On June 9, within the framework of the 58th session of the Subsidiary Bodies (June 5-15) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the event “With LT-LEDS Insights towards Concluding the first Global Stocktaking” organized by the initiative of Armenia, took place in Bonn, Germany.

In 2024, at the COP28 the process of the first global stocktake (GST) will be finalized. Therefore, the year 2023 is pivotal to assess the world’s collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals. Parties will receive further guidance on aligning their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), and consultation will be delivered for addressing the gaps in the implementation process.

Welcoming the participants of the event, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Gayane Gabrielyan, presented the objectives of the event and shared Armenia’s experience on drafting its LT-LEDS, the current status of the process as  Armenia’s  contribution towards global climate action.

Mr. Erwann Martin from the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), delivered welcoming remarks, emphasizing the increasing vulnerability of Eastern Partnership Countries against the climate change in the context of recent developments in the region.

Armenia has started developing its LT-LEDS with the support of the EU-UNDP “EU4Climate” project from March 2022. The document sets the criteria and targets per sectors for climate change mitigation: energy, transport, agriculture, land use and forestry.

The Reginal Coordinator of “EU4Climate” project, Yevgen Groza highlighted the financial, technical support, as well as consultations and guidance that the EU has delivered to the EaP countries, and in particular to Armenia.

“Armenia’s LEDS has been drafted based on the technical studies carried out per sectors, as well as on the “Energy Saving and Renewable Energy Programme of Armenia for 2022-2030”, mentioned Mr. Groza.

Concluding her speech, Ms. Gabrielyan expressed her gratitude to the European Union for financial and technical assistance, and to the partners of the United Nations Development Programme in Armenia for supporting the complicated process of drafting such a key document for Armenia.

"With updating its NDCs in 2022, Armenia has declared its commitment to reducing global emissions by decreasing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. And the draft of the LEDS is another proof that Armenia has joined the global fight against climate change. Since the implementation of the targets set in LEDS depends essentially on the selection of the financial components, the Government of Armenia is considering to involve innovative climate financial mechanisms."

The event was attended by representatives from the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission, EaP countries, the United Nations Development Programme in Armenia and international sectoral experts.