Stakeholders finalise vision and sector pathways in the final stage of Tonga’s long-term low emissions development strategy

This week government, state owned enterprises, private sector and civil society are coming together to converge on a shared vision for Tonga in a low carbon world and the first steps needed to achieve it.

07.07.21 Author

Dani Robertson

Climateworks, along with Global Green Growth Institute and Relative Creative, are supporting Tonga to develop its long-term low emissions strategy (LT-LEDS). The third workshop is the final in a series of participant dialogues and will confirm the vision, pathways and first steps with outputs forming the basis of the LT-LEDS document to be submitted to the UNFCCC.

The workshop builds on the outputs from workshop one and two reviewing where participants have come from, confirming outcomes from Workshop 2 and deciding which interventions and actions to prioritise. With the help of local Tongan facilitators, day one of the workshop includes a rapid, creative activity to build a newspaper front page capturing participant’s vision for 2050, followed by a prioritisation of actions against a set of principles that govern the overall project. These principles (‘traditional knowledge’, ‘education’, ‘inclusivity’ and ‘autonomy’) are important criteria which help Tongans to decide which actions matter most for Tongans.

*A workshop participant summarises which actions should be prioritised in Tonga’s LT-LEDS*

Day two of the workshop focuses on building Action Step Briefs to unpack the details of how Tonga will implement the LT-LEDS. Participants are encouraged to decide as a group if there are any gaps in our action plans and how they should be responded to within the LT-LEDS document.

*Participants describe the major first steps which should be implemented from the LT-LEDS, identifying cross-cutting gains and how the step fits with existing policies.*

The outputs from this workshop will form the basis of Tonga’s LT-LEDS which will be drafted over the coming months with final stakeholder validation in September and Cabinet approval in October. The Tongan Government, under the Department of Climate Change (DCC), intends to submit its Low Emission Climate Resilient Development Strategy at COP26 in November 2021.

*Workshop stakeholders identify which intervention actions relate to the major first steps that will be included in the LT-LEDS*

With contribution from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Tonga’s long-term low emissions development strategy project is supporting the Tonga Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communication (MEIDECC). Climateworks is partnering with Global Green Growth Institute and Relative Creative. Find out more.