Ruleta Camacho, Chair of the Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not Included in Annex I to the Convention (CGE), Antigua and Barbuda, asked presenters from Belize, Benin, Gabon, Jamaica, India and Thailand to present their Second National Communications, including: outcomes on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories; vulnerability and adaptation; mitigation; and cross-cutting issues.

Ann Gordon, Belize, presented their GHG inventory, noting emissions from land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) represented 97% of national emissions in 2000. She stated that Belize, particularly the tourism industry, is highly vulnerable to climate change through impact exposure and weak adaptation capacity.

Sylvain G. Akindele, Benin, highlighted that, according to their GHG inventory, Benin remains a carbon sink, despite increased emissions. He shared their positive experience with a Learner’s Manual used to train researchers and professionals on how to provide data for the GHG inventory.

Georges Bayonne Mboumba, Gabon, shared their national experience, including a case study of vulnerability on Mandji Island, demonstrating coastal erosion and biodiversity loss. He stated that Gabon’s forests sequester emissions from the energy and forestry sectors.

Subodh Sharma, India, highlighted data for both 2000 and 2007, noting India’s diverse climatic conditions. Sharma highlighted the key theme of integration between sectors and ministries, including the 127 institutions involved in the preparation of the Second National Communication.

Clifford Mahlung, Jamaica, presented their GHG inventory showing energy accounts for 86% of emissions. Regarding vulnerability, he noted the negative impacts of storms, vector-borne diseases and sea level rise on crops, livestock and tourism.

Woranuch Emmanoch, Thailand, provided data showing power generation is responsible for 90% of CO2 emissions. She cited the energy sector as the most feasible source for mitigation. Emmanoch noted that Thailand is vulnerable to floods, such as the 2011 flood that caused significant damage.

Discussions underscored the shared challenge of data collection. Each presenter spoke of the need to improve data collection and reliability in preparation for the Third National Communications.

Gino Van Begin, ICLEI, introduced the launch of the pilot version of the Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions (GPC) as an important step to harmonize measurement and reporting of emissions by cities and urban areas.

David Cadman, ICLEI, called the release of the GPC a remarkable milestone that demonstrated the commitment of cities to address climate change, especially compared with national commitments. He explained how improving accounting practices promotes national and sub-national acceleration of climate mitigation actions.

Jürgen Nimptsch, Mayor of Bonn, Germany, and Vice-Chair of the World Mayors’ Council on Climate Change, welcomed development of the GPC, and looked forward to global synergies to leverage policy and financing for cities’ climate change mitigation efforts.

Seth Schultz, Clinton Foundation, C40 Cities, highlighted that measurement and reporting underpin action. He acknowledged the relationships between the organizations developing the GPC, which he said will help continue the evolution of the tool. Schultz also said the GPC promotes bottom-up linkages for regional methodologies.

Fong Wee Kean, WRI, said implementation in a number of cities would be a starting point for the GPC, allowing for further stakeholder feedback. Introducing WRI’s Sustainable Cities Initiative, he emphasized that cities are centers of demand with environmental impacts that go beyond geographical boundaries.

Yunus Arikan, ICLEI, explained how the creation of the GPC presented the challenge of standardizing across diverse urban areas while maintaining consistency with existing national tools, requiring transparency in order to distribute responsibilities appropriately. He pointed to specific consistencies with national standards such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notation keys to support cooperation between cities and national governments.

Anthony G. Biglo, World Bank and IPCC Working Group (WG) III, underlined the importance of partnerships, clarifying that the GPC is a process rather than a rollout aimed to improve data quality.

Robert Kehew, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), expressed hope that the current gap between the proportion of GHG emissions from cities and lack of financing will close with the adoption of the GPC.

Chris Kennedy, OECD-University of Toronto, recognized the importance of cities in GHG emissions reductions, requiring harmonization between various levels of government.