Consultancy to support the OECS Commission and MS in advancing the implementation of the COM:ES 2030 roadmap in line with the Euroclima Programme.

Context

Euroclima’s mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience, climate investment and biodiversity. A new Joint Communication, setting out a renewed agenda for relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), was launched on 7 June 2023. This renewed agenda outlines the engagement of the EU towards this partnership under the EU Global Gateway strategy that will boost investments to accelerate a green and digital transition.

The EU and LAC are committed to protecting biodiversity, halting deforestation, promoting more circular economies, improving waste and water management, increasing resource productivity and tackling pollution, as well as working towards climate neutral, clean and nature-positive economies. To meet these objectives, the Communication calls for a strengthened partnership on the green transition, including through increased dialogue, strengthening of regulatory frameworks and investments under Global Gateway.

The EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA) will identify fair and digital investment opportunities in LAC, which will benefit from the open environment generated by trade and investment agreements, helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The Investment Agenda will mobilise investments, amongst others, to renewable energy and green hydrogen, critical raw materials, decarbonization, and sustainable finance. The EU is committed to spending approx. 30% of its cooperation budget on climate and biodiversity initiatives in the LAC region.

Euroclima is the Global Gateway initiative that facilitates the path of the EU and the Latin America and the Caribbean regions to lead the green and digital transition. It is the EU´s flagship Programme on climate action for over a decade. Euroclima is implemented in the 33 LAC countries and increases resilience to climate change of eco-systems and vulnerable communities, including women, youth, and indigenous populations through the implementation of demand-driven actions.

Background OECS Commission

Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre commits OECS Member States to implementing the St. George’s Declaration of Principles for Environmental Sustainability in the OECS (SGD) to minimise environmental vulnerability, improve environmental management and protect the region’s natural (including historical and cultural) resource base for their optimal social and economic benefits.

In 2020, a new SGD (SGD 2040) was endorsed by the Council of Ministers for Environmental Sustainability (COM:ES); and, in 2023, Ministers endorsed a COM:ES 2030 Roadmap to guide regional level focus and prioritisation by the OECS Commission, Member States and Partners for more effective and accelerated sustainable transformation by 2030.

Ministers have also endorsed a number of Frameworks and Strategies including the OECS Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management Framework (OECS BEF), the Green Blue Economy Strategy and Action Plan (GBE SAP), Eastern Caribbean Regional Ocean Policy (ECROP) and Action Plan, Eastern Caribbean Community Resilience Enhancement Programme (ECCREP), Sustainable Energy Framework (SEF), OECS Framework Policy and Legislation for Effective Waste Management, OECS Transboundary Strategy and Action Plan for Waste Management, etc.

The programmatic areas outlined in the SGD 2040 and the COM:ES 2030 Roadmap support the implementation of regional and international agreements including the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).

Apart from the COM:ES, there are also regional coordinating and governance mechanisms that are aligned to the thematic areas. These include the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management Committee (BEMC), the Oceans Governance Team (OGT), the Energy Policy Implementation Coordinating Committee (EPICC), and the OECS Climate Change Advisory Panel (OCCAP). These regional groups assist the Commission in the development of project concepts, guidance and consensus on initiatives and priority actions and knowledge sharing. In short, they are avenues for seeking direction on priority areas for the OECS Member States at the regional and national level and for seeking endorsement for project concepts and initiatives developed for implementation in the OECS.

The Environmental Sustainability Division’s (ESD) areas of focus include ocean governance and fisheries, climate and disaster resilience, biodiversity and ecosystems, land and water, sustainable energy and chemicals pollution and waste. Projects and initiatives which are being implemented by these programme areas are linked wherever possible for synergies and working together through a more cohesive approach that results in greater implementation efficiency and more benefits to the region and its citizens. The development of a portfolio of projects under the SGD 2040 and COM:ES 2030 Roadmap will seek to promote linkages across the various thematic areas.

Tasks to be performed by the contractor

The overall objective of the consultancy is to assist in preparing an action plan and project concepts for advancing implementation of the COM:ES roadmap including recommended actions aligned with the priority areas identified in the road map and guided by the SGD 2040. This action plan and dossier of project ideas and concepts would contribute to implementation of the road map, SDG 2040 and support implementation of the previously mentioned frameworks. Focus should be on climate change adaptation and mitigation and, where feasible, multi-country and multisector concepts which are in line with the Euroclima programme.

The main task is to advance the implementation of the COM:ES 2030 roadmap in line with associated initiatives such as EUROCLIMA and develop project concept notes for Euroclima considering the Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA).

The consultant will:

1) Develop Action Plans for COM:ES Roadmap

a) Preparation of a regional action plan for each of the six priority areas, taking cognizance of ongoing and planned interventions at the Member State level to avoid duplication and establish synergies.

b) Each action plan should synergize with enabling actions identified in SGD 2040 and the themes of the approved COM:ES sub-committees.

2) Develop a project portfolio for implementation of the COM:ES Roadmap

a) Preparation of concepts to advance the approved select technical priority areas, including integration of multiple technical themes within concepts.

b) Preparation of concepts to support/advance the cross-cutting and capacity related priorities, particularly the Sustainable Financing Mechanism (SFM); the OECS Regional Environmental Information System (REIS); and the Regional Knowledge Hub.

3) Develop 10 project concepts which align action plans for the COM:ES Roadmap with Euroclima and Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA) efforts (priorities areas include energy, water, climate finance, biodiversity and sargassum).

It is anticipated that this assignment will assist in developing and advancing the Project Preparation Facility approach (PPF) as a pilot during this assignment with the view to embedding the PPF methodology in the SFM through lessons learned, refinement of the PPF approach, etc.

Primary focus may be on climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience thematic area while at the same time being cognizant of and promoting synergies and linkages with activities under the other areas.

The assignment will target 10 project concepts utilizing the PPF methodology, the OECS Project Identification Form (PIF) and identified donor template(s), such as Euroclima. Among other sources documents, a review of NAPs, NAMAs, SASAPs from OECS MS should be considered. In developing these project concepts, the consultant will identify gaps for investments in the OECS MS to support national programmes which can share similarities with other in other countries.

Where there are national priorities that be can be scaled out or regionalized, the consultant can help to flesh these out into regional or multi-country initiatives.

If feasible, the consultant should explore preparing one (joint) concept that can cut across 3 thematic areas (e.g., land water biodiversity and/or (energy climate resilience blue economy or other combination(s) recommended).

Methodology

The expert will implement all tasks in very close collaboration with the GIZ project in St. Lucia and will liaise, as required, with other relevant stakeholders. The expert will continuously update the GIZ project officers on recent progress and discuss the way forward.

Furthermore, the expert will coordinate, as needed, with other ongoing consultancies.

Period of assignment: From 15th April to 30th June 2024

Number of working days: Up to 30 working days

Qualifications

The expert needs to comply with the following competencies:

• Master’s degree in the field of climate change, environment, natural resource management, or related fields.
• 10 years of professional experience in the Caribbean region.
• Existing network and knowledge of the portfolio of international cooperation in the area of green transition in the Caribbean.
• 5 years of experience in the climate change field (or other relevant sectors for the green transition like energy, transport, biodiversity or agriculture).
• Experience in concept/proposal development.
• Strong knowledge and profound working experience in the Eastern Caribbean region.
• Strong network and working experience with relevant stakeholders in the region.
• Native English proficiency.