to or unavailability of primary
data or available data not in the suitable format or lack of human resource
capacity or the technical infrastructure needed to support the data collection
process. Similar challenges associated
with the data management are mainly due to lack of human resource capacity or
the technical infrastructure for data management, quality control and quality
assurance (QA/QC), documentation and archiving.
Recognizing these challenges, the Consultative
Group of Experts (CGE)
will host its 2nd Pilot Informal Forum entitled “Institutionalizing data management system”
on 5 December at COP 25. The event is being organized in
collaboration with the Paris Committee on Capacity-Building and will be one of
the events held at the Capacity-building Hub on the “Transparency day”.
The pilot forum is aimed at increasing
awareness of the importance of institutionalizing GHG data management;
promoting exchange of best practices, practical experiences and lessons learned
in institutionalizing GHG data
management; and further improving understanding of constraints and challenges,
and the depth and needs for further capacity-building efforts.
To set the scene, the CGE will
present the findings from its assessment undertaken in 2019 to better understand
the existing and emerging constraints, needs and gaps in relation to the
existing MRV arrangements and the enhanced transparency framework. It will be
followed by the presentations from Indonesia
and Australia showcasing their success stories and lessons learned in
establishing and institutionalizing their national GHG inventory systems.
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Date: Thursday, 5 December 2019
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: Capacity-building Hub
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| | | | | Figure 3: Number of nationally appropriate mitigation action entries in the registry by type
from 2013 to 2019 | 22/11/2019 16:39 | Justice Khumela | 22/11/2019 16:39 | 22.11.2019 |
UN Climate Change News, 20 November 2019 - The UNFCCC NAMA registry recorded an additional 13 NAMA (nationally appropriate mitigation action) entries in between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2019, mostly seeking support for preparation and implementation of plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
NAMAs refer to any action that reduces emissions in developing countries and is prepared under the umbrella of a national governmental initiative. They can be policies directed at transformational change within an economic sector, or actions across sectors for a broader national focus.
As at 30 September 2019, the UNFCCC NAMA registry contained a total of 183 NAMAs seeking support for preparation or implementation or seeking recognition, representing an increase of 8 per cent since 2018.
Annual Report on Registry of NAMAs to Be Considered at COP25
The UNFCCC Secretariat has released the seventh annual report on the operation of the registry of nationally appropriate mitigation actions for consideration by the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP25) in Madrid, Spain in December 2019.
This report provides information on the operation of the registry in the reporting period (1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019) and in terms of the cumulative status of NAMA entries in the registry as at 30 September 2019.
As in previous reporting periods, financial support made up the greatest share of international support sought (USD 15.7 billion), followed by capacity-building support (USD 62 million) and technological support (USD 14.5 million).
Latin American and Caribbean States recorded the most NAMA entries. However, the substantial number of NAMA entries recorded by African States, Asia-Pacific States, SIDS and the LDCs was particularly noteworthy.
On the international support being sought for NAMAs, the document reports a cumulative total of USD 31.5 billion in international support sought by all NAMA entries for implementing or preparing NAMAs. Financial support continued to make up the greatest share of international support sought (USD 29.5 billion), followed by technological support (USD 1.7 billion) and capacity-building support (USD 0.21 billion).
| | | | | The workshop for Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, held in Siem Reap, Cambodia. | 17/10/2019 16:14 | Justice Khumela | 17/10/2019 16:14 | 17.10.2019 | The
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) conducted three regional hands-on training
workshops in 2019 on institutionalization of data management for the national
greenhouse gas inventory. The workshops were conducted for three regions:
Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe.
The
aim of the workshops was to enhance the technical capacity of national experts
involved in the preparation of national communications, biennial update reports
and national greenhouse gas inventories to institutionalize data management in
their national institutional arrangements.
The
workshops covered a wide variety of issues and problem areas to data that are
among the most persistent challenges faced by developing countries in their
implementation of the existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV)
arrangements under the Convention and preparation for the enhanced transparency
framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. Data issues manifest in various ways
– lack of availability of data that are consistent with the reporting
guidelines, inaccessible data, lack of adequate data collection and management
process and/or system.
The workshops also introduced for
the first time a pre-workshop webinar and homework exercise that allowed
participants to already have basic knowledge of the topic prior to the
workshop. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity for experts to work
on simulated cases, which equipped the participants with hands-on experience on
handling cases.
Another key aspect of the
workshops was creating a platform for collaboration and interacting with their
peers, CGE members and other experts. This includes sharing of views, lessons
learned and experience relating to institutional arrangements for data
collection and data management processes, including commonly used techniques,
approaches and tools. The participants also expressed interest in enhancing
regional collaboration on the institutionalization of data for GHG inventories
on the basis of similarities in national circumstances in the region, noting
the potential for sharing best practices, resources and expertise with a view
to overcoming common challenges.
In general, the workshops were
successful in:
(a) Familiarizing
national experts with the process and methods for institutionalization of data
management for the national GHG inventory;
(b) Providing a platform
for national experts from the same region to share experience and lessons
learned;
(c) Promoting networking among national experts;
(d) Providing a platform
for the CGE to interact with national experts and gain insight into relevant
lessons learned, experience, constraints and challenges.
Some participants expressed their
intention to use the training materials as a basis for training other national
experts, enhancing existing institutional arrangements, furthering their
knowledge of GHG inventory preparation and improving their terms of reference
for hired experts and consultants.
Participants
expressed interest in learning more about enhancing existing institutional
arrangements to improve the collection, management and reporting of GHG
inventory data, including incorporating GHG inventory component into the
existing data collection and management systems and processes in sectors so
that proper data for the inventory can be generated in a timely manner.
The
workshops were attended by 106 experts from 91 developing country Parties. The
CGE members from the respective regions also participated in these workshops,
which allowed them to gain first-hand knowledge on the technical capacity of
the national experts.
| | | | | The Asia-Pacific Regional NDC Dialogue which took place at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week in Bangkok. | 17/10/2019 14:36 | Justice Khumela | 17/10/2019 14:36 | 17.10.2019 |
A
forum for peer-to-peer exchange on nationally determined contributions (NDC)
UN
Climate Change in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and
other partners have overseen three Regional Dialogues this year: Africa; Latin
America and the Caribbean; and Asia-Pacific.
The
Regional Dialogues are a series of regional workshops which were launched in
2014 to provide a forum for peer-to-peer exchange on the design of intended
NDCs, before transitioning to address issues of the nationally determined
contributions (NDC) preparation and implementation.
The
goal of the dialogues is to increase momentum for more ambitious and
accelerated climate action and for enhanced NDCs. In doing so, the events serve
as a contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit which
took place in September 2019 and for COP 25.
This
year, the Regional Dialogues’ objectives were enhancing capacities to prepare
to update their NDCs; to identify solutions to specific challenges countries
are facing in implementing and enhancing their NDCs; to provide a forum for
peer-to-peer learning and exchange of national experiences related to NDC
implementation and enhancement; and to provide a platform for linking
national/regional interests with the international NDC process, and for
strengthening existing and/or establishing new partnerships and commitments for
ambitious climate action that help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and
the 2030 Agenda.
Africa Regional NDC
Dialogue in Accra, Ghana, 18-19 March
The
first Regional Dialogue of the year took place in Accra, Ghana from 18 to 19
March with 89 participants from 47 countries and 69 participants from partners
and donors attending.
Latin America and
Caribbean Regional NDC Dialogue in Salvador, Brazil, 19-20 August
The
Regional Dialogue for Latin America and the Caribbean took place from 19 to 20
August in Salvador, Brazil with 77 participants from 25 countries and 71
participants from partners and donors.
Asia-Pacific Regional
NDC Dialogue in Bangkok, Thailand, 2-3 September
The
Asia-Pacific Regional NDC Dialogue was the last dialogue of the 2019 series and
took place during the Asia-Pacific Climate Week in Bangkok, Thailand from 2 to
3 September.
115
participants from 37 countries and 64 participants from partners and donors
attended the two-day dialogue.
| | | | | The second training workshop in the series was organized for the African region, from 16 to 18 September, in Algiers, Algeria, with support from the Algerian Government and UNDP country office in Algeria. The training workshop gathered 47 national experts who are involved in the preparation of national GHG inventory from 37 countries in the region and technical resource persons from the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.
| 02/10/2019 10:57 | Justice Khumela | 02/10/2019 10:57 | 02.10.2019 | Building a sustainable national MRV system and moving towards the enhanced transparency framework.
Issues related to data are among the most persistent challenges faced by developing countries in their implementation of the existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the Convention and preparation for the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. Data issues manifest in various ways – lack of availability of data that are consistent with the reporting guidelines, inaccessible data, lack of adequate data collection and management process and/or system.
To help developing countries tackle data issues and enhance MRV efforts at the national level, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) decided to focus its technical assistance and capacity-building activities for 2019 on data issues and organize a series of regional hands-on training workshops on institutionalization of data management for the national GHG inventory.
The second training workshop in the series was organized for the African region, from 16 to 18 September, in Algiers, Algeria, with support from the Algerian Government and UNDP country office in Algeria. The training workshop gathered 47 national experts who are involved in the preparation of national GHG inventory from 37 countries in the region and technical resource persons from the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.
The training workshop addressed key elements required to ensure the sustainability of GHG inventory process, including system design, governance, quality data, documentation and archiving and stakeholder engagement. Designed as part of a 4-phase programme (pre-workshop webinar – homework – hands-on training workshop – post-workshop webinar), the training workshop provided opportunities for national experts to learn, test and practice a handful of techniques, approaches and tools.
The participants engaged in the hands-on exercises and group discussions with great passion and eager to deepen their knowledge and skills and prompted the exchange of experiences and lessons learned including concrete proposals that they could further take up to improve the national GHG inventory management system. The training workshop ended on a note of general satisfaction.
The last training workshop in the 2019 series is planned for the Asia-Pacific and Eastern European regions from 7 to 9 October 2019, in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
For more details on CGE training workshops 2019, see here. For more information on CGE and its work plan for 2019, see here. | | | | | With the adoption of the Paris Agreement the and the Katowice Climate Package, the efforts of parties to further enhance the transparency of climate action and support will be increased significantly. This will be achieved through the enhanced transparency framework (ETF), established under the Paris Agreement, that builds on and enhanced the existing measurement, reporting and verification arrangements (MRV) under the Convention As a result, there is a wide acknowledgement by the global community that developing countries will require increased financial, technical and capacity-building support. | 08/07/2019 15:51 | Laure Fouchecourt | 08/07/2019 15:51 | 08.07.2019 | Speakers from left to right: Henning Wuster (ICAT), Milena Gonzalez vasquez (GEF), Minyoung Kim (UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT), William Agyemang-Bonsu (UNFCCC Secretariat), John Christensen (UNEP DTU Partnership).
With the adoption of the Paris
Agreement and the Katowice Climate Package, the efforts of Parties to further enhance the transpanrency of climate action and support will be increased significantly. This will
be achieved through the enhanced transparency framework (ETF), established
under the Paris Agreement, that builds on and enhanced the existing
measurement, reporting and verification arrangements (MRV) under the Convention
As a result, there is a wide acknowledgement by the global community that developing
countries will require increased financial, technical and capacity-building
support.
A side-event, in the form of a panel discussion, showcasing the
support (financial, technical, and capacity-building) provided to developing
countries for participation in the existing MRV
arrangements under the Convention and the ETF under the Paris
Agreement, was held on Monday 24 June on the margins of June 2019 Climate Change Conference (SB50) in
Bonn.
The panel discussion, moderated by the UNFCCC
secretariat, included a panel of experts involved actively in supporting
developing countries in this area. The
experts provided their perspective of how countries can use the ETF as part of
their efforts to implement and further develop their NDCs. They also shared key lessons learned and best
practices in ensuring that the support provided contributes to the
sustainability of the national MRV arrangements and helps countries as they
move towards implementing the ETF.
Ms.
Milena Gonzalez Vasquez (Global Environment Facility) presented the financial and technical support opportunities
made available through the GEF, including the Capacity-building Initiative for
Transparency – a funding window established in response to the request from COP
21 and plans for support for preparation of biennial transparency reports. She
highlighted that developing countries could submit projects that help
strengthen and prioritize their capacity to implement the enhanced transparency
framework. The CBIT database contains a publicly list of projects submitted to
date. As of June 2019, 48 projects received US$74 million of CBIT funds, with
17 projects in the implementation phase.
Mr.
Stanford Mwakasonda provided further details on the on-the-ground support provided
through the GEF-funded Global Support Programme. The programme, implemented jointly by UN
Environment and UNDP, provides support to developing countries to meet their
national communications and biennial update reports reporting needs. He
emphasized that it is important for countries to establish a legal framework
(an overarching climate change policy, strategy or act) that provides the basis
for legally defining the role of stakeholders such as universities and national
statistics offices can play in the national MRV system.
Ms.
Minyoung Kim of the Greenhouse Gas inventory & Research Center of Korea (UNFCCC-GIR CASTT)
described the specific support measure offered, in partnership with UNFCCC, to
developing countries to build their expertise in establishing or improving
their national GHG inventories. She explained that the training programme covers
aspects such as the reporting and technical analysis process under the UNFCCC,
GHG inventory compilation including sectoral GHG estimation methodologies and
development of country-specific GHG emission factors
Mr.
Henning Wuester described the country-tailored tools and support made available
to policy-makers and national experts by the Initiative for Climate Action
Transparency (ICAT)to assess the impacts of their
climate policies and actions; to develop effective and ambitious climate
policies; and to mobilize investment. He provided examples of the
support initiatives they have undertaken for developing countries in the past
for developing reporting capacity such as the development of sustainable land
and land use indicators for the land use sector.
Mr.
John Christensen highlighted the range of tools (legal, institutional,
procedural and capacity-building) made available by the UNEP DTU Partnership to
support developing countries build a national system for implementing the
enhanced transparency framework.
The
panellists explained that their webpages contain information on how to access
their support offering and highlighted that tools and guidance documents are
freely available on their websites.
| | | | | The Consultative Group of Expert (CGE), on the margins of the June 2019 Climate Change Conference (SB50) in Bonn, Germany, organized a side-event to present its 2019 CGE work plan and also highlight how it is responding to the needs arising from the enhanced transparency framework. | 08/07/2019 15:42 | Laure Fouchecourt | 08/07/2019 15:42 | 08.07.2019 | The Consultative Group of Expert (CGE), on the margins
of the June 2019 Climate Change Conference (SB50) in
Bonn, Germany, organized a side-event to present its 2019 CGE work plan and also highlight how it is responding to the needs arising from the enhanced transparency framework.
The group
invited few countries to present their experiences and lessons learned in the process of
preparing their national communications (NC) and/or biennial update reports
(BURs), and how they are building on from those experiences and lessons learned
to prepare for the enhanced transparency framework
(ETF).
The CGE Chair, Mr. Gervais Ludovic
Istoua Madzou (Congo), presented the 2019 work plan of the CGE, which addresses the capacity-building needs of
developing countries in a more targeted and strategic manner, in order to facilitate improved reporting of developing
countries over time and support the implementation of the ETF under Article 13 of the Paris Agreement.
Since February 2019, as part of its
work plan, the CGE has already launched several activities, such as a targeted
survey to developing countries to better understand their needs for
implementing the MRV arrangements and the ETF, a toolbox on institutional
arrangements to support MRV/transparency of climate action and support,
technical guide to prepare for the implementation of the ETF, and the regional
hands-on training workshops on institutionalization data management for GHG
inventories.
Bangladesh, Jamaica and South Africa
shared their experiences and lessons learned on the existing MRV arrangements,
and also provided an update on how efforts being undertaken nationally to
prepare for the implementation of the ETF.
Jamaica has submitted its first Biennial Update Report (BUR) in 2016 which
went through the technical
analysis and Facilitative Sharing of Views (FSV) in the same
year. It submitted its third National Communication (NC) in 2018 and ,
In the context of preparing these reports, two key challenges were highlighted,
which were limited technical and human capacity to complete the reports, and inability
to disburse resources in original project timeframe. In order to address these
challenges, Jamaica received technical and financial support through the United
National Development Programme and the Capacity-building Initiative for
Transparency (CBIT). Despite these challenges, Jamaica plans to submit its
second BUR and fourth NC in 2020-2022. It also aims to put in place a robust
national MRV system from 2021-2022.
Bangladesh submitted its third NC in 2018. The presentation highlighted some of the challenges
and lessons learned from the process of preparing this report. Lack of reliable data and information
consistent with the requirements of the IPCC 2006 guidelines, lack of
institutional capacity and dependence on external experts, and issues to retain
sectoral specialist that were trained in the process of preparing these reports
were identified as some of the challenges it is facing currently. With a view
to addressing these challenges, Bangladesh aims to establish data sharing
arrangements at the national level, including a permanent structure at the department
of environment which had the mandated to prepare the NCs and BURs. In order to
prepare itself for the implementation of the ETF, Bangladesh will build on and
enhance the existing institutional arrangement, and plans to use the guidelines
and tools, which will be developed by CGE. Bangladesh called for an increased financial
and technical support to institutionalize the proposed MRV arrangements, update
its National
Determined Contributions (NDCs), and prepare their first
Biennial Transparency Report (BTR).
South Africa, one of the five
countries that has submitted its third BUR, shared its
experiences, challenges and lessons learned. With regard to challenges, the
following were identified: limited number of and high turnover of key staff
members, issues with data management, capacity constraints in using the
national GHG inventory information management systems, lack of disaggregated
data for the GHG reporting, and a non-centralized information system for
climate finance. Efforts to address these challenges include: recruiting sector
specialists to compile GHG inventory data, conducting capacity-building for key
personnel, formalizing data collection processes, and developing a climate
change tracking and evaluation system, which included tracking of climate
finance. The presentation also highlighted how the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Reporting Regulations, published in April 2017,
formalized the institutional arrangements to ensure consistent and sustainable
data input for the GHG inventory. In order to prepare for the ETF, South
Africa will continue using the 2006 IPCC guideline, and will set up higher tier
methodologies for key categories in country specific emission factor. South
Africa also provided a preliminary list of actions that it aims to undertake in
its effort to prepare for the implementation of the ETF.
| | | | | In the framework of the 2019 Climate Change Conference (SB50) in Bonn, Germany, the secretariat held a special event on Wednesday 20 June, on the transparency framework showcasing the experience and lessons learned from the current measurement, reporting and verification system (MRV) to help implement the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. | 21/06/2019 11:52 | Laure Fouchecourt | 21/06/2019 11:52 | 21.06.2019 |
In the framework of the 2019 Climate Change Conference (SB50)
in Bonn, Germany, the secretariat held a special event on Wednesday 20 June, on the transparency framework showcasing the experience
and lessons learned from the current measurement, reporting and verification
system (MRV) to help implement the Enhanced Transparency Framework
(ETF) under the Paris Agreement.
Check the video on the event here
Visit the Mitigation and
Transparency Exchange Facebook Page here
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