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Consultation Workshop on Implementing Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in Lao PDR

Group photo session of the Co-Chairs, Dr. Jason Lee, Country Representative of GGGI Lao PDR and Mr. Sangkhane Thiangthammong, Director General of the Department of Climate Change and key stakeholders at the Consultation Workshop on Implementing Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in Lao PDR on November 13 – 14 at the National Convention Center, Vientiane.

On November 13-14, the GGGI Lao PDR team in partnership with the Department of Climate Change (DCC) of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) held a two-day consultation workshop on implementing Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in Lao PDR at the National Convention Center. This event included representatives of the National Institute of Economic Research (NIER), relevant ministry officials, key sector stakeholders, and expert principal specialists from the GGGI Seoul headquarters.

Although the government of Lao PDR has made efforts to make meaningful progress on the implementation of the NDC, there are still a number of challenges to deliver on the goals of the NDC. The event served as a platform for attendees across sectors including agriculture, forestry, water resources, transport and urban development, and energy, to share knowledge and experiences on NDC implementation, discuss the barriers and challenges they are facing, and identify opportunities to enhance NDC implementation.

The workshop aimed to meet the following objectives:

  • Enhance capacity for developing NDC targets and planning NDC implementation, share experiences, best practices, and opportunities and associated challenges
  • Enhance understanding of the linkages and coordination amongst the National Green Growth Strategy, the Sustainable Development Goals, the NDC implementation plan, and the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV);
  • Raise awareness on international climate finance including the Green Climate Fund

The co-chairs of the consultation workshop, Mr. Sangkhane Thiangthammavong Director General of DCC and Dr. Jason Lee Country Representative for GGGI in Lao PDR led participants and facilitated constructive dialogue and discussions. Dr. Saykham Voladet of NIER also joined the workshop to discuss the progress of the National Green Growth Strategy (NGGS) and Green Growth Promotion Center. Climate action and green growth are inextricably linked and participants discussed synergies between the NDC and NGGS and how coordination can be improved.

To conclude, the event proved to be a great learning experience for all attendees as exemplified by Mr. Sangkhane Thiangthammong’s closing remark: “amazed with plentiful information, beyond our expectation of the NDC, MRV, and the availability of climate finance globally.” GGGI Lao PDR continues to support the DCC of MoNRE and is glad to have had a productive and successful workshop.