On 7 May, “Building Armenia’s national transparency framework under Paris Agreement” UNDP-GEF project was officially launched. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia in cooperation with UNDP in Armenia. The event hosted around 70 participants, including government officials, representatives from state bodies, UNDP in Armenia and other UN agencies, technical specialists and practitioners from Ministry of Environment and stakeholder ministries, as well as leading local and international experts of the field.  

The project will provide support for building institutional and technical capacities to meet the enhanced transparency requirements of Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, under which Armenia is committed to regularly provide information on the progress made in implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as well as on adaptation related actions and support received.

Welcoming the participants of the event, Mihaela Stojkoska, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Armenia, stated, “Climate change is an urgent and extremely serious issue that poses a global threat to human development and touches every aspect of our lives. UNDP remains faithful in its promise of supporting Armenia for implementing its ambitious climate agenda through enhancement of NDC implementation and establishing transparency framework for monitoring and reporting on its progress. This project allows Armenia to make information on mitigation and adaptation actions more comprehensive and accessible and to track the progress of its NDCs more efficiently.”

“The Ministry of Environment highly prioritizes the delivery of transparency requirements under Paris Agreement. In this regard, we express our gratitude to UNDP Armenia in taking the responsibility of implementing this project that will empower national institutions through building necessary capacities for meeting transparency and accountability requirements under Paris Agreement, as well as will ensure long term transparency in Armenia’s national commitments under international agreements,” mentioned Ruzanna Grigoryan, the Head of International Cooperation Department in her speech on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Environment, Anna Mazmanyan.  

Subsequently, presentation dedicated to the reporting requirements under the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework was delivered by Susan Legro, UNDP International Consultant of “Building Armenia’s national transparency framework under Paris Agreement” project, as well as details on GEF monitoring and evaluation requirements were provided in the presentation made by Esther Baricz, Regional Technical Adviser.

The project structure, its main objectives and components, as well as the risks and mitigation measures were presented by Diana Harutyunyan, UNDP Climate Change Programme Coordinator. She also briefed on the details on project’s first year plan, engagement of stakeholder state authorities and project coordination mechanisms.

The expected results of the project also include shifting from ad hoc reporting to a continuous process of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) through capacity strengthening approach for capturing transparency activities of the country, data management for effective transparency reporting on GHG sources and sinks, as well as for transparency framework of actions and support.