Energy and Climate Committee welcomes leading Contracting Parties’ progress on upgrading pledges under global Paris Agreement as well as integrated National Energy and Climate Plans

Today, the 5^th Energy and Climate Committee meeting drew together more than 70 participants to discuss the Contracting Parties’ progress on the preparation of revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC2), ahead of COP26, and integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). The European Commission also announced that a call for tender for a study aimed at extending the modelling capacities of the EU to the Contracting Parties for calculating 2030 overall targets was launched today, 25 March 2020, and will remain open until 20 May 2020. It also emphasized the link between NECPs and the Green Deal, focusing in particular on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

Chaired by Connie Hedegaard, the meeting took stock of the Contracting Parties' efforts and progress towards their pledges under the global Paris Agreement on climate change and considered the main opportunities and challenges to embrace article 6 on carbon markets. The Paris Agreement calls on countries to deliver new national climate commitments (Nationally Determined Contributions) every five years - that are informed by the latest advances in technology, science and shifting economic trends. The process of revision or enhanced ambition of NDCs in our Contracting Parties features Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine as highly committed; in particular, Moldova is one of the first countries at global level that has already delivered to the UNFCCC its revised NDC (NDC2) on 4 March 2020, also thanks to the support of the EU4Climate project. In Georgia, NDC2 is expected to be opened for public consultation by the end of March 2020.  Analytical work to update the NDC of Ukraine is ongoing.

The revision of Nationally Determined Contributions is progressing in parallel with the drafting of the NECPs, based on  Recommendation 2018/01/MC-EnC adopted by the Energy Community and the related Policy Guidelines, prepared by the Secretariat with the European Commission. The preparatory national process started already in 2018, with the formal establishment of a national working group on NECPs in most Contracting Parties. North Macedonia is already advanced with drafting the plan, which is expected to be finalized by May 2020. The country is also working on its 4^th National Communication and 3^rd Biennial Update Report. Bosnia and Herzegovina has also started drafting the plan in the context of its national working group which includes 90 officially appointed representatives. Montenegro is currently focusing on amending its Energy Law to provide a legal basis for further work on the NECP.

The meeting was held digitally as part of the Secretariat’s response to the COVID-19 situation and measures issued by the Austrian authorities.