Climate Action for a Prepared Caribbean

March 11-12, 2020, Bridgetown, Barbados – The Caribbean Cooperative Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV) Hub, held their second annual meeting with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Global Support Programme (GSP). The meeting provided the opportunity for Caribbean stakeholders to learn about the progress and plans of the MRV Hub while exchanging knowledge and fostering critical connections.

The Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub is a sustainable and country-driven partnership that enables countries to cooperate on technical challenges underlying climate change mitigation. Now a year into its growth, the Hub is continually working to foster regional and technical excellence while generating stronger policy-relevant carbon accounting aimed at empowering English-speaking CARICOM countries to efficiently develop Greenhouse Gas inventories and mitigation assessments and track their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

During the two-day conference regional stakeholders presented on outcomes from COP25 negotiations, informed attendees on the status, variety and main characteristics of recent National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) efforts in the region and addressed practical considerations on how to incorporate information to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding into NDCs. The sessions also covered the MRV Hub’s activities over the last year and introduced participants to its three-pronged operational model and expected outputs in 2020.

The vision of the MRV Hub is to build a sustainable institution, explore ideas for leveraging capacity building initiatives in the region, and enhance the roles of regional advisors; as this will allow the Hub to meet the needs of its stakeholders and function as a true learning and mentoring cooperative. Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Hon. Trevor Prescod echoed these sentiments while addressing the gathering, highlighting the need to build capacity and infuse innovative thought and action in the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In his remarks, Resident Representative for UNDP in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean noted “It is necessary to work on strengthening domestic mechanisms for measurement, reporting and verification, and to ensure these systems have ownership and support from a wide range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors of each country. In this regard, I want to highlight that these mechanisms and plans are aligned with the Gender Action Plan, approved at COP 23 and COP 25, which promotes the incorporation of the gender perspective in climate policy and actions.”

UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean was pleased to be part of the two-day conference which represented continued climate change preparation and mitigation for countries across the Caribbean. The organisation, through its programmes, remains committed to assisting Small Island Developing States implement sustainable initiatives to mitigate and respond to climate change.

The MRV Hub supports 12 English-speaking countries from the Caribbean and is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative based on a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.

This news post also appears at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Barbados Advocate.