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Tonga commences development of its NDC Implementation Roadmap and NDC Investment Plan

Nuku’alofa, Tonga – On 27 May 2021, the Tonga Department of Climate Change at the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC) hosted a national, virtual inception workshop to kick-start work on developing Tonga’s NDC Implementation Roadmap and NDC Investment Plan (with project pipeline).

Delivered by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) as an implementation partner of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub, this work is a natural next step in Tonga’s NDC journey following on from the successful submission of its Second NDC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2020.

CEO of MEIDECC, Mr. Paula Ma’u delivering his opening remarks at the inception workshop.
Source: Tonga DCC

Delivering his opening remarks at the inception workshop, Chief Executive Officer for MEIDECC, Mr. Paula Ma’u recognized the vital participation by stakeholders from across a wide range of government line ministries and departments. He also highlighted the importance of their continued collaboration as a vehicle to ensuring that this activity further complements achievement of Tonga’s Second NDC targets.

The NDC Implementation Roadmap will encompass a tactical strategy and pathway for key areas of action to attain the targets of Tonga’s Second NDC. Through the NDC Investment Plan, the aim is to channel in secure and reliable financing from private, public, donor and multilateral funders which will then help realize the robust pipeline of projects which is also a fitting reflection of Tonga’s national mitigation and adaptation priorities.

Tonga’s NDC Implementation Roadmap and NDC Investment Plan is also unique in the sense that it prioritizes both mitigation and adaptation actions. This will be achieved through focus placed on the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) and Waste sector, as well as the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Special Management Areas (SMAs) sectors.

National stakeholders at the inception workshop.
Source: Tonga DCC

In this workshop, key national stakeholders from the priority sectors were introduced to the project team and presented with a summary of Tonga’s NDC activities. Stakeholders also discussed an initial list of potential tangible projects which can be implemented in Tonga to achieve its NDC targets under the Paris Agreement.

The outcome of this workshop is an established network of counterparts in Tonga who agree with the proposed approach and workplan, and can help provide information, support, and feedback throughout this project. Ultimately, these stakeholders will be expected to play a core role in actioning the NDC Implementation Roadmap and NDC Investment Plan.

This workshop was led by the Mitigation Division at the Department of Climate Change and GGGI, delivered in partnership with consultancy counterpart, Castalia Advisors and was held at the Department of Climate Change’s Conference Room in Nuku’alofa.