Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week 2021 opened space for DNAs from the region to meet and collaborate
On May 14, Designated National Authorities took the opportunity to meet at May's premier regional collaboration event, LACCW 2021. At the DNA Forum on the last day of the four-day conference, DNAs from around the region met in advance of COP 26. RCC St. George’s hosted the “Opportunities for registered CDM activities” session for Caribbean DNAs to discuss CDM project support through the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), the importance of standardized baselines and the Enhanced Climate Neutral Now initiative.
Vintura Silva, Regional Lead of RCC St. George’s, opened with remarks about climate action and collaboration in the Caribbean.
Federico S. Fische, PFAN Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, spoke to the value of the network to project development. Once selected, project developers can receive business coaching from PFAN, including support to develop business plans, financial models, presentations and more. The network also can connect projects and investors at quarterly financial forums. Interested organizations can explore the PFAN project application.
The Mitigation team’s Eduardo Cardoso Filho presented on the importance of standardized baselines and progress in the region. He explained that baselines offer insight into emissions from a particular sector before a climate change policy or CDM project is implemented. He also detailed the rules, methods, procedures and requirements to develop high-quality baselines that can effectively safeguard environmental integrity. He shared a snapshot of standardized baselines in the Caribbean:
- Approved – 7 in the power sector, 4 in the waste sector
- Under development – 2 in the power sector, 2 in the transport sector
The value of standardized baselines beyond the CDM was also discussed. These baselines can be used for GCF projects, NAMAs developed by UNDP, and projects financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). For more information, please see the Standardized Baselines webpage.
An overview of Climate Neutral Now was presented by Miguel Naranjo from UN Climate Change Communications and Engagement. He shared the initiative’s background, major milestones and benefits of joining. Participants can receive technical assistance to measure the GHG footprint, support to identify solutions to reduce, a listing on UN Climate Change webpages, use of the initiative’s logo and more. He noted that there is no participation fee and participants can stop participating at any point in time. See the Climate Neutral Now website for more information.
LACCW 2021 registered participants can see a video of the DNA Forum here. Slides from the DNA Forum are available here.
RCC St. George’s remains available to support DNAs interested in developing a standardized baseline or private sector organizations interested in Climate Neutral Now. To contact the team, please email rccstgeorges@unfccc.int.
