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.