International Consultant on Air Emissions Accounts

Background

"Building Armenia’s national transparency framework under Paris Agreement” UNDP-GEF project is in line with GEF-7 Program Objective CCM-3-8, “Foster enabling conditions for mainstreaming mitigation concerns into sustainable development strategies through capacity building initiative for transparency.” It follows from the commitments of the Government of Armenia under Paragraphs 7 to 10 of Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, which requires each Party to regularly provide a national inventory report, information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving its nationally determined contribution (NDC), information related to climate change impacts and adaptation, and information on support received.

The project will provide support for building institutional and technical capacities to meet these enhanced transparency requirements as defined in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement. It will use a capacity strengthening approach to shift from ad hoc reporting to a continuous process of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) that will capture transparency activities and allow the country to track its progress against its commitments under its NDC.

For more project information visit: http://nature-ic.am/en/projects/Building-Armenia’s-National-Transparency-Framework-under-Paris-Agreement/1039.

One of project key national partners is the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (Armstat) which is the responsible national authority for the development, production and dissemination of national statistics including on environment. In 2018, Armstat has approved the Road Map for the Development of Climate Change-related Statistics. Under Priority 6 is stated that “Armstat should consider development of new statistics based on a review of the key data needs of climate change policy makers and analysts in the country” and that has to comply with provisions on implementation of the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) [1]. Implementation of the SEEA will have a positive impact on the quantity and quality of statistics related to climate change available in Armenia.

The emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases and air pollutants are available from national emission inventories under the international conventions CLRTAP and UNFCCC, however the Air emissions accounts (AEA) record can ensure the breakdowns by emitting industries plus households and a coverage consistent with the residency principle of national accounts making AEA suitable for integrated modelling, e.g. of carbon footprints and climate-change mitigation policy development.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of this assignment is to provide methodological support and guidance to Armstat in development and compilation of Air emissions accounts of Armenia.

The expert will be providing technical assistance to Armstat, based on assessment of air emissions inventory data by sources, identification of gaps and missing information and bring all these to the compilation of AEA towards compliance with international methodological instruments and standards.

For the AEA development Armstat has to follow the Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA).

The assignment is in line with Armenia’s commitments under CEPA – Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the EU and Armenia, which prioritizes strengthening of cooperation in statistical areas, including environment statistics.

Under the supervision of the Project Coordinator and in close cooperation with the Head of Environmental Statistics Department of Armstat and Project Task Lead expert, the International Consultant shall perform technical assistance through delivering particularly the following tasks:

Based on concepts of AEA as they are treated in the EU SEEA:

define the common data options and sources used by other countries for air emission accounting,
assess current data sources available for Armenia,
consult with Armstat specialists on results of assessment and elaborate detailed guidance on methodology to be basic approach to be applied for AEA compilation,
train Armstat?s dedicated specialists on air accounting compilation.

Identify best practices of Territory vs Residence principles while compiling the AEA.
Define the compilation of Bridge tables: national economy totals & categories of AEA, which differ from those in emission inventories to be recorded and presented in bridge tables.
Consult on which emission flows to be included/excluded in the AEA.
Recommend on further improvement, focusing on missing items or items with an uncertain quality, with the aim to define best practices to apply (proxy variables, estimation models, surveys, administrative data).
Develop final report summarizing the consultancy provided to Armstat, which can ensure knowledge and capacity in Armstat to compile the Air accounts and create corresponding information page on Armstat?s website https://www.armstat.am as done for Water accounts.

Expected deliverables:

The International Consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

N

Deliverables

Delivery time

1.

Current statistical data assessed and basic guidance developed

24 Sep 2021

2.

International and European standards, and required actions for construction of Air accounts system presented

22 Oct 2021

3.

Final report with guidance and recommendations on Air accounts system (AEA) construction and making it public through the dedicated page on Armstat web-site.

26 Nov 2021

Payment will be released in 1 (one) instalment upon the approval of deliverables acceptance by the Climate Change Programme Coordinator.

Competencies

A good understanding of the climate change, air pollution, sustainable development agenda and socio-economic and environmental issues.
Excellent analytical skills;
Proper understanding of UNDP mission and values.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with people of different social and cultural backgrounds.
Demonstrated problem-solving ability with a proactive and collaborative style that works well in teams.

Required Skills and Experience

Eduaction:

Advanced university degree in environment, economics or other relevant filed

Experience

Minimum 7 years of extensive experience in environmental statistics
Previous experience in working/consulting national statistical services operating under Eurostat reporting
Proven experience in application of European System of Environmental Economic Accounts
Desirable: experience working with UN projects related to environmental statistics

Language Skills:

Fluency in English, the knowledge of Russian is an asset.