On November 23, a workshop on “Issues of the climate change Measurement, Reporting and Verification system under The Paris Agreement: Energy Sector” took place in the frame of “EU4Climate” UNDP-EU and “Building Armenia’s National Transparency Framework under Paris Agreement” (CBIT) UNDP-GEF Projects.

The workshop aimed at presenting to the stakeholders the roadmap for the implementation of the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in Armenia, as well as in the framework of the evaluation of the progress of the implementation of Armenia’s Nationally Determined Contributions 2021-2030, to discuss the main principles of selection of key mitigation policies and measures.

During the event, UNDP Climate Change Program Coordinator Diana Harutyunyan and Chief Specialist of the Climate Policy Department of the RA Ministry of Environment Voskehat Isakhanyan delivered welcoming remarks.

In her speech Diana Harutyunyan emphasized the importance of a robust MRV system in regard to the assessment of the progress towards the implementation of the country's commitments under the Paris Agreement and enabling proper reporting, as well as mainstreaming climate change in the energy sector. In addition, Mrs. Harutyunyan noted that the system will provide an opportunity to identify areas in need of improvement, assess the efficiency of existing climate policies and develop more targeted and effective strategies.

In her welcoming remarks Voskehat Isakhanyan noted that, in Armenia, as in the vast majority of countries within the Paris Agreement, the energy sector is the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, increasing the accuracy of emission measurement and reporting in this sector, identifying related problems and pinpointing potential solutions, introducing technological innovations to reduce emissions in the Armenian economy are among the urgent problems the country faces today. Mrs. Isakhanyan also outlined the importance of developing renewable, alternative energy sources not only to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement but also to contribute to Armenia’s energy self-sufficiency.

At the workshop, Marzena Chodor, an expert from the "EU4Climate" UNDP-EU project, introduced the roadmap for the implementation of the MRV system of GHG emissions at the installations level in Armenia. She highlighted its significance in ensuring the accuracy of the country's GHG inventory and facilitating activities like emissions trading and taxation. "EU4Climate" UNDP-EU project expert Maria Purzner presented the gap analysis of GHG emissions inventories related to data from the private sector, possible solutions for overcoming identified issues as well as its importance in enabling GHG inventory with higher tier methods. UNDP-GEF CBIT project team leader Davit Shindyan and Energy sector expert Tigran Sekoyan presented main results of the Armenia’s National GHG Inventory 1990-2019, emissions from the Energy sector in the given period, as well as main principles of selection of key mitigation policies and measures in the Energy sector.

Nazik Margaryan, a member of the working group of the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Climate Change, Senior Specialist of the Energy Department of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure presented the overview of the renewable energy sector as well as monitoring and progress evaluation issues of “Energy Saving and Renewable Energy for 2022-2030 Program”.

Over 30 representatives of Ministries of Environment (MoE) and Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, MoE "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, MoE “Center of Expertise for Environmental Impact Assessment” SNCO, MoE “Environmental Program Implementation Office”, Statistics Committee, Public Services Regulatory Commission, public organisation and UNDP attended the event.

Agenda and presented materials can be found here.