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CAPACITY Fellow - Vijayalaxmi (Vanessa) Jumnoodoo
Vijayalaxmi Jumnoodoo

UNFCCC team/division: NDC, LT-LEDS Sectorial Support Unit

The NDC, LT-LEDS and Sectorial Support unit provides technical advice and support to Parties on the following:

  • the preparation, communication and accounting of NDCs; and
  • the preparation and submission of long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) and support on sectoral mitigation issues such as emissions from international aviation and maritime transport. 

The unit also ensures that developments in high-impact sectors are monitored and utilized to inform relevant workstreams, and it is also responsible for advising, programming of support activities and technical assistance to Parties, pertaining to facilitating the implementation of NDCs, LT-LEDS and sectoral policies/assessment of mitigation actions.

Tasks:

The scope of work of the fellowship entailed supporting the unit in its analytical work on NDCs and LT-LEDS, including the development of NDC and LT-LEDS synthesis reports as well as the implementation of the global stocktake processes on mitigation issues.

Specifically, Vanessa’s duties and roles were, but not limited to, the following:

  • Assessment and/or review of submitted NDCs in terms of domestic mitigation measures and voluntary cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement;
  • Assessment of submitted LT-LEDS in terms of mitigation targets and measures;
  • Research, analysis and compilation of information related to mitigation options that are considered relevant to aligning global emissions with 1.5°C pathways by IPCC and encouraged by the UNFCCC processes;
  • Providing support to the global stocktake processes on mitigation issues, including information collection and preparation, technical assessment and consideration of outputs.

Experience/contribution of the fellow:

Supporting analysis of NDCs, LT-LEDS and mitigation efforts

  • Assessment, review and analysis of NDCs submitted within the period of October 2022 – September 2023,  in terms of domestic mitigation measures and voluntary cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement for the purpose of the preparation of the annual NDC synthesis report;
  • Assessment and analysis of the LT-LEDS submitted within the period of October 2022 – September 2023, in terms of mitigation targets and measures, and governance with the view to the development of the LT-LEDS synthesis report;
  • Supported the NDC 3.0 inter-agency meeting as note-taker and in the preparation of the meeting report.

Supporting the mitigation work programme for urgently scaling up mitigation ambitions and implementation

  • Provided assistance for the organization of the 2 global dialogues and investment-focused events on accelerating the just energy transition under the Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme;
  • Provided support as note-taker during the break-out sessions held under the global dialogues; 
  • Supported the preparation of the summary reports of the global dialogues and annual report under the mitigation work programme.

Supporting the global stocktake process

  • Provided support as note-taker during the global stocktake negotiations held in the margins of COP28;
  • Provided inputs for the Ministerial mitigation outcome of the global stocktake;
  • Presentation on the outcomes of the GST in the margins of the NDC training sessions with the Regional Collaboration Centres.

Supporting issues related to emissions from international transport

  • Provided substantive support to the SBSTA agenda item “Emissions from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport”, including preparation for the informal consultations, during SB58 and SB59.

Preparation of G20+25 country profiles

  • Prior to COP28, information was collected with respect to the phasing down/phasing out of fossil fuels, tripling of installed global renewables capacity to 11,000 GW by 2030, doubling of annual energy efficiency by 2030, increase in the use of hydrogen, phasing down of unabated coal, and halving of emissions from the oil and gas industry including limiting methane emissions to near zero by 2030, for the G20 countries;
  • Collection of data with respect to energy profiles and information pertaining to the mitigation policies of the G20+25 countries; 
  • Assessment of G20+25 country profiles with respect to 1.5oC alignment, LT-LEDS/NDC alignment and ambitious NDCs. Analysis of the mitigation outcomes of the GST
  • For the purpose of investigating one of the mitigation outcomes of the GST which includes the doubling of the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030, projections for GDP for Parties for the year 2030 were made based on World Bank and IMF data sets.

Participation at COP28:

  • Supported the negotiations held under the SBSTA agenda item “Emissions from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport”, mitigation work programme and global stocktake, as note-taker;
  • Arranged bilateral ministerial meetings for the mitigation work programme; 
  • Supported the high-level ministerial round table on the pre-2030 ambition, as note-taker.

Supervisor comments:

Throughout the appraisal period, Vanessa’s overall performance was commendable and she contributed strongly to the overall performance of the unit. Vanessa worked tirelessly and delivered all her tasks on time and with high quality.

Vanessa brought to the unit her hands-on experience and expertise on climate change mitigation projects and NDC development in Mauritius. We would like to highlight that the unit members enormously benefited from her practical knowledge and experience including especially in assessing submitted NDCs and analysing energy-related mitigation outcomes of GST1 decision at COP28 from the viewpoints of SIDS and implementing ministry.

Conclusion:

The one-year fellowship was a great learning experience for me in terms of both professional development and living in Bonn, Germany, and it also gave me the opportunity to create lasting connections with other fellows and colleagues from around the world. 

I had the privilege to work in a competitive and multi-cultural environment and, thus contribute to the goals of the Secretariat. I was able to showcase my talents in the various tasks that I was assigned to, including the organization of events and meetings, knowledge and analytical work, supporting negotiations, amongst others. Moreover, the assessment of the NDCs and LT-LEDs gave me a better insight of the ambition of Parties and the challenges that they are facing to tackling climate change.

I also had a first-hand experience with the SB58 intersessional meetings in June 2023 and COP28 negotiations in December 2023. These events enhanced my knowledge and understanding of climate change negotiations at high level and, the role and function of the Secretariat in facilitating these intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder climate negotiations. They also provided me access to a wider international networking platform. 

This fellowship programme is extremely important as it provides the space for direct engagement in addressing one of the most critical and challenging issues of our time which is climate change at this critical decade to keep 1.5C alive. As such, it is also contributing to filling the gap in global efforts to addressing capacity challenges with respect to climate change in SIDS and LDCs which are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Moreover, the programme allows fellows to have rich hand-on experience on the internal work of the Secretariat and its core mandates in relation to intergovernmental climate change negotiations.

Impact of Fellowship:

Overall, the fellowship broadened my knowledge and widened my perspective on different issues relating to climate change. As such, the practical work experience in climate mitigation, exposure to a broad international professional network and, skills that I gained including cross-cultural competency would certainly contribute to my career growth and subsequently to the development of my country by assisting in the formulation of NDCs taking into consideration their alignment with the long-term development strategy and national development plans of my country, and sustainable development goals, strengthening of institutional climate relevant policies and, implementation of climate actions.

I am also committed to disseminate the information and knowledge gained during the fellowship to my colleagues in my home country.

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