Summary

The project will enable Montenegro to establish a transparent national system for monitoring, reporting and verification in the field of climate change, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities of all institutions in every part of the system and reporting process. After four years of project implementation, it is expected that the country will independently, through a functional national system, regularly report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as to the EU, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, measures implemented to reduce emissions, as well as adaptation to climate change.

Along with defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant institutions, the project will also help strengthen the capacity of employees, so that the system is regularly updated and operational. Each of the climate change adaptation or mitigation measures will be viewed from the perspective of gender equality, I.e. the different impact on women and men, with clearly defined gender indicators that will be monitored through the system. 

Background

Article 4 of the Paris Agreement highlights that, in communicating their NDCs, all Parties will provide information necessary for clarity, transparency and understanding in accordance with decision 1/CP.21.  The Paris Agreement also calls for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) infrastructure that provides information on the measures taken and the support received, provided or accounted for the NDC.  Accelerating action to adapt to and mitigate the consequences of climate change is critical.

Montenegro has set an ambitious GHG mitigation target through its NDC.  The Government is taking the need to reduce GHGs extremely seriously despite conflicting economically attractive opportunities of local coal and lignite availability and a flourishing tourist industry.  Montenegro has a relatively pristine environment that is under threat from climate change.  Therefore, building resilience through adaptation is a primary objective for Montenegro.  Although Montenegro is focused on delivering adequate mitigation and adaptation actions, the country has yet to put the systems in place to monitor and report on their progress. 

Project Outcome

The project aims to enhance the efficiency of national climate change actions and the synergies with other related national actions, policies and measures, in order to achieve climate resilient and low-carbon development.  It will strengthen national capacities, institutional and technical, pursuing more efficient articulation to allow an enhanced enabling environment for transparency related activities, as well as adopting or improving methodologies and tools to enhance transparency as requested in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement.

Through this strengthening, Montenegro will be more efficient in the definition, development and implementation of policies and measures, based on more timely and accurate information, monitoring and assessment of the instruments applied to face climate change. A gender-sensitive approach will be included in methodologies for assessing the adequacy, effectiveness and effects of adaptation actions and mitigation actions and policies effects.  The expected results are a strengthened institutional mechanism to track nationally determined contributions and the development of a more robust transparency framework. The project is structures as a set of outputs and activities organized in two complementary components, but with four expected outcomes:

Component 1: Strengthening active stakeholder engagement and embedding MRV of climate action within existing sectoral functions and sustainable development goals

• Outcome 1: A strengthened institutional mechanism for increased transparency

Component 2: Enhancing technical capacities to implement an ambitious enhanced transparency framework

• Outcome 2:    Strengthened national institutions to implement enhanced transparency
• Outcome 3:    Strengthened coordination and information exchange is institutionalized with an enhanced transparency framework
• Outcome 4:    A technical roadmap on low-carbon and climate-resilient development is formulated and adopted