Over the period May 8th to 12th, 2017, the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) made a significant step towards enhancing its contribution to the national climate change mitigation agenda. Six of CARIRI’s staff members participated in a four-day intensive Training Workshop on Developing the Capability for Measuring and Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions, in Trinidad and Tobago. The Workshop was hosted with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through the Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean Fund.

CARIRI, owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, has become a national and regional focal point for technology and innovation, with a strong focus on sustainable economic development. The hosting of the Workshop was informed by Government’s approval of a Carbon Reduction Strategy, which targets energy efficiency and GHGs emission reduction in the transport, power generation and industrial sectors. This is part of the country’s efforts to meet the emission reduction goals established by both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement to which the Government is a signatory, within the overarching United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Carbon Reduction Strategy, which is being administered by the Multilateral Environmental Agreement Unit of the Ministry of Planning and Development, is intended to address the implementation of a robust Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system, which will track the success of measures taken. The monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions are a requirement for signatories to the Paris Agreement.

The Training Workshop aimed to provide CARIRI with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively plan and conduct GHG monitoring and measurement activities, inclusive of providing independent third party verification of reported emissions to give credence to the collected data. In addition, the Workshop provide an opportunity for the sharing of ideas and transfer of knowledge of strategies for reducing companies’ greenhouse gas emissions.

The Training forms part of CARIRI’s ongoing efforts to expand its range of service offerings. Through such offerings, CARIRI aims to more effectively meet client needs for new and improved technology-based services, while simultaneously building capacity in key areas of strategic importance to national economic development, in support of Government’s diversification efforts. This will enable CARIRI to give support to both the local MRV initiative and the development of a local carbon market. It will also enable CARIRI to position itself to support similar initiatives regionally.

The Facilitator of the Training Workshop was sector expert, Evan Jones, of the Canadian Standards Association.