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Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
“Capacity Building for
Implementing a
‘Measurable, Verifiable and Reportable
(MRV)’ Model
in a Mid-Sized Thai Municipality”
Shom Teoh
([email protected] ) Programme Manager, Sustainable Cities, IGES
Session 3342: “Developing Capacity through Low Carbon Initiatives, Climate Adaptation and Increased
Resilience to Climate Change Impacts in the Asia-Pacific Region”
Our Common Future Under Climate Change Conference (7 – 10 July 2015; Paris, France)
This presentation is not for citation. Opinions are those of the author, and do not necessarily
reflect the official opinion of IGES.
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Project Overview
Overall Objective:
To build capacity of local governments in East Asia to
become ‘pioneers’ and ‘policy leaders’ in low carbon city
development, particularly in MRV of GHG mitigation projects.
Cities involved:
• Indonesia: Surabaya, Medan
• Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong
• Thailand: Phitsanulok (120,000), Nonthaburi (250,000)
• Philippines: Cebu
• China: Shanghai
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Research Questions
To understand:
• How to effectively train local government officials to
develop as well as sustain a municipal and city-
wide GHG Inventory (using prevailing
protocols/standards?)
Are the expectations of prevailing protocols
realistic and pragmatic?
• What are the practical challenges and potential
solutions to address these challenges?
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City Overview
Population: 120,000 persons (considered a ‘large’ municipality in Thailand)
Profile:
• Northern transport/logistics hub of
Thailand
• Provincial capital (government hub)
• Economic sectors: Services (62%),
agriculture (28%) and industry
(10%)
Other characteristics
• Recognised (won national, regional and international awards) in its
environmental protection initiatives especially in solid waste
management
• ‘Beginner’ to GHG inventory and MRV
• Considered ‘experienced’ in working with international organisations
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Five Milestones towards Low Carbon Municipality/City
1. Conduct a baseline GHG emissions inventory
(Municipal & City-wide) and forecast
2. Adopt an emissions reduction target for the
forecast year
3. Develop a Local Climate Action Plan
4. Implement policies and measures
5. Monitor & Verify Results
Reference: ICLEI 5 Milestone Methodology
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Summary of Activities & Outputs
Activities Phitsanulok IGES Partners Output Set up formal working group for low
carbon city Coordination Support
Progress Reports to
APN Stock-taking
Provide and
collect data
Provide
guidance
Nonthaburi
Municipality, WRI,
research
community
Training
• JICA-IGES Kitakyushu
• Mid-term WS/Training
• Final WS/Training
• In-between training (as
necessary)
Help to organise
and participate in
the training,
Provide feedback
Conduct
and
Coordinate
the training
JICA, Nonthaburi
and universities
GHG Inventory Development
Collect data and
set up necessary
institutions to
sustain it
Make
calculation
s and
analysis,
provide
guidance
Research
community
Municipality In-house
Energy Reporting
System
Inaugural GHG
Inventory of
Phitsanulok
Municipality
(Publication &
Webpage)
APN/IGES Policy Brief
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Achievements
Specific Objective:
• Develop the municipality’s capacity to establish a draft city GHG
inventory and sustainable institutions (working group)/data
management systems for that (referring to pilot global protocol
(GPC) for community-level greenhouse gases)
Final Output: • Phitsanulok Municipality’s
Inaugural City GHG Inventory
report (in English and Thai)
• Sustained institutions within
Phitsanulok Municipality for
maintaining the inventory
August 2015
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Municipal GHG Emissions 2013
By Sector By Scope
Total GHG Emissions: 24,779 tCO2e
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Achievements
• The first complete municipality-managed building list
• The first in-house Energy Reporting System developed
by the IT Department
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How ‘good’ was the Inaugural GHG Inventory?
1. Relevance
Supports the national policy to reduce electricity consumption in municipal buildings by 10%
(unfortunately, not strictly monitored and enforced, while ‘perverse subsidies’ are also in
existence)
The baseline data was useful to support Phitsanulok’s sustainable development goals
2. Completeness
Municipal GHG Inventory is reasonably complete for important sectors, for a first attempt;
Citywide GHG Inventory still requires substantial future effort, especially for mobile energy
sector
3. Consistency
Referred to international and national protocols (TGO, ICLEI, WRI etc.)
4. Transparency
Data sources and methodology were clearly explained.
5. Accuracy
Data quality should be improved over time
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Key Challenges Faced
Most data are already collected in pre-existing procedures, but are
fragmented, incomplete or lack accuracy
• Some data (especially bottom-up data for city-wide GHG
inventory) needs cooperation from the private sector or other
government agencies (e.g. fuel stations, electricity generation
authority)
• Some data cannot be collected as the existing database does not
have such functions (especially to delineate data according to
organisational and municipal geo-political boundary)
Lack of dedicated, capable and cooperative staff
• Lack of practical incentives and low awareness of benefits
• ‘Silo mentality’ among department heads
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Recommendations to Local Governments
• GHG accounting ability is an indicator of progressive city
management, which may help attract international partners and
investments to advance the city’s sustainable development.
• Helps to prepare for compliance to legally mandated GHG
reporting (eventually)
• Much of the data required for a municipal-level GHG Inventory is
already available. A tailored approach to create and sustain a
systematic/routine approach is needed to compile these data.
• The model demonstrated in Phitsanulok Municipality may be a
useful reference for other municipalities of a similar class and
organisational characteristics:
Decentralise data collection responsibility to individual
departments/buildings (facilitated by a ‘neutral’ department’ e.g.
IT Department)
An in-house online energy use reporting system.
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Policy Implications (National & International)
• Given the technical complexity of city-level GHG accounting,
initiatives by local authorities risk being a ‘one-off’,
unsustainable effort.
Essential to create realistic incentives (legal, financial,
reputational benefits etc. in both direct and indirect
forms)
• In the absence of a legal mandate for city-level GHG
accounting, a non-regulatory approach that is facilitated by
a higher-level national body or external party may be
recommendable.
‘Peer to peer learning’
Reward notable efforts (reputational incentives)
Conduct benchmarking of performance within the
country, as well as with other countries.
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Other Implications (National & International)
• The baseline capacity of local authorities (in developing
countries) is generally low (lower than general
expectations!).
Needs a long-term perspective. Adequate post-
training technical guidance is necessary, and training
materials need to be in local languages.
Training should involve not only local authorities,
but all other stakeholders who support/influence data
collection efforts by local authorities, e.g. electricity and
water utilities, petrol stations, audit agency etc.
Target the capable and neutral persons
(decisionmakers plus working-level persons)
within/supporting the municipality (differs according to
each situation).
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Other Implications (National & International)
• Current data management systems of local, national
and relevant agencies are either not able, or well-
designed to organise GHG data within a city’s geo-
political boundaries, as requested by global protocols.
• More in-depth technical support and guidance on data
collection and interpretation (beyond what is provided in
current global/national protocols), esp. for transport and
building sector emissions.
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Thank you for listening!
Education Public Works
Public Health & Env. City partners and ‘fans’
Finance Social
Welfare
Tech
Services &
Planning
Water
Supply Office of
Municipal Clerk
Towards a Low Carbon Phitsanulok!