Regional Consultation on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean

Trinidad and Tobago as a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was invited to participate in the Regional Consultation on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean which took place in Montevideo, Uruguay during the period May 14^th - 17^th, 2019. Trinidad and Tobago was represented at this Consultation by Dr. David Persaud, Environmental Manager, Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and Development.

In 2020, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD at its fifteenth meeting (COP-15) is expected to consider for adoption, the post-2020 global biodiversity framework as a stepping stone towards the 2050 Vision of "Living in Harmony with Nature".  The process adopted by Parties to develop the post-2020 global biodiversity framework contains a set of principles to guide its implementation and organisation of work. It also sets out a comprehensive consultation process, including provisions for global, regional and thematic consultation meetings.

The Latin American and Caribbean Regional Consultation was structured to be an open and transparent process to allow the exchange of views and interaction among the major stakeholders. Accordingly, there were approximately eighty (80) participants that took part in the discussions including representatives from Governments, Academia, Private Sector, Non-Government Organisations, Indigenous Peoples, Regional Gender Organisations representing youth and women, UN Agencies (FAO and UNDP), GEF Secretariat, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the World Bank.

One of the major areas of concern expressed at the Consultation was the lack of “international political will” to address the biodiversity crisis. The global decline in biodiversity will have impacts on agriculture productivity, food security and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2010 Global Biodiversity Target was not achieved and there is strong evidence to suggest that the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets will also not be achieved. The lessons learnt with the negotiations with the Paris Agreement that brought focus and priority by world leaders and the global media to address climate change is instructive, and should be translated to strengthen the political will to address biodiversity issues. In this regard, special sessions focusing on biodiversity are to be including in upcoming meetings of world leaders including the UN General Assembly and G7.

At the Consultation, some regional Governments were advocating that similar to the Paris Agreement, the post 2020 global biodiversity framework should not be a voluntary commitment but be legally binding. Other participants disagreed with such a proposal, indicating that biodiversity issues are different from climate change and such commitments should be voluntary. A number of participants expressed the view that the lack of achievement of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets was as a result of the great difficulty in translating the global targets into indicators that could be mainstreamed, integrated and implemented nationally. Some of the global targets were not transferable nationally, especially for small islands with limited land space and competing demands for land use.

In order to address this concern, it was suggested that countries be provided the opportunity under the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to submit its national contribution toward the achievement of global biodiversity targets. This will allow countries to indicate which of the global targets are realistic and achievable nationally. It was suggested that these national contributions towards the post-2020 global biodiversity target be termed – “National Determined Contribution Towards the Protection of Nature”. The Regional Consultation process was the first steps towards the development and eventual adoption of a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at COP-15 to take place in China in 2020.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Twenty Fourth Conference of Parties

The Twenty Fourth Conference of Parties (COP 24) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened in Katowice, Poland from November 28th to December 14th, 2018. COP 24 comprised preparatory meetings and meetings of various Constituted Bodies under the UNFCCC, running simultaneously. These were:

• Preparatory meetings of the Alliance of Small Island States and G77 and China;
• Twenty Fourth Conference of Parties (COP24) to the UNFCCC;
• Fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP);
• Third part of the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA);
• Forty Ninth Session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 49);
• Forty Ninth Session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 49); 
• Seventh Part of the First Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1.7).

COP 24 was attended by over 22,000 participants, including nearly 14,000 government officials, over 7,000 representatives from UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organisations, and civil society organisations, and 1,500 members of the media. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was represented by Her Excellency Ambassador Pennelope Beckles, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh, Head, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit, Ministry of Planning and Development, Ms. Sindy Singh, Climate Change Specialist, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit, Ministry of Planning and Development.  

COP 24 was primarily focused on finalising the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP), a set of decisions or “rules” meant to operationalise the Paris Agreement. At the end of the Conference, Parties adopted the Katowice Climate Package, which includes decisions on nearly all of the issues mandated as part of the PAWP. These include issues on guidance for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), common timeframes, the impact of the implementation of response measures; guidance for adaptation communication, matters relating to the transparency of finance,  a new collective quantified goal on finance, issues related to the Technology Mechanism, and the technology framework,  procedures, and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support, the global stocktake and issues related to compliance.

T&T Representatives - From right, Her Excellency Ambassador Pennelope Beckles, 

Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh and Ms. Sindy Singh

Her Excellency Ambassador Pennelope Beckles (right) and Ms. Sindy Singh (left) 

participate at the Gender Responsive Technology Needs Assessment Workshop

Tenth Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention

The tenth meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG-10) of the Basel Convention on Controlling transboundary movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was held from 30^th May to June 2^nd, 2016 at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. 

As a Party to the Basel Convention, Trinidad and Tobago participated and was represented by Ms. Keima Gardiner, Environmental Engineering Specialist of the Environmental Policy and Planning Division. Also in attendance were Dominica who represented the CARICOM Sub-Region along with Trinidad and Tobago as well as observers from Non-Party states, representatives from Basel Convention Regional Centres, academia, industry, IGOs and NGOs. 

Ms. Gardiner (second from the left) participating at the OEWG-10 in Kenya on May 20th—June 2nd, 2016.

Matters discussed included:

• technical guidelines on environmentally sound management of waste
• guidelines for the national reporting on e-waste, used lead batteries and waste oil
• the Cartagena Declaration  with emphasis on technology transfer as proffered by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC)
• the proposed partnership on household waste, and the developments with the World Customs Organisation (*This was important as Trinidad and Tobago has embarked on an exercise to establish an Import and Export Licensing System)

The proceedings at OEWG-10 was a useful platform to monitor the progress of implementation of the decisions adopted at the twelfth meeting of the COP (COP-12), while setting the framework for prioritizing action in preparation for the upcoming COP. As an active participant at this forum, Trinidad and Tobago is in an advantageous position to build on the momentum created and have more profound engagements at upcoming COP in 2017.

T&T submits its INDC!

Countries across the globe have committed to create a new international climate agreement by the conclusion of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, November 30 - December 11, 2015.

In preparation, countries have publicly agreed to outline what post-2020 climate actions they intend to take under a new international agreement known as their Intended Nationally Determined Determined Contributions (INDCs). The INDCs will largely determine whether the world achieves an ambitious 2015 agreement and is put on a path towards a low carbon, climate resilient future. 

Trinidad and Tobago's INDC was submitted to the UNFCCC in August 2015, the first Caribbean country and second Small Island Developing State (SIDS) do so. It is based on the Caribbean Reduction Strategy which was developed for the major carbon emitting sectors of our economy, i.e. the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors. This process lasted 3 years and was finalised in 2014. 

The INDC for Trinidad and Tobago present buisness as usual (BAU) scenarios for the 3 emitting sectors up to the year 2030. It identifies mitigation options and includes policy instruments, knowledge and awareness approaches to elicit behavioural changes and direct technology intervention options such as clean technology, fuel switching and renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. 

Trinidad and Tobago's aim is to achieve a reduction of overall emissions from the 3 sectors by 15% by 2030 from BAU equating to 103,000,000 CO₂e. The estimated cost of meeting this objective is 2 million USD and is expected to be met partly through domestic funding and conditionally on international financing including through the Green Climate Fund.

Click here the following link to read the Trinidad and Tobago's INDC!

Meetings of the COP to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

 

The twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-12), the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-7) and the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-7) were held back-to-back from 4^th to 15^th May, 2015. 

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which was represented by Ms. Keima Gardiner, Environmental Engineering Specialist, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources participated as a Party to these three multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), which are commonly referred to as the BRS Conventions. Trinidad and Tobago was amongst  one hundred and sixty-four (164) country Parties in attendance. 

Ms. Gardiner (far left) and Dr. Ahmad Khan; Director, Basel Regional Convention Centre for the Caribbean (far right) participating in the Contact Group on Technical  Assistance and  Financial  Resources

The theme of this year’s COP was ‘From Science to Action, Working for a Safer  Tomorrow’.  The two weeks of discussions at the 2015 Meeting of the BRS COPs focused on inter alia, proposals for the organisation of the Secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and  Stockholm Conventions; joint activities for the biennium 2016-2017, budget for the biennium 2016-2017, strategies to improve performance of the respective Conventions and the outcome of strategic issues within the various Conventions.

Trinidad and Tobago reiterated the Government’s commitment towards the operationalisation of the    Basel Convention Regional Centre for the Caribbean, and by extension signaled to the Caribbean region and the  international community, the level of commitment of the country towards the implementation of the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions.