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LEDS GP Annual Event: What to expect from the Sub-national Integration Working Group

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Scott Muller, co-ordinator of the Sub-national Integration Working Group (SNI-WG) of LEDS GP looks ahead to the group’s in-depth session at the Annual Event, which explores how to adapt innovative, practical initiatives that enhance and scale-up low emission, climate resilient development to their country’s particular context.

As conveyed by the NAZCA Climate Action Portal, the increase in climate initiatives by sub-national governments (SNGs) and non-state actors (NSAs) is undoubtedly bringing much needed and untapped greenhouse gas mitigation potential to fruition. While this may help fill the “emissions gap” towards achieving the 1.5º- 2ºC trajectory, the concerted coordination and vertical integration of climate initiatives is a unique opportunity to capture significant additional values. It not only increases the probability of achieving more aggressive Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), but also improves synergies with concurrent national development objectives and other multilateral agreements (such as the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals).

Within the various initiatives of the LEDS GP, the thematic Working Group on Sub-national Integration (SNI-WG) was created in 2013 to support learning and facilitate collaboration between national and sub-national governments for accelerated, effective climate actions.  Today, the SNI-WG counts with the participation of more than 400 institutions and professionals working across Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Over the past two years, the SNI-WG has realized several activities including organizing panels at multiple regional and global forums, hosted peer-learning discussions, published reports and case studies and facilitated technical workshops, webinars and provided advisory Remote Assistance on LEDS (REAL) support upon request. This process has generated observations, feedback and insights on the potential of the vertical integration and coordination of sub-national climate actions to accelerate and scale up both local and global emission reductions.

The coordination and vertical integration of subnational climate actions can:

  • Raise national government ambitions for more aggressive greenhouse gas mitigation commitments
  • Scale up and unlock new mitigation opportunities at the local level
  • Help to alleviate domestic political constraints to transformational
    climate actions
  • Enable ‘safe learning’ and strengthen domestic institutions
  • Confront particular technical barriers and limits to subnational and non-state actors’ climate actions
  • Strengthen measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) to improve the consistency of subnational and national climate data sets
  • Create a more bankable, ‘low-risk’ environment for green infrastructure investments
  • Expand and accelerate the flow of international public and private climate finance to cities, urban infrastructure and priority local issues
  • Accelerate the implementation of ‘bundled’ national development priorities to improve synergies with concurrent national development objectives and other multilateral agreements.

At this year’s LEDS GP Annual Event in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the SNI-WG interactive peer learning session starts with two expert practitioners each sharing a concrete example of an innovative, practical initiative that is enhancing and scaling-up low emission, climate resilient development in their country. First, Ms. Carolina Hernandez will discuss how Colombia’s Ministry of Housing, City and Territorial Development (MINVIVIENDA) has linked adaptation and mitigation policies for integrated urban and rural development to achieve the Republic’s ambitious INDC. Then Mr. Pathom Chaiyapruksaton from the Thailand GHG Management Organization (TGO) will share the country’s innovative “Carbon Footprints for Organizations (CFO)” program. This web-based GHG reporting platform demonstrates national model practice for verification and baselining of emissions from sub-national actors.

Participants will then break into roundtable discussions for an in-depth exploration on how to adapt similar approaches to their country’s particular context and to outline what support from the SNI-WG would assist their efforts.

Expected Session Outcomes:

  • Improved capacity of participants to design and implement strategies for sub-national actors to achieve national climate targets.
  • Identify additional country and sector specific challenges and solutions to improve the coordination and vertical integration of sub-national climate actions.
  • Collect participant recommendations on new or additional support needed to improve Sub-national/ National collaboration on LEDS.

Select Pre-event reading recommendations: