10th Edition | May 28, 2021
The Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub (the "MRV Hub") is a sustainable cooperative institution for conducting climate change relevant MRV in the Caribbean that generates objective data for use by Caribbean nations.

As part of The MRV Hub's commitment to keeping our members and interested parties updated we are pleased to share with you the MRV Hub Newsletter for May 2021 (10th Edition).

Wiley Barbour, Project Director
Report on the MRV Hub Annual Meeting 2021 (23-24 March)

This report is a summary of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Cooperative Measurement Reporting & Verification Hub (MRV Hub)

The meeting’s objective was twofold. First, to provide member countries and partners with the status of MRV Hub outputs in 2020 as well as an overview of achievements and challenges faced by the project and its members. The MRV Hub highlighted the substantive 2020 activities which included the 2020 Annual Meeting, the launch of the MRV Hub Summer Academy, country-specific workstreams, expansion of the MRV Hub staff and the continued development of sector-specific work crews. The second key objective was to garner feedback and cooperative engagement with MRV Hub Member Countries. This included presentations from Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Saint Lucia on ongoing country-specific support from the MRV Hub and its project implementing lead, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI).

Over the course of the two days the meetings were attended by a total of 64 participants including 27 representatives from all twelve of the MRV Hub Member States.

Regional/Int’l organizations such as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Grenada (GIZ), UNFCCC, UNEP-DTU, UNDP, the UNFCCC-Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) at St George’s, GHGMI and GGGI were also represented at the event.

Work Crew Update

The MRV Hub work crews are central to the MRV Hub’s implementation approach and help to address technical challenges at each step of the GHG emission inventory process as well as development of quantitative indicators for tracking NDC implementation at the sectoral and policy level.
 
Work Crew Leads have been following the implementation timeline and have successfully moved from the initial phases of recruitment and training, towards the country-specific data collection, and data management system design work phase. While this phase has been met with several challenges, most challenges revolve around the availability, quality, and access to datasets that provide adequate detail and time-series consistency. 
 
MRV Hub Modeling & Projections Programme

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modeling & projections capabilities are gaining importance for national climate change departments engaged in the preparation, planning, implementation, and reporting of mitigation actions for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) and Long-Term Low Emission Developments (LT-LEDS) under the Paris Agreement. Additionally, projections establish baselines for emission reduction scenarios, thus providing sound climate justification when applying for climate finance and support for implementation of actions. Currently most regional climate change departments rely on international consultants to develop models and mitigation scenarios in order to meet these requirements.
 
Recognising the increasing demand for regional capacity to model and project GHG emission trends and mitigation scenarios for planning as well as reporting purposes under the Enhance Transparency Framework (ETF) the Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub (“MRV Hub”) developed a comprehensive work programme around modeling and projections. The Modeling & Projections Programme (“MPP”) was first announced and launched during the MRV Hub Annual Meeting earlier this year.

MRV Hub Direct Support to Member Countries – Update
 
The MRV Hub started its work by conducting MRV System Status Assessments for all our member countries, informed by desktop analysis of reports and communications, followed by in-person and in-country interviews with MRV Hub focal points and local officials and stakeholders. These helped us understand how countries in the region are conducting their work and what their needs are. Based on that information we created Capacity Building Reports summarizing our findings.
 
The MRV Hub technical team analyzed the results of each country’s CBR and established a prioritized list of actions that could yield immediate positive benefits individually and collectively. We formed work crews to tackle sector-specific problems and based on prioritized common needs.
 
We also continued to host multi-country engagements, such as last year’s Summer Academy, and targeted webinars and training opportunities. The same member country focal points, while happy with the communal offerings of the MRV Hub, also told us they had specific needs based on national circumstances that required a more hands-on approach.

Pic Inset: Day 2 Participants @ Saint Lucia LEAP Model Training

Regional Recognition

The following countries have recently submitted UNFCCC reporting:

  • Belize - 1st BUR (May 2021)

COVID-19 Update

The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to have negative effects on the Caribbean, affecting critical industries like the region's mainstay, tourism! However, the region has made significant strides in combating the pandemic and has initiated an extensive vaccination programme. Many countries have announced plans for expanded re-opening of their borders based on new protocols taking into consideration vaccinated travelers.

Even within the MRV Hub we have started to again factor travel into our plans. As we continue to engage our members and all look forward to restarting our visits to member countries to restart in-person meetings ad training.

The MRV Hub and its implementing partners (WINDREF, GHGMI, UNFCCC’s St. George’s RCC and UNDPUNEP GSP) reconfirm our commitment to the region and stand firmly by our mission to foster regional and technical excellence while generating stronger policy-relevant carbon accounting and member country development of greenhouse gas inventories.
Recent and Highlighted Events

April – May 2021: The MRV Hub, UNFCCC- RCC St George’s, and CCREEE launched the GHG Mitigation Modelling tools webinar series. The training series is dedicated to advancing the knowledge and developing capacity and providing services to the MRV Hub member countries on the use of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation modelling and projections.
 
The 1st session was held on the April 29, 2021 and focused on an “Introduction to GHG projection modelling and tools.”
 
The 2nd session was held on the May 4, 2021. This session introduced one of the GHG Modelling tools developed by the UNEP-DTU Partnership, known as the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Model (GACMO).
 
The 3rd session was held on the May 18, 2021. This session introduced one of the GHG Modelling tools developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), known as the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP).
 
To view the Webinar Series Concept Note, click here.
 
 
April – May 2021: The CARICOM Secretariat conducted a survey in collaboration with the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) and the Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (TAPSEC). This survey was developed to assess the use and availability of greenhouse gas (GHG) and energy modelling tools used in the Caribbean region and is part of an ongoing project called Capacity Enhancement for Planning and Decision support within the Energy Sector in CARICOM countries organised by GIZ through consultants from Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI), the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI), and the Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub (CCMRVH).
 
May 12, 2021: Data for better climate action
GHGMI and the MRV Hub joined 14 global climate initiatives in launching a renewed effort to increase data-driven climate action around the world. With the decisive UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK, only six months away, the #Data4BetterClimateAction campaign aims to raise awareness about the inherent value of transparency in pursuing meaningful climate action and support.
 
To read more, please see the link: click here

CARICOM Secretary General: BELIZEAN, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett, has been appointed as the first female Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the eighth person to hold this position.

A statement from CARICOM’s Chairperson, Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, indicated that Barnett, who will assume office officially from August 15, was unanimously appointed to the prestigious post during a Special Session of a CARICOM Heads of Government meeting hosted virtually on May 18, 2021.
Caribbean MRV Event Calendar

The MRV Hub and its network collect and post events relating to climate meetings and events in the region. This "Caribbean Event Calendar" has been created and is posted on our webpage.
 
Please feel free to send us any important dates we may have missed or as events and meetings are announced.
Meet the MRV Hub Network

Beth Pottridge joined GHGMI in January 2021 as a Grants & Contracts Coordinator. As Grants and Contracts Coordinator, she will be handling Grants Compliance, Contracts Management, and being involved in processes of grant research and proposal writing. 
 
She previously worked with the United Nations for 15 years in different countries in Africa and the Middle East, such as Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, & Mali.

Click here to read more.

The MRV Hub Newsletter is issued monthly and seeks to share important information about the Caribbean Cooperative Measurement, Reporting, and Verification Hub. If you have items of interest you would like us to share please email us and we will consider including them in the next newsletter.

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The CCMRVH is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag, with additional resources and technical support provided by the UNDP/UNEP Global Support Programme.