REGIONAL TECHNICAL TRAINING ON GHG EMISSIONS QUANTIFICATION AND MEASURES IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR FOR ASIA-PACIFIC

Ha Long, 9th to 11th May 2023, a 3-day technical training workshop on “GHG emissions quantification and prioritising policies, actions and measures in the transport sector for Asia-Pacific” was co-organised by Viet Nam Ministry of Transport and the Secretariat United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with support from the IKI NDC Transport Initiative in Asia (NDC TIA).

Globally, transport contributes one quarter of Greenhouse Gas emissions. For effective implementation of emission mitigation in the sector, it is crucial to establish consistent Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for the transport sector. The workshop welcomed 26 officials of ministries of transport and ministries of environment from Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Marshall Island, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam with the key objectives:

– Enhancing the understanding of the governments officials of the latest methodologies and tools for measuring GHG emissions, as well as strategies for prioritising policies, actions, and measures to reduce GHG emissions;

– Boosting skills in calculating GHG emission reduction and handling complex and incomplete data for Business as Usual (BAU) and mitigation scenarios;

– Facilitating discussion among Asian countries on existing institutional arrangements to support the development of GHG baselines and prioritising policies, actions and measures for the transport sector and reporting to the relevant bodies established under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

In his opening speech, Mr. Tran Anh Duong, Deputy Director General, Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Viet Nam Ministry of Transport expressed ‘This is a crucial opportunity for Vietnam and our fellow countries in the Asia-Pacific region to learn and exchange on the technicalities of a consistent Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for the transport sector. We recognise the importance of the MRV system for ensuring the transparency and integrity of our collective efforts to combat climate change’. ‘There is so much to learn and much to share among trainers and participants during this training workshop’, Mr. Marlan Pillay, Secretariat UNFCCC’s representative added.

Transport data collection and enhancing a robust MRV system for this sector is tough, particularly in Asia where emissions from the transport sector are expanding rapidly. ‘This is challenging but it is not impossible because if we understand where the emissions come from, we can do something about it’, stated Daniel Bongardt, Programme Director Transport and Climate Change, GIZ.

All participants confirmed the importance of the workshop. A participant from the Marshall Islands said: “I really like the fact that we can see the real-world scenarios in practice, and we can see the knowledge and experience from our fellow colleagues, especially when it comes to the new ideas”. A representative from Sri Lanka added ‘The workshop is very useful for me to gain more knowledge and very easy to understand because the presentations are very clear”.

This training workshop lies under the framework of the NDC-TIA project, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (BMWK) via the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

For more information, please visit: https://www.ndctransportinitiativeforasia.org/