GGGI is seeking a Sectoral Mitigation Senior Associate to support the implementation of the SPAR6C Project in Colombia. S/he will be part of the GGGI Colombia Team and report to the Senior Officer -Policy Coordinator and Colombia SPAR6C Program Manager.

INTRODUCTION

Based in Seoul, The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as "green growth", which targets key aspects of economic performance such a poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. The organization partners with countries, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and private sector to help build economies that grow strongly and are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change.

GGGI has a diverse portfolio of programs in developing countries around the world. These in-country programs, together with global products and services, focus on delivering results through an integrated approach of evidence based green growth planning and implementation aligned to countries’ development priorities. The organization also focuses on knowledge development and management activities which build a strong theoretical and empirical basis for green growth, while providing concrete options and guidance for policymakers; as well as building the conditions for public and private green infrastructure investments.

Since 2013, GGGI has been working with the Government of Colombia to advance Green Growth policies and green investments, through strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit the National Planning Department, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, among others. GGGI Colombia has grown significantly over the past few years and has transformed into a portfolio-based country program, with programs and projects of varied size covering various GGGI Programmatic Solutions including Sustainable Forests, Solar PV, Climate Resilient Agriculture, Climate Action, and Green Investments. GGGI’s comparative advantage is shown by its 10–year track record and presence in-country, working with GGGI staff embedded in various Colombian ministries and subnational-level government entities, to provide context-specific, tailored, green growth solutions, as well as bringing green projects to bankability.

Colombia’s green growth framework is marked by the renewed NDC commitment, the Green Growth Policy and the Deforestation Control Policy. The renewed NDC is highly ambitious, with a target set at 51% GHG emissions reductions by 2030. Specifically in regard to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Colombia stated in its updated NDC is intention to participate in Article 6 cooperative approaches according to the decisions of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) and with the environmental integrity focus as indicated in the San José Principles, of which Colombia is a signatory.

Colombia has made several important advances in carbon markets which position the country well on the journey to readiness towards Article 6 transactions. The country established a carbon neutrality tax offset mechanism with Decree 926 of 2017, as well as the National Registry of Emission Reductions (RENARE) by Law 1753 of 2015. Furthermore, the National Climate Change Law 1931 of 2018 created the National Emission Allowances Trading Program, currently in the design phase. In addition, Colombia is building experience in bilateral and multilateral partnerships involving carbon markets.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Paris Agreement provides a comprehensive framework for signatory Parties to reach an ambitious commitment to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C in a cooperative manner. This framework covers several instruments including cooperative approaches under Article 6 which allows for the potential development of international carbon transactions.

The Carbon Pricing Unit (CPU) of GGGI is implementing several programs related to scaling up international carbon trading, now covered by the Paris Agreement Rulebook finalized in Glasgow at COP26. By opening these markets and increasing the flow of transactions, a robust and reliable global price for carbon can be established, which can motivate the transformational change needed to achieve the ambitious goals of Paris. GGGI’s Article 6 programs provide technical assistance and capacity building to government counterparts to improve their readiness for Article 6 engagement through the design of projects and policies for pilot transactions and the strengthening of institutional frameworks required for their implementation. GGGI's Carbon Pricing Global Practice is a leading actor in global piloting of international carbon transactions under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, working with both potential buyer and seller countries to facilitate transactions.

The Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation (SPAR6C) Program, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Government, is a five year, 20M EUR program that started in Q2 2022. Its objective is to promote Article 6 (A6) cooperative approaches, engaging the private sector and enabling cost-efficient, flexible, high-integrity carbon markets with positive sustainability impacts. Transformative design of A6 pilots for real transactions of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) will be enabled by research-based capacity building in four partner countries: Colombia, Pakistan, Thailand and Zambia.

The program consists of six work packages, two centrally managed and four countries driven. In the first two, best practice tools and approaches to implement cooperative mechanisms will be developed underpinned by an international forum – a community of practice of A6 implementing countries - that brings together countries and practitioners, who share the common objective of raising ambition through markets. In-country package implementation will focus on three areas of work in each of the four countries: 1) Long-term planning, 2) Institutional readiness to transact and 3) Pilot design and transactions. More than eight A6 pilot programs will be implemented in Colombia, Pakistan, Thailand and Zambia based on a toolbox of innovative guidance and approaches for transformative A6 design. The project is implemented through a consortium consisting of GGGI, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, Carbon Limits AS, GFA Consulting Group GmbH, and Kommunalkredit Public Consulting GmbH. GGGI leads the overall consortium from its Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, and is also the primary implementer in Colombia.

The Directorate of Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development is the political partner for in-country implementation in Colombia. The program will support additional institutions in the Government of Colombia as required by the project and agreed to with the Ministry.

Within this context, the SPAR6C Program will support Colombia in developing its institutional, regulatory, technical framework and capacities and specific projects and programs to embark on Article 6 transactions of ITMOs during the NDC implementation period 2020-2030. The program's first stage will be the Readiness and Needs Assessment for implementing Article 6.

PURPOSE 

GGGI is seeking a Sectoral Mitigation Senior Associate to support the implementation of the SPAR6C Project in Colombia. S/he will be part of the GGGI Colombia Team and report to the Senior Officer -Policy Coordinator and Colombia SPAR6C Program Manager.  Main responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide operational support to the Senior Officer- Policy Coordinator and Colombia SPAR6C Program Manager and team to ensure successful delivery of the SPAR6C in Colombia
• Contribute to the completion of and follow-up activities to the readiness and needs assessment of A6 in Colombia
• Support the Senior Officer- Policy Coordinator and Colombia SPAR6C Program Manager for technical inputs, seamless information gathering and compilation on Governance Arrangements for Article 6, Article 6 Strategy , A6 Guidebooks and the Community of Practice of A6 Implementing Countries (CoP-ASIC).
• Provide technical advisory and capacity building support to the Government of Colombia around mitigation activities, carbon markets, and issues related to measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) and carbon accounting.
• Support the Senior Officer- Policy Coordinator and Colombia SPAR6C Program Manager to the preparation and compilation of periodic SPAR6C reports to global program manager and the government as needed.
• Contribute to the design, preparation, and implementation of trainings, workshops, focus group discussions, and consultation meetings related to the SPAR6C objectives in Colombia.
• Supervise technical consultants to be hired for the implementation of the IKI SPAR6C Program in Colombia.
• Keep abreast with new developments in climate change mitigation and carbon markets globally and in Colombia.
• Lead the prioritization, longlisting and shortlisting of potential mitigation activities for Article 6 implementation in Colombia, and support the structuring of selected activities.