Category: National governments, Emission inventories

Developing Saint Lucia’s GHG Inventory

Aether provided capacity building training to the national GHG inventory team of Saint Lucia. A new greenhouse gas inventory was developed together with a National Inventory Report and the inventory Biennial Update Report chapter.

The Challenge

As a non-Annex I Party to the convention under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Saint Lucia is required to submit Biennial Update Reports (BURs) every two years. One of the requirements of a BUR is the compilation of a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.

These regular reporting obligations to the UNFCCC can pose a challenge where institutional memory and technical resources are limited. Saint Lucia’s previous inventory was compiled by external consultants, and the information regarding methodologies, data sources and assumptions was not held within the current national inventory team. Therefore, the knowledge required to compile the GHG inventory was not fully retained by national institutions, leading to significant difficulties in the ongoing compilation and improvement of the inventory. Through funding provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United National Environment Program, Aether supported the Department of Sustainable Development of Saint Lucia to compile a new GHG inventory. The key project objectives were to:

  • Fully engage national experts in hands-on data collection and inventory compilation
  • Compile and deliver a high quality GHG inventory by Saint Lucian experts
  • Establish a sustainable GHG inventory system run by Saint Lucian experts capable of producing GHG inventory updates and continuous improvement.

Achieving the above objectives, required direct hands-on interactive sessions. Unfortunately, the worldwide COVID-19 health crisis resulting in lockdowns in both Saint Lucia and Europe created an additional challenge in this regard. Participants and trainers were all working at home. As such, the two workshops were conducted remotely, rather than in-country as planned.

The Solution

Aether worked with the Department of Sustainable Development of Saint Lucia to compile a GHG inventory for the years 2000 – 2018. GHG estimates were produced in line with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and are, therefore, suitable for international reporting needs. In order to document data and methodologies in a transparent manner all compilation spreadsheets and underlying data sets have been archived on Saint Lucia’s recently developed National Environmental Information System.

The key aspect of this project was the training and engagement of national experts and stakeholders. During this project, two workshops were undertaken to support the development of the national expertise. It was imperative that we enabled confident ownership of the GHG inventory by the appropriate Saint Lucian organisations (institutions, departments, private companies etc.). These workshops were supported by a training plan customised to the needs of the Saint Lucia inventory team, and mentoring sessions held throughout the project. A Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) plan was developed, together with an improvement plan, in order to document the quality checks undertaken and identified improvements for future inventory cycles. The crucial steps taken in order to successfully train the national inventory team (despite a global pandemic) included:

  • A close collaboration between sectoral mentors and national inventory experts throughout the project
  • Short weekly training sessions to cover general inventory aspects during the second half of the project
  • Two interactive workshops utilising virtual breakout groups, short focused sessions and plenary group discussions

The Result

This project delivered the instruments needed for a sustainable GHG inventory compilation system with tailored inventory compilation spreadsheets, training manual, QA/QC plan and improvement plan. It marks the beginning of an enhanced institutional arrangement for the GHG inventory compilation process in Saint Lucia. The national GHG inventory team now has the necessary tools for compiling and further developing the inventory.

Testimonials:

 “The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team.” – Shanna Emmanuel, BUR Project Coordinator.

“Saint Lucia embraces the professional approach with which this project was undertaken by Aether, particularly their ability to develop mentorship relations with local government experts. This provides a basis for ensuring that the pool of local experts remain engaged and recognized over successive processes.” – Annette Rattigan-Leo, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer.

Photo credit: Kris Charles Photography

See all case studies

Related case studies

Tanzania GHG Inventory, Projections and National System (MRV Portal)

Category: National governments, Emission inventories

Aether worked with the Vice President’s Office of the United Republic of Tanzania to develop an historical and projected GHG inventory and a sustainable national inventory system. The project delivered a tailored version of our innovative MRV portal. It was guided by high levels of stakeholder consultation and provided training to Tanzanian experts at two workshops.

Read case study

Support to the States of Jersey on GHG emissions and climate action

Category: National governments, emission inventories, policies and measures

Aether’s infographics and reports have encouraged engagement of the public in Jersey with climate change issues. We have supported the States of Jersey Department of the Environment for 3 years across a range of climate related topics.

Read case study

Montenegro Climate Change Action MRV System

Category: National governments, Policies and measures

In cooperation with UNDP through the GEF funded project “Development of Montenegro’s Second BUR”, Aether has been supporting Montenegro in developing a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for its climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.

Read case study

News

Latest news

Posted on: 01 October 2024

Addressing the Inconsistencies in Investment GHG Emission Reporting

Inconsistent GHG emission data in investment reporting stems from undervalued resources, practitioner bias, and confusion over emission ownership, highlighting the urgent need for robust institutional frameworks to enhance accuracy and comparability for effective climate action.

Read full story

Posted on: 06 September 2024

Planning for Crisis: How the UK's National Planning Policy needs to step up to the Climate Emergency

The UK's planning system needs a more adaptive approach within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to effectively address climate change and achieve net zero goals. Without significant reform, it risks continuing to undermine climate efforts and fail to protect communities from extreme weather.

Read full story

Posted on: 28 June 2024

Supreme Court Ruling Creates Clean Slate to Elevate Weight of Environmental Impact in Infrastructure Development

Communicating harm from greenhouse gas emissions is critical to the debate needed for decisions on major development and infrastructure projects. The 20th June 2024 Supreme Court of Justice decision creates a clean slate to move forward on the need for better evidence on the significance of environmental harm caused by greenhouse gas pollution.

Read full story

Posted on: 22 March 2024

An Update on Aether's Recent AQA Services

Aether's air quality team has been providing consultancy services across the UK. Recent projects include EIAs for residential and mixed-use developments in Somerset, ensuring compliance with air quality objectives through dispersion modelling, and advising on ventilation strategies for a redevelopment project in Westminster.

Read full story

Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional.”

Clare Bayley, Defra

“Aether delivered training workshops and generated learning materials for our SSN members, providing technical content in a manageable and comprehendible format. We particularly benefitted from their extensive knowledge and ability to interpret the needs of our members into the training materials.”

Jennifer Anderson, Sustainable Scotland Network

“A heartfelt thank you to all the Aether team for this very comprehensive review – this is certainly turning out to be one of the most beneficial capacity building projects I have ever been involved in.”

Saviour Vassallo, Senior Environment Protection Officer, Malta Resources Authority

“Saint Lucia embraces the professional approach with which this project was undertaken by Aether, particularly their ability to develop mentorship relations with local government experts. This provides a basis for ensuring that the pool of local experts remain engaged and recognized over successive processes.”

Annette Rattigan-Leo, Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer

“It is always an absolute pleasure working with Aether. I always know what is expected of me. Their work ethic is of a very high standard and projects are always handled in a very professional manner. I have learnt many skills in terms of project management, quality control and workshop training styles from Aether and I hope to carry these principles forward in my own work. I look forward to collaborating with Aether more in the future.”

Luanne Stevens, Gondwana

“Professional team and very collaborative communication. Effective result in terms of suggestions for improvement in the quality of the inventory and proposals on how to streamline specific topics.”

Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research

“The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team.”

Shanna Emmanuel, Saint Lucia BUR Project Coordinator

“The team at Aether works very professionally and communicates very well which makes working with them a pleasure. Outputs are delivered on time to high quality. The team brings the rigour of technical knowledge and expertise and finds innovative ways of communicating complex messages. I would be happy to recommend the Aether team to organisations working on analysing and presenting emissions information in the public domain.”

Fiona Glover, States of Jersey

“If we have a need for any more reports in the future Aether will be first on my list.”

Alan Hardy, Kyson Design

“Chris was excellent to work with and always very pro active in making suggestions, taking work forward and applying his considerable technical knowledge in effective ways.”

Robert Vaughan, Defra Air Quality Team

Required form 'ContactES' does not exist.