The Ministry of Climate Change, Environment, and Energy has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation to enhance the transport sector's data management system in support of preparing the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory. The agreement was signed by Minister of Climate Change, Environment, and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Thoriq noted that previous National Greenhouse Gas Inventories in the Maldives have shown that the transport sector contributes to around 25% of the country's emissions. He highlighted the challenges in sustainably gathering detailed information. He also emphasised that the new database will not only streamline the collection of climate change and environmental data but also support various research efforts and policy development.
Additionally, Minister Thoriq said that this initiative is a significant step towards strengthening national efforts to combat climate change. He also said that the agreement would provide crucial data needed by the transport sector for the preparation and implementation of reports such as the Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) and the Maldives Climate Change Action Plan or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Furthermore, Minister Thoriq said that the project will improve information management within the transportation sector by introducing an electronic portal for easy access to necessary data.
Menawhile, Minister Ameen said that the agreement would significantly facilitate the ministry's work in ensuring vehicle accuracy and is a key step towards achieving the 26 goals outlined in the Male' Fahi Programme. He also noted that the transport sector is responsible for a substantial portion of greenhouse gas emissions, and the real-time data collected by the transport ministry of will be critical.
The National GHG Inventory is being developed under the Capacity Building for Improved Transparency of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Actions in the Maldives (CBIT Maldives) project. The initiative is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is being implemented in collaboration with the Environment Ministry and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment).