| Overview : The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT) has expanded its initiatives to address the issue of climate change, by executing a project to develop and implement a detailed sectoral carbon reduction strategy. This project has thus far sought to identify strategic elements and policies for reducing carbon emissions and is currently in the process of developing an institutional capacity building programme for the development of carbon reduction strategies. This project has long term aims of creating an enabling environment for sustainable development and achieving significant reduction of carbon emissions.
Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory to a number of conventions and has international obligations that mandate national actions to address the global environmental challenges. Specifically, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Trinidad and Tobago is seeking to contribute to the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere through the development and implementation of carbon reduction strategies.
Trinidad and Tobago has developed a National Climate Change Policy that aims to provide policy guidance for the development of an appropriate administrative and legislative framework, in harmony with other sectoral policies for the pursuance of a low carbon development path. The Policy refers to the following adaptation and mitigation measures:
-reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all emitting sectors
-enhancing carbon sinks;
-protecting human health and the natural environment;
-educating the wider public on the potential impacts of climate change and recommended adaptation strategies.
GHG emission inventories for all emitting sectors have been compiled as part of the reporting obligations of T&T as a signatory to the UNFCCC. A recent national inventory identified three main sectors as increasing sources of GHG/CO2 emissions: electrical power generation, industrial and transport.
The outlined tasks will be critical in enabling T&T to inter alia fulfil its obligations under the UNFCCC and develop a structure for carbon reduction strategy implementation and ensuring that senior policy and decision-makers, and staff in general are provided with a better understanding of the role carbon emissions play in climate change as well as their roles and responsibilities in reducing the carbon emissions at a sectoral and national level so as to develop strategies to reduce carbon emissions within their specific sectors.
As such, the GORTT in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commenced this project to develop sectoral carbon reduction strategies for each of the electrical power generation, industrial and transport sectors in keeping with the objectives of the National Climate Change Policy as well as developing capacity to address evolving commitments under the UNFCCC negotiations.
The GORTT is seeking suitable professionals to work with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, to examine the developed carbon reduction strategy and the capacity building programme for the development of an implementation framework for the carbon reduction strategy. |
