Ghana National MRV Set-up “Climate ambition reporting program” (CARP) Capacity Building Workshop Freetown, Sierra Leone 21-22 March, 2017 Kwabena Asubonteng (kwabena.asubonteng@gmail.com) Land and water theme UNU-INRA, Accra Daniel Benefoh (dbenefor2000@yahoo.com) Climate change unit, EPA - Ghana

Presentation outline G-CARP Progress Lessons

National circumstances Source : CAIT, 2015 Socio-economic, vulnerabilities & policies GHG emission profile

Next steps for NDCs implementation (10-year agenda towards a future sustainable, resilient and low carbon Ghanaian society) Rapid implementation of NDCs 1. Process to prepare for implementation 2. Prioritize early actions 3. Mobilise investment 4. Demonstrate early impacts (transparency)

Building blocks for NDC implementation WP:5 Support and partnerships WP:4 Track progress of NDC goals Public funding Involving private sector International support WP: 3 Monitor impacts of NDC actions National system for tracking. Linkage with domestic MRV Capacity needs WP: 2 Institutions & engagements Data capturing and management Strengthening existing MRV system Reporting NDC actions WP:1 Early actions for NDC1 Strengthening & coordination Stakeholder engagements Awareness & communication Building blocks for NDC implementation Prioritize NDC actions Sector “allocations” Linkages with pre-2020 actions

Focus of this presentation What’s CARP about? Focus of this presentation National plan to put in place and operate an “integrated national system” for: Continuous generation and archiving of data on GHG emissions (in place) mitigation actions (new) climate support (new) track progress of NDC targets (new) Preparation & compilation Domestic disclosure and international reporting Technical and “policy” review (verifications) MRV for GHG emission MRV for actions MRV for “support” Track NDC goals facilitate the setting up of an integrated climate data management system that meets both national and international reporting standards as well as track national policies implementation

National arrangement and procedures EPA Act 490 LI 1652 Online data hub 2006 IPCC guidelines National GHG Inventory plan Templates for data collection National QA/QC plan Decentralized tasks to line ministries MOUs 5 sectoral teams National, corporate & projects levels Continuous training UNFCCC roster of experts Skill sets & scope Institutions & roles Legal basis Data, methods & IT

Capacity received with the aim to strengthen national system for inventory G-CARP institutional arrangement 5 productive sectors Review (ICA, Peer review) Methods, Protocol & Data Management Inputs from CD-REDD & LECB & IM Sustainable GHG Mgt. in WA CD-REDD Project, Japan FPP GIZ Information Matters Project Agric World Bank, UNDP, UNEP Supported development of climate hub Forestry UNDP LECB Project Energy Information matters: design and implementation of CC data management system Data archive Preparation of BUR and feedbacks on TNC and BUR Industry Status of support CD-REDD (Ended) LECB (On-going, Possible phase 2??) IM (Ended, Possible phase 2??) UNDP-GEF (On-going) Sustainable GHG Mgt in WA (On-going) Waste

Institutional arrangement relevant to climate change GHG inventory institutions and roles

national arrangements - legal basis, (EPA Act, Act 490) & MOU

National arrangements - inventory cycle Management phase Resources Documentation and Archiving QA/QC NIR Compilation Preparation phase prepration phase 3rd Party Review estimation estimation Incorporation to NC Planning phase data evaluation data evaluation Planned Improvements training GHGI team Data request and collection Data request and collection Roles & MoU Identification & review of AD & EF sources Identify and form teams Set GHGI protocols Prioritized Improvements 10% time spent 60% time spent 30% time spent 2-year time scale

Screenshot of online data hub National arrangement – online archiving

Data documentation and archiving – how are we approaching it? We keep it simple but aim at consistent improvement towards “dynamic data management system” in the future. We try to clearly define why we need documentation (Purpose) what to document (Relevant information ) how to document (Protocols) who to document (Roles) where/how to store and retrieve (storage and access protocols) This means; we have in place: Defined roles and responsibilities for documentation Simple procedures to guide “what and how” documentations Develop or adopt template documentation System for storage and retrieval Identify means for continuous improvements

Who documents/archive what? The 5 inventory teams Inventory coordinator EPA information office What Data, sources, status, screening out outliers Assumptions, Methodological choices Software requirements, guidelines, When Before During After Hints: All the “specifics” are “contained” in the MOU signed between the GHG inventory office and the inventory team institutions

national arrangements – flow chart of inventory steps

Achievements so far National system for GHG inventory has been in operation since 2000 Progressively improved with new reforms to improve institutional arrangements. Compiled 3 national communications, 2 national inventory reports and 1 BUR Successfully completed ICA (Technical review and FSV workshop). 30 experts from 16 public and private institutions constitute national team. Next reporting plan under preparation. MRV of climate action, MRV of finance and tracking of NDC goals are new tasks ……..……….

Latest international reports

AFOLU (1) - snapshot (a) Land (b) Livestock (c) Aggregate sources and non-CO2 emissions sources on land Methodology – 2006 guidelines, Tier 1/2 & Default/CS EF Data and data sources: Livestock & crops - Annual Agriculture Facts and Figures (Ministry of Food and Agriculture) Land - Land representations, disturbances (fire), EF (biomass), biomass harvesting (Forestry Commission). Key categories FL-FL FL-OL Biomass burning

AFOLU Sector (2) - priority improvement areas Data gaps and issues in land representation data Definition issues (forest definition, codification of land representation) Spatial delineation of trees crops from natural and planted forest stands Time series data on forest fires at medium to high resolution AD on forest degradation - wood fuels, impact of selective logging, illegal logging etc Efforts to address them Preparation of new historical and current land use map under REDD+ REL/FREL to UNFCCC with support from Winrock Country-specific EF for six land representations developed Developed 12 land-sector specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for conducting inventories.

Full implementation of “domestic MRV” can be a slow and “tough” endeavor. Barriers Limited funds (donor-dependent and no/low national budgetary allocation) Low visibility of MRV results for policy decision-making Access to good quality data (missing data, non-existing data) Capacity gap General lack of awareness Challenges in capture adaptation actions and their effects (indicators) effectively

Lessons and good practices MRV in practice works better with development M & E. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, what is needed is a greater orientation and continuous capacity for existing structures. It could be expensive and difficult to start all afresh by introducing new data collection regimes. What is important is to pay attention to existing data systems that are already working and strengthen it to work better. The roles of National Statistics Offices, Ministries of finance and National Planning Authorities in data collection and mobilizing various ministries to get involved in sector MRV functions very crucial.

Lessons and good practices For the sake of long-term sustainability of domestic MRVs, it is important to start with what can work presently but ensure consistent progression to mainstream into the core activities of Ministries. For MRV to work effectively especially for industry, it must have a certain level of legitimacy and legal authority to get companies to make data available and report correctly on time. Use of existing environmental assessment procedures (usually backed by laws) for industry is crucial in getting industries involved. Continuous investments in data collection and putting in place data exchange system is indispensable.

Success factors Integration approach – build MRV into existing M&E system Phase-out approach – progressive improvements Decentralization of MRV tasks to line ministries (long-term sustainability & ownership) Incentive for career development (acquire new skills) Continuous training of team members Dedicated team (leadership, commitments, motivation, consistent team) Incorporating new climate indicators and data collection needs into existing national statistics surveys and annual M&E reports of policy implementation takes a lot time.

Thank you……