Guatemala advances its climate transparency system with a new roadmap

• The roadmap for Guatemala’s Second Biennial Transparency Report (2BTR) is an instrument that defines the stages and coordination mechanisms required to strengthen the national climate reporting process.

With the aim of socializing the start of the development of the Second Biennial Transparency Report (2BTR) and validating the roadmap so that stakeholders are informed about the process and invited to collaborate in the exchange and validation of information, a workshop was held on January 28 to present details of the consultation and management dynamics, as well as to identify challenges and key issues within the process.

Within the framework of the Paris Agreement, Guatemala is currently preparing its Second Biennial Transparency Report (2BTR) under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (Article 13), together with the Fourth National Communication on Climate Change (4NC). This report will make it possible to communicate clearly and consistently the country’s progress in implementing its climate commitments.

The preparation of biennial transparency reports requires interinstitutional coordination and the provision of key technical information. To this end, a roadmap was developed for the preparation of Guatemala’s 2BTR, establishing the stages and coordination mechanisms necessary to strengthen the reporting process, ensure the quality of information, and promote the sustainability of the country’s climate transparency system.

The workshop was organized by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), together with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The activity featured broad and diverse interinstitutional participation, including representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), the Ministry of Public Finance (MINFIN), the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), the National Forestry Institute (INAB), and the Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (SEGEPLAN), as well as the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE) and the Indigenous Climate Change Roundtable (MICC).

Also participating were the Private Institute for Climate Change Research (ICC), the Guatemalan Renewable Fuels Association (ACRG), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP), the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH), Rafael Landívar University (URL), the University of the Valley of Guatemala (UVG), the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG), and the Guatemalan Climate Change Science System (SGCCC).

Edwin Castellanos, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change at MARN; Fernando García, Programme Officer for the Energy and Environment Portfolio at UNDP; and Julio López, CATIE representative in Guatemala, led the opening of the workshop and expressed their satisfaction with the progress achieved, highlighting that this instrument defines stages and coordination mechanisms that will strengthen the country’s climate reporting process.

They also emphasized that the initiative will contribute to improving the quality and consistency of the information generated, will promote the sustainability of the national climate transparency system, and will reaffirm the country’s commitment to international standards on climate action.

The Project Development of the First Biennial Transparency Report and the Fourth National Communication, together with the Second Biennial Transparency Report (1BTR and 4NC/2BTR)—presented as a combined report under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—is implemented by CATIE, in its role as implementing partner, in coordination with MARN. The project also benefits from the support of UNDP as the implementing entity and from financial support provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).