Namibia commences its reporting process aimed at strengthening policies and measures to climate change adaptation and mitigation

February 16, 2023

Ms. Uazamo Kaura- UNDP Programme Specialist and SEMER portfolio head giving remarks during the (BTR1/NC5) inception meeting

Frieda Lukas

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) hosted an Inception meeting for Namibia’s first Biennial Transparency Report and fifth National Communication (BTR1/NC5) project. The project worth USD 517, 000 is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UNDP country office and will be implemented by the Ministry.

The four-year project is aimed at creating an enabling environment for Namibia to fulfil its reporting obligations under the Climate Change Convention and its Paris Agreement which paved the way for limiting the increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere to a level that will restrict the temperature increase to 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of the century. The combined national reports will provide enhanced transparency with the inclusion of a national GHG inventory in various emitting sectors such as energy and forestry; information relating to vulnerability and adaptation including the negative impacts of climate change and the support the country needs in implementing the Convention.

The activities undertaken during the implementation of the project will strengthen individual, institutional, and systemic capacities at different levels of governance to enhance a robust reporting mechanism under the domestic measurement, reporting & verification (MRV) system. The strengthening of the MRV system will be important for tracking GHG emissions, implementing of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and mitigation ambitions and supporting the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement.    

Representatives from various institutions including government ministries, agencies and academia were in attendance.

Ms. Uazamo Kaura, Programme Specialist and SEMER Portfolio head gave remarks on behalf of the UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Alka Bhatia.

 

Watch video with remarks

End note

 

In line with the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, the main activities of the BTR1/NC5 project are:

  1. Improving the existing institutional arrangements and upgrade information on national circumstances regarding the GHG inventory, mitigation and tracking of revised NDC and adaptation.
  2. Preparing national GHG inventories on emissions by sources and removal by sinks for the years 2017 to 2022 using the IPCC 2006 Guidelines inclusive of the 2013 Supplement and 2019 refinement and the IPCC 2006 software in accordance with COP decisions.
  3. Performing a mitigation assessment with projections for the 2050-time horizon for four IPCC sectors and report on mitigation actions implemented by the country and their outcomes including emissions reductions as far as possible.
  4. Reviewing /updating the Vulnerability and Adaptation assessment for key socio-economic sectors of the country.
  5. Providing information on constraints and gaps, and related financial, technical, and capacity needs, including a description of the support needed and received.
  6. Providing information on the domestic MRV system being developed under the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) project according to the national circumstances and existing capabilities.
  7. Report on the level of support received to enable the preparation and submission of the BTR1/NC5.
  8. Providing any other information relevant to the achievement of the objective of the Convention such as Technology Needs Assessment, Education, Training and Public Awareness, Research and Systematic Observation and Information and Networking as appropriate for inclusion in the combined BTR1/NC5.
  9. Mainstream gender into the activities on the preparation of the BTR1/NC5, including gender balance.
  10. Prepare and submit the combined BTR1/NC5 report to the Conference of Parties by December 2024 through electronic submission.
  11. Disseminate the reports widely across the country to buy in stakeholders for their implementation.