14 March 2018: Pacific island countries agreed to establish a regional hub to further implementation and enhancement of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The 3rd Pacific Regional NDC Dialogue fleshed out the elements of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub, and provided an opportunity for Pacific island States to discuss NDC-related experiences and needs.

The NDC dialogue and consultations on the NDC Hub took place in Suva, Fiji, from 12-14 March 2018. During the meeting, countries exchanged experiences in NDC implementation, including implementing energy projects, reviewing and revising legislation to create a more enabling environment for NDC implementation, and establishing green energy funds. Participants elaborated on links between the NDCs and their national development plans, national energy plans and strategies, and SDG implementation.

Participants urged mainstreaming NDC implementation into national sectoral and budget processes, and identified challenges and barriers related to, inter alia, financing, capacity, and skills and data gaps. Many countries stated their desire to: enhance their NDCs by adding sectors such as transport, forestry and agriculture; strengthen the adaptation element in their NDCs; and communicate their ambitions through the Talanoa Dialogue. They also discussed opportunities for enhancing the gender responsiveness of NDCs and using NDC implementation to advance gender equality.

On identifying opportunities to translate NDCs into actionable projects, particularly in the energy sector, and linkages with sectoral planning, countries highlighted establishing energy committees, and developing projects in solar energy, biomass and hydropower. Participants underscored linkages between the NDCs and sectoral energy planning documents. Many emphasized that they are using existing sectoral energy strategies as NDC implementation plans.

On finance, participants stressed the need to develop financing strategies to support NDC implementation, including the development of investment plans, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the creation of enabling environments for private sector investment.

Participants agreed on the details of the Regional Pacific NDC Hub in terms of services provided, as well as the funding mechanism, structure and governance, and finalized the draft design document based on national priorities and needs. They agreed that the Hub should provide assistance on enhancement, review and inclusion of adaptation, and guidance on synergies between mitigation and resilience.

The Regional Pacific NDC Hub is an arm of the NDC Partnership, which aims to enhance cooperation and countries’ access to the necessary technical knowledge and financial support for NDC implementation.

On new ideas for services to be provided by the Hub, they proposed, inter alia, NDC roadmaps beyond 2030, knowledge management platforms, support for national reporting, expansion of NDCs to new sectors, desegregating sectoral targets, and knowledge sharing with other regions.

On delivery mechanisms, participants suggested, inter alia, online NDC training, and strengthening national and regional knowledge management. They also supported reviving and improving the Regional Technical Support Mechanism by increasing the pool of experts including women, ensuring the use of local counterparts to retain local expertise, and providing unconditional funding and technical assistance.

On governance and steering of the Hub, participants agreed, inter alia, to build on existing structures and link to the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific and Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP).

Participants also agreed on the next steps for the Hub, including: discussing the link to the PRP at the PRP Task Force meeting in April 2018; establishing terms of reference (ToR) for the Hub’s management team; and tabling the dialogue’s outcomes at other regional meetings to get further regional buy-in on the positioning and nature of the Hub.

The event was co-organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNFCCC Secretariat, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), NDC Partnership, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Pacific Community and the Government of Fiji. The Regional Pacific NDC Hub is an arm of the NDC Partnership, which was launched in 2016 to enhance cooperation and countries’ access to the necessary technical knowledge and financial support for NDC implementation. [Regional Pacific NDC Dialogue and NDC Hub Webpage] [Chair’s Summary of the Regional Pacific NDC Dialogue] [NDC Partnership Website]