Developing Saint Lucia’s GHG Inventory

The Challenge

As a non-Annex I Party to the convention under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Saint Lucia is required to submit Biennial Update Reports (BURs) every two years. One of the requirements of a BUR is the compilation of a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.

These regular reporting obligations to the UNFCCC can pose a challenge where institutional memory and technical resources are limited. Saint Lucia’s previous inventory was compiled by external consultants, and the information regarding methodologies, data sources and assumptions was not held within the current national inventory team. Therefore, the knowledge required to compile the GHG inventory was not fully retained by national institutions, leading to significant difficulties in the ongoing compilation and improvement of the inventory. Through funding provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United National Environment Program, Aether supported the Department of Sustainable Development of Saint Lucia to compile a new GHG inventory. The key project objectives were to:

• Fully engage national experts in hands-on data collection and inventory compilation
• Compile and deliver a high quality GHG inventory by Saint Lucian experts
• Establish a sustainable GHG inventory system run by Saint Lucian experts capable of producing GHG inventory updates and continuous improvement.

Achieving the above objectives, required direct hands-on interactive sessions. Unfortunately, the worldwide COVID-19 health crisis resulting in lockdowns in both Saint Lucia and Europe created an additional challenge in this regard. Participants and trainers were all working at home. As such, the two workshops were conducted remotely, rather than in-country as planned.

The Solution

Aether worked with the Department of Sustainable Development of Saint Lucia to compile a GHG inventory for the years 2000 – 2018. GHG estimates were produced in line with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and are, therefore, suitable for international reporting needs. In order to document data and methodologies in a transparent manner all compilation spreadsheets and underlying data sets have been archived on Saint Lucia’s recently developed National Environmental Information System.

The key aspect of this project was the training and engagement of national experts and stakeholders. During this project, two workshops were undertaken to support the development of the national expertise. It was imperative that we enabled confident ownership of the GHG inventory by the appropriate Saint Lucian organisations (institutions, departments, private companies etc.). These workshops were supported by a training plan customised to the needs of the Saint Lucia inventory team, and mentoring sessions held throughout the project. A Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) plan was developed, together with an improvement plan, in order to document the quality checks undertaken and identified improvements for future inventory cycles. The crucial steps taken in order to successfully train the national inventory team (despite a global pandemic) included:

• A close collaboration between sectoral mentors and national inventory experts throughout the project
• Short weekly training sessions to cover general inventory aspects during the second half of the project
• Two interactive workshops utilising virtual breakout groups, short focused sessions and plenary group discussions

The Result

This project delivered the instruments needed for a sustainable GHG inventory compilation system with tailored inventory compilation spreadsheets, training manual, QA/QC plan and improvement plan. It marks the beginning of an enhanced institutional arrangement for the GHG inventory compilation process in Saint Lucia. The national GHG inventory team now has the necessary tools for compiling and further developing the inventory.

Testimonials:

 “The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team.” – Shanna Emmanuel, BUR Project Coordinator.

“Saint Lucia embraces the professional approach with which this project was undertaken by Aether, particularly their ability to develop mentorship relations with local government experts. This provides a basis for ensuring that the pool of local experts remain engaged and recognized over successive processes.” – Annette Rattigan-Leo, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer.

Photo credit: Kris Charles Photography

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