Guatemala Advances Its Commitment to Developing Key Reports for the UNFCCC

• The project will support a shift in the government's approach to the climate agenda by establishing clear reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

With the aim of strengthening the institutional capacities of the public, private, academic, and international cooperation sectors in Guatemala, the project titled "Development of the First Biennial Transparency Report, the Fourth National Communication, and the Second Biennial Transparency Report (1BTR and 4NC/2BTR)" was launched as a combined report under the UNFCCC.

The four-year project will assist the country in preparing and submitting key reports to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Specifically, it will focus on preparing the First Biennial Transparency Report (1BTR), the Fourth National Communication (4NC), and jointly presenting the Second Biennial Transparency Report (2BTR) with the 4NC. This delivery will allow the country to fulfill its reporting obligations under Article 13 of the Paris Agreement (Decision 18/CMA.1) and comply with the Modalities, Procedures, and Guidelines (MPGs) under Decision 5/CMA.3.

CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) serves as the Implementing Partner of the project, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and led by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN).

In addition to representatives from MARN, UNDP, and CATIE, the workshop included participants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), National Coffee Association (Anacafé), Ministry of Public Finance (MINFIN), Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), National Forest Institute (INAB), Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (SEGEPLAN), Indigenous Climate Change Roundtable (MICC), Private Institute for Climate Change Research (ICC), Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG), Guatemalan Association of Mayors and Indigenous Authorities (AGAAI), and the Guatemalan System of Climate Change Sciences (SGCCC).

The event was inaugurated by Edwin Castellanos, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change at MARN, and Rose Diegues, UNDP Resident Representative in Guatemala. Both emphasized the importance of the project in strengthening the country’s technical and institutional capacities and in more effectively integrating climate change into national and sectoral development priorities.

This effort aligns with the climate change focal area strategy of GEF-8 (the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility), particularly Pillar II: “Fostering enabling conditions to integrate mitigation concerns into sustainable development strategies,” and Objective 2.2, which seeks to “support compliance with relevant Convention obligations and enabling activities.”