Argentina-The Mitigation Action Implementation Network (MAIN)

Overview

"CCAP is working to support the design and implementation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and Low-Emissions Development Strategies (LEDS) in developing countries through regionally-based dialogues, web-based exchanges, and practitioner networks. Recent UNFCCC negotiations have made it clear that climate protection will depend on actions on the ground in both developing and developed countries. In recent years, developing countries have shown a significant commitment to reducing emissions unilaterally and being involved in the ultimate climate solution. The MAIN initiative works to identify and highlight the most successful developing country mitigation policies and uses these lessons to assist other countries in refining their policies and implementation frameworks in order to achieve ambitious mitigation actions."

"CCAP conducts applied research that emphasizes practical on-the-ground solutions and aims to build on existing country strategies to design policies to mitigate GHG emissions and work with countries to examine how these policy options could be integrated with national development plans and implemented within international climate frameworks. CCAP has also been involved in analyzing existing international carbon accounting methodologies and assisted partner countries in identifying MRV indicators and GHG reduction methodologies. For example, CCAP has and continues to be involved in the implementation and development of NAMAs in the waste, cement, energy (renewable energy and energy efficiency), transportation and small and medium housing sectors."

The MAIN program identifies and highlights the most successful experiences in developing and implementing high-impact, greenhouse-gas-reducing policies. MAIN uses these lessons to assist developing countries in refining their national policies and implementation frameworks through peer-to-peer learning, dialogue, and web-based exchanges. MAIN initiatives are designed to improve the capacity to design, plan, and implement low emission s development strategies (LEDS) and nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) for our partner countries.

MAIN supports capacity building on the institutional level by identifying and highlighting the most successful efforts to develop and implement high-impact NAMAs and uses these lessons to help refine both domestic and international policies and guidelines to support achievement of the most significant emissions reductions possible with available international funds.

Activities

"MAIN consists of several components:

• Regional dialogues or “policy academies” wherein policy implementers from key ministries in each country, climate negotiators, finance and MRV experts, and industry representatives advance efforts to design, implement, and leverage financing for NAMAs. These meetings will be composed of presentations on NAMA successes, roundtable discussions, brainstorming sessions, and networking opportunities.
• Harvesting of best practices is shared with participating countries, in which CCAP will identifies best practices in NAMA design and implementation, LCDS, MRV, and financing.
• Global dialogues and policy lunches that leverage the results of the fast-start finance period to shape climate policy at the international level.
• Virtual "knowledge sharing" sessions to enrich the peer-to-peer learning process initiated by the regional dialogues using web-based technology."

Progress and Outcomes

"CCAP will identify and highlight the most successful experiences in developing and implementing high-impact NAMAs in the field and use these lessons to help refine both domestic and international policies and guidelines to support achievement of the most significant emissions reductions possible with available international funds. 2 fully developed NAMA pilot project proposals from two participating Latin American countries." Capacity building needs identified include: "Develop a clear set of best practices to mitigate climate change, to design and implement NAMAs, to monitor and verify their performance, and to leverage new financial support; Produce more ambitious mitigation actions by developing countries; Identify effective financing mechanisms that can be tailored to individual developing country conditions to maximize the impact of new NAMAs; Develop MRV techniques in developing countries that ensure transparency and measure the success of NAMAs; Help shape international guidelines on NAMA design, finance and MRV."

Under MAIN, Argentina presented a potential biomass energy NAMA at the Global NAMA Financing Summit in May 2013. (reference 2)