Strengthen capacity to ensure transparency of action implemented and support received to implement Fiji’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Low Emissions Development Strategy (LEDS) [Fiji CBIT – Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency]

The Fiji CBIT project objective is to strengthen institutional and human capacities to enable the country to comply with the requirements of the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The outcomes of Fiji’s CBIT project are in alignment with the objective set out in Fiji's Climate Change Act 2021 (Section 4 (h)) – "establish a transparent framework for the monitoring, reporting and verification of anthropogenic emissions by sources and anthropogenic removals by sinks of greenhouse gases" and on climate mitigation (Section 38 (b))- "an assessment of the progress made towards Fiji's (Nationally Determined Contributions) NDC and the long term emissions reduction target at the national and sectoral levels, with reference to carbon budgets and mitigation measures, policies and programmes".

• Component 1: Fiji’s Institutional arrangements for the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) are formalized and strengthened to enable regular transparent reporting on NDC implementation and National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory.
This component is designed to enable Fiji to establish permanent institutional arrangements, creating better coordination among government and non-government actors to facilitate the implementation of NDC actions as well as regular preparation of National GHG inventory. The component will enable the definition of clear mandates of various actors for transparency, including establishing clear Biennial Transparency Report/ National Communications (BTR/NC) preparation processes, as well as systems and responsibilities for GHG data collection and reporting of GHG emissions data. The envisioned institutional arrangements and associated legal framework are in alignment with the Climate Change Act 2021. The component will support sustainable capacity development by enabling the development of the MRV curriculum to be anchored within the country’s tertiary education system. This provides an avenue for training students on the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system and its components as well as current and future staff from relevant institutions. Participation in relevant courses will be aligned with DoCC and other agencies' relevant Training and Development Policy. This will ensure that capacities and knowledge remain in the national institutions. This will be complemented with regional exchanges to learn from peers and exchange best practices. The last two elements will help Fiji in continuous system improvements.
• Component 2: IT-based GHG Inventory preparation system enables the coordinating entity to efficiently co-ordinate the preparation of transparent, consistent, comparable, complete, and accurate National GHG inventories.
This component will develop and establish a GHG Inventory Database Management System (GHG DBMS), also known as the Digital Climate Transparency Tool (DCTT), to support the timely preparation and submission of BTR/NCs. GHG DBMS will enable efficiently managing activity data and emission factors; ensuring consistency with Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (IPCC) methodologies for national inventories; calculating, analyzing, and archiving GHG emissions data; sharing data among individuals and inventory-related agencies and organizations; verifying data with a reliable Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) system; documenting methods, data sources, and relevant communications and contacts. This will be complemented with sectoral guidelines, templates, and tools for data collection to enable data collection processes from the multiple ministries and agencies involved in the GHG inventory preparation, to strengthen data flow, consistency, and comparability. The guidelines and templates will institute the procedures on how and what data is collected, processed, and reported. Further, the output will also provide the country with QA/QC systems and guidance documents for data collection and recording. The capacity built through the various knowledge products developed and training provided as well as IT system will streamline the process of data collection, processing, and preparation of the GHG inventory enabling Fiji in reducing the vintage of GHG inventory over time down to 2 years as per Modalities Procedures and Guidelines (MPG) requirements.
• Component 3: MRV systems strengthened to enable Fiji in tracking and transparently reporting on NDC implementation and resultant GHG emissions, and climate finance. This component will create the necessary capacity and tools to enable the Fiji report. (i) the indicator(s) that it has selected to track progress towards the implementation and achievement of its NDC under Article 4. (ii) provide information on financial support needed under Article 9 of the Paris Agreement. The Component supports Fiji in establishing an MRV framework to track NDC implementation, to effectively track climate mitigation actions, use the collected information to increase the effectiveness of actions, and design ambitious mitigation actions towards achieving long-term emission goals. The component will create the necessary capacity in the system to develop and implement the MRV framework for all sectors of the economy building on the outputs created for the energy and agriculture sectors. The MRV framework will enable tracking actions driven through policy/regulation implementation through multiple actors and specific responsibilities for large GHG emitting sources.

• Fiji's National Gender Policy provides a framework for incorporating gender perspectives into all government and civil society activities, promoting the full and equal participation of men and women in the development process. The Department of Women (Ministry of Women) serves as the primary policy advisor to the government on women's development and gender mainstreaming. The Fiji CBIT project continues to engage the Ministry of Women in PSC meetings, as well as in consultation and training opportunities where relevant. The project team ensures gender balance and prioritizes the participation of women in all training sessions. This complements one of the gender-specific actions identified under the project as per the CEO document, i.e., the meaningful representation/participation of women in consultations and training and capacity-building workshops.
• Additional gender-specific actions include the involvement of a Gender Expert, who is already engaged in the project and is responsible for developing a gender-specific monitoring framework. In this reporting period, the framework has been developed and is being utilized by the PMU. PMU also tracks sex-disaggregated data to monitor participation in consultation meetings and workshops, ensuring that gender considerations are effectively integrated throughout the project. For the development of the NDC indicators under Output 3.2, gender-disaggregated data collection methodologies have been integrated wherever relevant.
• Additionally, the Gender Integration Guiding Framework and Gender Monitoring Plan for the MRV curriculum under Output 1.2 (GHG and MRV Curriculum) are under development by the consultant hired by USP. USP has the capacity and expertise to mainstream and include gender considerations in the course curriculum through its own gender policies. To effectively ensure the integration of these gender aspects, these outputs are included as part of the work plan for developing the curriculum.

Status 09/2025
Overall Status
• Good progress made across all project components, with several technical deliverables finalized for MECC review.
• Improved coordination with consultants and IT vendor through frequent technical meetings.
• Additional human resources and strong government leadership contributed to smoother implementation.
• Output Rating: Satisfactory (S)
• Risk Rating: Low (L)
Key Milestones by Component
Component 1: Institutional Arrangements & Capacity Building
• SOPP for BTR/NC preparation approved by MECC Permanent Secretary on 2 June 2025.
• Institutional Arrangement document for BTR/NC under final review and updates following enforcement of the Climate Change Act 2021.
• Curriculum on GHG and MRV:
- Consultant recruited by USP.
- Development underway for curriculum, funding strategy, gender framework, and training of trainers.
• Regional Peer-to-Peer Exchange:
- Regional ETF implementation strategy paper completed.
- Regional training and knowledge exchange event held in May 2025.
Component 2: GHG Inventory & Digital Tools
• Technical deliverables completed and submitted:
- Scoping paper for Energy.
- data collection templates (Energy, IPPU, Waste, Agriculture).
- GHG Estimation Spreadsheets (Energy, IPPU, Waste, Agriculture).
- Energy spreadsheet reviewed and cleared by MECC.
- QA/QC procedure guidelines.
- Documentation, reporting, and archiving procedures.
• Fiji Digital Climate Transparency Tool (DCTT):
- Vendor (GHGMI) recruited; inception workshop held 14 Oct 2024.
- Server procured and delivered to ITC Data Centre, completing procurement.
- Development progressing on schedule.
Component 3: NDC Tracking & Climate Support
• Technical deliverables completed and submitted:
- Indicators and information matrix for NDC tracking.
- Methodologies and tools for indicator estimation.
- Templates for expenditure and support received (including climate finance).
- Training workshop report on NDC tracking.
- Procedural guidelines for NDC tracking and climate support tracking.
• Systems Development:
- GHGMI developing the NDC and climate support tracking system.
- Regular updates provided during monthly check-in meetings.
The Fiji-specific climate support information template has been developed, in collaboration with the Fiji Adaptation Registry project through consultation with relevant stakeholders (Ministry of Finance, CSOs), and provided to the IT vendor to integrate into the climate support tracking system. Discussions with DoCC are ongoing for the piloting of the data collection system.

Financials USD
• Co-financing Total – 100,000
• GEF Project Grant – 1,430,000
• GEF Agency Fees – 135,850

Digital Systems & Tools
• Development of the Fiji Digital Climate Transparency Tool (DCTT)
• Procurement and installation of server infrastructure for DCTT
• System development by GHGMI aligning with national climate reporting needs
• Integration and customization of data architecture for Fiji’s context
GHG Inventory Technology
• GHG Estimation Spreadsheets (Energy, IPPU, Waste, Agriculture)
• Sectoral GHG data collection templates
• QA/QC procedure documents for GHG estimation
• Documentation, reporting, and archiving systems
NDC Tracking & Climate Finance Technology
• NDC tracking system (methodologies, indicators, dashboards)
• Climate support tracking system (finance & support received)
• Climate Expenditure Guideline & Finance Information Template
• Indicators and information matrices for NDC monitoring
Data Management Technology
• Technical inputs for GHG Database Management System (DBMS)
• Development of data governance processes
• Enhancement of sectoral digital data flows (energy, transport, waste, IPPU)

Training & Workshops
National trainings for:
IPPU sector GHG data collection (July 2024)
Waste sector GHG training (July 2024)
Energy sector inventory preparation & NDC tracking (April 2025)
Training on:
GHG estimation
NDC tracking
Climate finance tracking
QA/QC procedures
Academic & Institutional Capacity Strengthening
Development of GHG & MRV Curriculum through USP
Training of trainers (ToT) for universities and national officers
Gender integration framework incorporated into curriculum development
Development of gender monitoring framework for MRV activities
Government Capacity Strengthening
Institutional arrangements for ETF implementation
Approval of SOPP for BTR/NC preparation
Strengthened coordination mechanisms among ministries & agencies
Engagement of national data custodians (FBoS, FRCS, EFL, WAF, LTA, etc.)
Regional Capacity Building
Regional Peer-to-Peer Learning workshop on ETF implementation (May 2025)
Participation of 11 Pacific Island Countries (PICs)
Engagement with GIZ, SPC, CGE, UNEP-CCC
Knowledge Management & Outreach
Dissemination through:
Fiji Climate Change Portal
GGGI social media and communication platforms
Sharing of workshop materials to all ministry and private sector stakeholders
Continuous engagement with Information & Knowledge Management Units
Gender Capacity Building
Ensuring gender-balanced participation in all trainings
Gender-disaggregated data collection in MRV and NDC indicators
Gender monitoring plan implemented by project’s Gender Expert