LECB - Second Mission of the Project Consultant

Work continued on the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme, Trinidad and Tobago as Dr. Axel Michaelowa (Consultant, LECB) conducted his second mission during the  period January 11 - 21, 2016.

"The LECB Programme partners with governments to implement national projects that support national initiatives that address climate change and sustainable mitigation actions in both the public and industrial sectors as part of a joint collaboration between the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme."

His mission comprised of the following activities: 

• Bilateral meetings with the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business Renewable Energy Project Incubator and Trinity Power.
• A Baseline and Co-benefits Workshop was held at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre (January 15, 2016).
• A consultation was held at the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company (PLIPDECO)
  to discuss potential mitigation options on the estate. The Industry Technical Working Groups met on that afternoon to conduct a SWOT Analysis and Co-Benefits Assessment for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) options for that sector (January 15, 2016).
• Technical Working groups for Power and Transport met at the Environmental Policy and Planning Division (EPPD) offices of the Ministry of Planning and Development to conduct SWOT analyses and co-benefits assessments for NAMA options in those sectors (January 18-19, 2016).  

 

Dr. Michaelowa (3rd from the right) with staff of the EPPD and  LECB Project Team at PLIPDECO.

Dr. Michaelowa facilitating discussions at the consultation in PLIPDECO  on January 15th, 2016.

MGM Innova, the firm which is delivering technical assistance for the development of guidelines for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) also conducted a mission to Trinidad during the period February 15^th - 17^th and met with various stakeholders bilaterally in order to collect data on various systems which may exist or could be developed as it relates to MRV.

Regional Technical Dialogue on INDCs for Latin American and the Caribbean

The second Regional Technical Dialogue on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the 2015 Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for Latin America and the Caribbean took place during the period November 10-12, 2014 in Mexico City. Trinidad and Tobago participated in this Dialogue and was represented by  Ms. Sindy Singh, Research Analyst, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. 

The objectives of the second dialogue were to:

• Share country experiences with the design and preparation of their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)
• Share information on challenges being faced and identify lessons learned and best practices to address these challenges 
• Address issues related to the underlying technical basis required to prepare robust, realistic and achievable contributions 
• Identify support needed to reach domestic agreement on contributions and follow-up actions
•  Provide an update on the process of preparing iNDCs and share newly identified challenges. 

 

Various institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UNFCCC, the World Resources Institute (WRI), GIZ  Germany, the New Climate Institute, The European Commission, the United States of  America and  the  Caribbean  Community  Climate  Change  Centre  (CCCCC) were  present and pledged to provide technical and/or financial assistance to the region towards the development of their INDCs. 

There was apprehension in the region regarding the elaboration of the elements of an INDC and it is expected that the decisions from the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC Lima would address these. At present, most countries are preparing INDCs with mostly mitigation actions. The inclusion of adaptation is a prospect for some but the modalities of this inclusion have not yet been expounded.   However, overall, it was concluded that though the time to prepare the INDCs is very limited, countries do not need to start from the very beginning but can build upon existing policies and actions.

 

 

Bonn Climate Change Conference

From October 20-24, 2014, the sixth part of the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban  Platform for  Enhanced Action (ADP 2-6) under the United  Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Bonn, Germany.

Among the country parties to the UNFCCC who participated, Trinidad and Tobago was represented by Ms. Rueanna Haynes, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations.  Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh, Head of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit (MEAU), Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources served as the ADP  Co-chair.

Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh , ADP Co-Chair at the ADP 2-6,  October, 2014 

ADP 2-6 focused on the preparation of key documents for the upcoming twentieth Conference of the Parties (COP-20) to the UNFCCC which would take in Lima, Peru in December, 2014. Participants continued to negotiate on elements of the  draft 2015 agreement. In addition,  they worked on a draft decision that captures the type of information countries will need to provide when they communicate their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and how they would be considered at COP-20.

The outcome of technical meetings resulted in a draft decision on the pre-2020 ambition which was issued for consideration at  Lima.  This draft focused on opportunities for action on non carbon greenhouse gases (GHGs); carbon capture, use and storage, mitigation opportunities through energy efficiency, renewable energy, urban environment and land use improvements in the pre-2020 period.

The LECB Project

The Low Emission Capacity Building Programme (LECB) received approval from the Cabinet. The project document of the LECB Programme for Trinidad and Tobago was signed by the Minister of the  Environment and Water Resources, Senator, the Honourable Ganga Singh and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Richard Blewitt.

The LECB Programme partners with governments to implement national projects that support sustainable mitigation actions in both the public and industrial sectors. It was launched in January 2011 as part of a joint collaboration between the European Union (European Commission and Member States) and the United Nations Development Programme. This  collaborative programme aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacities at the country level, while at the same time facilitating inclusion and coordination of the public and private sector in national initiatives addressing climate change.   

The Ministry anticipates that the work of the LECB will commence in the near future. The next step is the hiring of a Project Manager and Technical Assistant; following which, the activities of the project shall begin. The main expected outputs include:

•  a greenhouse gas inventory 
• at least three Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), 
•  a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system.

Stakeholder Consultation and Training for the Carbon Reduction Strategy Project

A stakeholder consultation for the Carbon Reduction Strategy Project was held on Thursday March 20th, 2014 at the University of the West Indies (UWI),  St. Augustine. Key stakeholders from the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors of Trinidad and Tobago were invited to this consultation to discuss  proposed carbon mitigation actions for the country.

Some key stakeholders from the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors of Trinidad and Tobago in attendance.

Mr. Kepa Solaun from Factor CO2, the project consultant firm reiterated that the intention of the consultation was to get ideas and feedback about the mitigation actions for the country and for further cost benefit/effectiveness analysis.

Three working groups were formed and participants retreated to various places across campus to discuss the proposed carbon reduction actions for the three sectors. The consultation concluded with a plenary where each group presented their recommendations. 

 

On Friday March 21st, 2014, Factor CO2 conducted a training exercise among a small group comprising of  persons from the three key sectors on the development and the use of the model which was utilised for the development of business as usual (BAU) emission scenarios for the three sectors locally. It was practical  experience in model use allowing key stakeholders to understand how the scenarios were generated given the data available and assumptions made.  

 

Mr. Kumarsingh (Head, Multilateral Environmental Unit of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources)   addressing the small group from key   sectors before the start of  training on the model used for the BAU emission scenarios for the three sectors