WEC Background:
The Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) portfolio, based in Vienna, and with offices based globally is part of the UNOPS Global Portfolio Office. The Portfolio has built strong partnerships and is effectively managing a portfolio of over 500 million USD over the last 15 years to support key initiatives with fund management, project implementation and administrative support.
WEC effectively operationalizes partners' agendas with global approaches, as well as regional and country specific activities focused on climate action, protection and conservation of the environment. Partners profit from WEC’s ability to operationalize and/or scale up their important substantive agendas, including in support of key multilateral environmental and climate agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the Cartagena Convention as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
The NDC Partnership:
The NDC Partnership is a global coalition of countries and institutions collaborating to drive transformational climate action through sustainable development. In 2015, the world endorsed the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nations signal their commitments to the Paris Agreement through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - each country’s strategy to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience against the negative effects of a changing climate. The Partnership advances the goals of the Paris Agreement by bringing together nearly 200 countries and institutions in new ways to accelerate NDC implementation and enhance ambition over time. The Partnership’s work through 120 partners supporting almost 80 countries produces many examples of impact, lessons learned and ideas for the future. The Partnership is governed by a Steering Committee, co-chaired by two country representatives. The Partnership’s work is facilitated by a Support Unit based at World Resources Institute in Washington DC and the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. UNOPS supports the NDC Partnership and its Support Unit through the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC).
Country Context
In April 2016, Saint Lucia communicated what is now known as its NDC to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with interventions built on existing initiatives within the energy, electricity generation and transport sectors. The interventions, if implemented as proposed, would result in a reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to the tune of 16% by 2025 and 23% by 2030.
Saint Lucia joined the NDC Partnership shortly after the first NDC submission in October 2016. In December 2017, Saint Lucia submitted a formal Request for Support Letter to develop a project pipeline of strategic interventions to promote a low-carbon and resilient economy. To that end, a Partnership Plan to guide NDC implementation was developed and approved by the Cabinet in June 2019.
Saint Lucia received support for its NDC revision and enhancement process from the NDC Partnership´s Climate Action Enhancement Package in 2019. Saint Lucia’s NDC revision efforts culminated with the submission of its updated NDC in January 2021. The updated NDC built largely on the sectoral priorities and targets from the first NDC, pledging to reduce GHG emissions in the energy sector by 7%, relative to 2010 emissions, by 2030.
The NDC Partnership Support Unit supports Saint Lucia’s Department of Sustainable Development through an in-country NDC Facilitator to facilitate the implementation and resource mobilization for Saint Lucia’s updated NDC.
The Facilitator will work as an embedded NDC in-country Facilitator within Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training. The consultant will support the NDC Partnership Focal Point with planning, coordination and resource mobilization for the implementation of Saint Lucia’s NDC and its NDC Partnership Plan (NDCPP). The consultant will engage with sectors, donors, implementing agencies and other key stakeholders to ensure alignment between country priorities and needs for NDC implementation, and international support initiatives and finance.