Greenhouse gas emissions: Pakistan to launch first-ever MRV system

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, in its concerted and active effort to tackle the crisis of climate change has achieved another milestone of establishing its first-ever measurement, reporting and verification and monitoring and evaluation (MRV&ME) system for monitoring its greenhouse gas emissions.

The system will be an information technology-based solution that will help collate scientific evidence from across the country on its carbon emissions causing environmental degradation for informed policy-making and course setting to achieve internationally pledged commitments and targets, the state news agency reported.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination’s Global Climate Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC) organized a three-day forum titled ‘Transparency Platform for Pakistan (RISQ): A Climate Transparency: Knowledge Sharing, the Climate Transparency project in Pakistan.’

In his opening remarks, Head-Agriculture and Coordination, GCISC, Arif Goheer said the vagaries of climate change were evident and demanded a concerted and continuous effort to overcome the challenges posed by climate-induced disasters.

“Scientific evidence clearly indicates that climate action should be effective and robust which is known as transparency in the jargon of climate science. In Paris Agreement, Enhanced Transparency Framework was conceived to clearly monitor GHG emissions and measures taken to cope with it and resources deployed for climate action,” he added.

Goheer said in Pakistan MRV concept was started late whereas the former Director General Environment of Climate Change Ministry, Irfan Tariq and German International Development Organisation (GIZ) supported the Centre to hold MRV workshop in 2021.

“We developed MRV framework for GHG inventory and went to the provinces to hold training workshops, shortlisted indicators for water sector and earmarked special resources for the framework. This year we held series of 17 seminars in Ramazan,” he added.

The GCISC Head said the three-day forum was designed with the objective to apprise the academia and intelligentsia on the MRV project progress, new interventions done and build their capacity to use this software and do exercises on mitigation systems

“I expect participants guidance and interventions to improve this software,” he said and added that the first day would focus on orientation, second day to take stock of third national communication report, forest reference emissions level and third day to have exercises on mitigation plus practical sessions on the software.

GIZ, Head Climate Change Programme, Baptiste Chatre said the GIZ, MoCC and GCISC cooperation has been over the years that had matured and abled to represent transparency platform.

“We held workshop on GHG inventory and proud to provide Pakistan’s government with the tools to cope with the risks of climate change. This effort is an international obligation for the government of Pakistan as per its international protocols. Climate data is important for the country to tap climate finance and Pakistan is not getting global finance as per its needs and damages,” he added.

Chatre said Pakistan was very well equipped in dealing with climate change data management, whereas the GCISC has the support of the MoCC which was a federal focal point.

“We have a clear framework for GHG inventory, MRV, and RISQ platform that are required at international level. We will also roll out new projects in the coming days like those related to Climate Risk Financing, long-term strategies in mitigation and adaptation,” he said.

Germany and Pakistan governments had signed a cooperation agreement on climate change that would bring more funding in this regard, he added.

CITEPA, France Ghislaine T. Gurian informed the participants that the CITEPA started working with GCISC and GIZ in 2021 and got the RISQ web-based transparency platform to track progress on mitigation and adaptation which was a tracking platform.

She added that her organisation had also started developing communication tools as the key challenge in the whole process was to manage data, capacity building and find a nexus between academia, policy making and science.

She added that the IT aspects like this platform insisted on need for consistency both internally making countries to work in collaboration among partners with pragmatism and humility.

Guest of Honour, former DG Environment, Climate Change Ministry, Irfan Tariq congratulated GCISC for keeping up the moment for relevant interventions.

He added that the countries like Pakistan were at the receiving end of climate change whereas this platform would provide accurate data for informed and precise projections.

He thanked GIZ and CITEPA France for their support and termed the project as not only a mutual learning opportunity but rather data and experience sharing forum.

DG Environment and Communication, MoCC&EC, the chief guest, Asif Sahibzada presented shields to the panelists and guests including members of CITEPA France and GIZ.

In his keynote address, Asif Sahibzada said climate change was a real threat to Pakistan, whereas its GHG emissions were very miniscule.

“We are under a forced adaptation due to spiking up climate crisis. Robust mechanism to track emissions and deploy resources to set off its impact has become necessary.

The Paris Agreement through its Article-13 established the enhanced transparency framework and its purpose is to provide clear understanding of climate action and help parties to achieve it’s NDCs,” he added.