Project

PG07 Climate-Resilient Green Growth Project

At a Glance

Strategic Outcomes SO1 Reduced GHG emission, SO2 Creation of green jobs, SO4 Improved air quality, SO6 Enhanced adaptation to climate change
Start Date Q1  Feb 28 2019
End Date q4 Dec 31 2022
Funding Source Earmarked
Actual Budget (USD) 4,415,152
Budget Percentage %
Actual Expenditure (USD)
Status Active
GGGI Share (USD)
Poverty and Gender Policy Markers
Name of Client (Lead/Prime implementer if GGGI is part of a consortium)
Participating Organization (Funding/donor) Australia High Commission ( Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
Name of consortium members, if any
Thematic Area
  • Cross Cutting
  • Climate Resilient and Green Growth
GGGI Project Code : PG07
Project Manager and Staff +
Peniamina Leavai

Deputy Country Representative, Papua New Guinea

Hohit Seyoum Gebreegziabher

Project Officer, Papua New Guinea

Jennifer Shirley Nila

Finance and Administrative Associate, Papua New Guinea

Sharon Tubal

Provincial Project Officer, Papua New Guinea

Silina Tagagau

Provincial Project Officer, Papua New Guinea

Trevor Galgal

Senior Program Officer, Papua New Guinea

Private: Jisu Min

Sr. Analyst -Policy Solutions (Integration)

James Sheppard

Specialist, Impact and Evaluation

Jason Pundu

Provincial Project Officer, Papua New Guinea

Project Context

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has experienced consistent economic growth and made steady yet modest progress across various social development indicators since the early 2000s. However, this has mainly been driven by reliance on non-sustainable extraction and export of oil, gas, and minerals. PNG is characterized as a dual economy, with extractive industries providing a large share of GDP and government revenue, while subsistence agriculture supports nearly 80% of the population. Recent economic prosperity has helped drive improvements in social conditions such as increased life expectancy and education. However, overall, translating economic growth into a strong quality of life gains for most ordinary citizens remains a major challenge.

Climate change also presents a challenge to PNG’s future economic growth and social development prospects. Floods are estimated to cause USD 8-20 million of damage and affect up to 26,000 people each year on average. Landslides that result from heavy rainfall destroy houses and roads, cutting off access to remote communities. Livelihoods dependent on agriculture, as well as coastal ecosystems (coral reefs and mangroves), are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. If left unchecked, it is estimated that climate change could cause losses of up to 15% of the country’s GDP by 2100.

Despite these challenges, PNG has an abundance of natural resource assets that, if harnessed properly, can deliver substantial economic and social development benefits. In recognition of these challenges and opportunities, the Government of PNG (GoPNG) has crafted a bold and transformational long-term development strategy in PNG Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Responsible Sustainable Development (StaRS). The strategy states that strengthening PNG’s climate resilience and pursuing an inclusive, green growth development path is the focus of GoPNG’s development strategy.

Achieving this vision will require GoPNG to embed inclusive climate-resilient green growth (CRGG) into its development planning processes and to convert these plans into concrete, investible CRGG initiatives. Although various development partners have supported GoPNG in environmental sustainability, social inclusion, gender equality, climate change adaptation, or economic development in recent years, such efforts have mostly been very localized, project-driven, and not subsequently replicated or scaled up.

Project Aim

GGGI is leading a 4-year (2019-2022) project to support the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) to achieve inclusive Climate Resilience and Green Growth interventions. The project is funded by the Australian Government and is implemented in three target provinces (Enga, Milne Bay, and New Ireland) with plans to replicate to four additional provinces (Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, Manus, and Morobe). The project is aligned with the PNG Vision 2050, StaRS, the CCDA Corporate Plan, the National REDD+ Strategy (NRS), the PNG Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and the SDG 30 actions by 2030 Roadmap

Project outcomes

The project proposes to deliver a set of outputs grouped into 3 interrelated components: (1) Provincial CRGG planning; (2) CRGG project preparation; and (3) Enabling finance for CRGG. The outcomes for each component are below:

• Component 1 outcome: the successful integration of CRGG into provincial planning processes.

 End of Project indicator/target: CRGG priorities successfully mainstreamed into the Medium-Term Development Plans and/or Annual Development Budgets in three provinces.
 Intermediate indicator/target: National and provincial authorities have improved capacity for CRGG planning and budgeting.

• Component 2 outcome: PNG authorities are mobilizing climate finance for high-quality CRGG projects.

 End of Project indicator/target: USD 20 million mobilized for CRGG projects, with at least one project designed to deliver socio-economic co-benefits to women and girls that meet the W+ certification standard.
 Intermediate indicator/target: Pipeline of projects in three provinces identified and approved for preparation.

• Component 3 outcome: PNG has identified new financing options and vehicles for CRGG.

 End of Project indicator/target: At least one new financing vehicle operationalized that helps diversify financing options available for CRGG.
 Intermediate indicator/target: Proposals to address financing barriers to scale-up CRGG activities are developed and agreed.

Project Management

The project is steered and guided by a Project Management Committee (PMC) consisting of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Climate Change Development Authority (CCDA), Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM), and Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs (DPLGA), and GGGI. The PMC is in charge of progress reviews and approvals on major milestones as well as project plans. The project is also managed by a joint project implementation team of GGGI and CCDA; GGGI is in charge of the full range of tasks on project planning, administration, execution, output deliveries, and donor reporting fully reflecting PNG’s institutional framework and requirement of Australia DFAT as well as following its established project management cycles and other organizational procedures and regulations. CCDA provides project-related oversights and agreements on day-to-day project decisions. In addition, a Project Working Group provides technical direction and support to the project and ensures quality control of project work plans and key outputs prior to PMC’s approval.

 

 

Monitoring Evaluation, Reporting, and Improvement

The project has a robust and systematic Monitoring Evaluation, Reporting, and Improvement (MERI) plan. The latter outlines the full details of how MERI will be carried out during the project lifespan, in alignment with DFAT’s M&E Standards, GoPNG’s existing systems and processes, and GGGI’s corporate requirements. The main purpose of the MERI plan is to:

(1) to meet the transparency and accountability needs of the PMC, and
(2) to help drive learning and continuous improvement.

The plan has been developed based on a set of principles which include alignment with the management decision-making needs of the project, a results-based management approach, rooted in the theory of change, and following a participatory and inclusive process.

Results So Far

Since the Climate-Resilient Green Growth (CRGG) project started implementation in 2019, the following activities/outputs have been delivered:

• Partnerships brokered with the pilot provinces (Enga, Milne Bay, and New Ireland) to promote ownership, facilitate institutionalization, and scale-up.

• Initial CRGG scoping reviews were conducted in the pilot provinces to identify entry points for CRGG mainstreaming.

• CRGG assessments completed in the pilot provinces.

•  Gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) assessment completed in the pilot provinces and a GESI Action Plan development.

• CRGG project ideas prioritization completed and project design/proposals development initiated in the pilot provinces.

• CRGG baseline capacity assessments conducted.

•The Credit Guarantee Cooperation (CGC) for Agri-SMEs was established in 2021 with an initial capital of approximately PGK50 million / USD 15 million (60% owned by Bank of PNG, 40% owned by Kumul Holdings).

 

2022 Activities

For 2022, the project aims to complete the following activities:

  • Hold an annual reflection workshop to present 2021 project progress and outcomes and document key lessons for forward planning of the project.
  • Develop and submit the CRGG bankable project proposals to potential funders.
  • Complete the CRGG Strategies for Enga, Milne Bay, and New Ireland Provinces to support the integration of CRGG into provincial development plans, including capital investments, annual budgets, and sectoral plans.
  • Support the Bank of Papua New Guinea in the CGC’s operationalization by assisting the development of a Loan Referral Platform
  • Prepare the  replication plan to roll out CRGG to the shadow provinces (Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, Manus, and Morobe) selected to take part in the CRGG Phase II