Two local consultants to be responsible for analysis of the national legislation of the Republic of Moldova for the purpose of the gap analysis against the EU acquis included in the Bilateral Agreement on Climate Action..

Vacancy Number: Pr19/01875

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 02 Sep 2019, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:
09 Sep 2019, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date: 16 Sep 2019
Reference to the project: EU4Climate Moldova
Expected Duration of Assignment:September – December 2019 (up to 45 working days for climate consultant/team leader and up to 35 working days for energy consultant)
Submission Instructions:

Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Online" button, no later than 2 September 2019, 16:30 (Moldova local time).

Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: marius.taranu@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.

Supporting Documents:
Procurement Notice
Terms of reference
OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT
UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Mr. Marius Taranu.

marius.taranu@undp.org


Background

The six EU Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine - face water and energy shortages and a broad spectrum of climate-related and geophysical disasters. With more frequent and severe meteorological hazards, rural and urban populations across the sub-region are likely to become more vulnerable, while the overall costs of adaptation are projected to increase dramatically. Economies in the region are characterized by high levels of energy intensity and inefficiency, relying on fossil fuels for over 80 percent of their energy needs. Climate change will exacerbate current pressure on natural resources and ecosystems. The region’s challenge will be to shift to a low-carbon development model, while at the same time shielding people from the consequences of catastrophic climate change and disasters. The transition to a low carbon, resource-efficient economy demands a fundamental shift in technology, energy, economics, finance and ultimately society as a whole. For the EU and the Eastern Partner countries this provides important opportunities, notably for economic transformation, jobs and growth.

Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change was adopted at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in December 2015 and officially entered into force on 4 November 2016. The Paris Agreement was the first ever universal, legally binding climate deal that set out a plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to “well below 2°C”. Together with Agenda 2030 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement provides an unprecedented opportunity to create an integrated development approach towards inclusive resilient economies with a zero-carbon footprint by 2100.

The Paris Agreement builds upon submissions from 192 countries for national climate pledges known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which become a binding Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) when a country ratifies the Paris Agreement. NDCs reflect a country’s ambition for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, considering domestic circumstances and capabilities, and the majority have also included adaptation goals. The entry into force of the Paris Agreement only 11 months after it was formally adopted signifies the importance being placed on the NDCs for addressing climate change. However, the current pledges fall short of the 2°C goal. Under the provisions of the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit updated and more ambitious NDCs every five years. NDCs are thereby expected to become the main vision by which national, subnational and sectoral climate change policies and actions are aligned with national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The EU, UNDP and other partners supported countries in preparation of INDCs in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement that included direct technical and financial support to countries through the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme and the Project Support to Developing Countries on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. UNDP has also organized Global and Regional Technical Dialogues in collaboration with the UNFCCC and other development partners to build technical capacity and exchange experiences on NDC design and implementation.

Scope of work

The goal of EU4Climate Project is to contribute to climate change mitigation & adaptation and the development towards a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy in line with the Paris Agreement in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

To realize this project goal, the following results should be achieved:

 

Result 1:  Finalized or up-dated nationally determined contributions communicated to the UNFCCC;

Result 2:  Improved inter-institutional awareness and coordination at political and technical level of the Paris Agreement and the corresponding national commitments;  

Result 3:  Established or strengthened MRV systems, with countries getting on track with Paris Agreement transparency requirements;

Result 4:  Advanced alignment with EU climate acquis as provided by bilateral agreements with EU and in the context of Energy Community Treaty on climate matters that are not covered by the EU4Energy programme;

Result 5:  Establishment of concrete sectoral guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement in each of the Eastern Partners;

Result 6: Increased mobilization of climate finance;

Result 7: Enhanced adaptation planning. 

The project implementation methodology will follow the logic of the Paris Agreement framework and relevant EU climate acquis, as well as their subsequent developments. The respective climate change EU acquis and climate provisions under the Energy Community Treaty will be the integral part of the project logic and implementation methodology, the EU best practices will be shared. Relevant technical guidance on various elements of climate policy development will be used through the capacity building and training activities.

The main objective of the assignment is to analyze the national legislation in the Republic of Moldova for the purpose of a gap analysis against the EU acquis included in the Bilateral Agreement on Climate Action and in the Energy Community Treaty and elaboration of a roadmap and/or proposals for legislative alignment.

Under the guidance of the EU4Climate National Coordinator, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environmental and Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, the two local consultants (climate consultant/team leader and the energy consultant) to be hired will have the following responsibilities:

1.Detailed analysis of existing national legislative framework of the Republic of Moldova and compliance check to verify if domestic legislation exists and/or is compatible with the EU acquis included in:

            a.The Bilateral Agreement on Climate Action (reference to the Association Agreement Republic of Moldova – European Union, ratified through the Law No. 112 as of 02.07.2014, see specifically Chapter 17 ‘Climate Policies’ and Annex XI of the AA RM-EU, as well as the Governmental Decision No. 808 as of 07.10.2014 on approval of the National Action Plan on implementation of the AA RM-EU within the period 2014-2016 and the Governmental Decision No. 1472 as of 30.12.2016 on approval of the National Action Plan on implementation of the AA RM-EU within the period 2017-2019); and

           b.The Energy Community Treaty (reference to the Law No. 117 as of 23.12.2009 on adherence of the Republic of Moldova to the Energy Community Treaty).

 

2.Based on stakeholders’ consultation process, analyze the current situation in implementing climate related commitments under the Bilateral Agreement on Climate Action (AA RM-EU) and the Energy Community Treaty; determine the EU acquis alignment country needs and develop a Roadmap for the EU4Climate support in alignment with EU acquis (activity will be undertaken in collaboration with the international consultants hired by the Energy Community Secretariat and UNDP IRH);

3.Presentation of the consultation process findings and the draft Roadmap for the EU4Climate support at the national consultation workshop;

4.Drafting the concept of National Consultation Workshop and provide support in its organization at the request of EU4Climate Project Team and the Energy Community Secretariat Team of Experts; 

5.Finalize the Roadmap for EU4Climate support in alignment with EU acquis, in collaboration with the international consultants hired by the Energy Community Secretariat and UNDP IRH.

Requirements for experience

For the climate consultant/team leader:

Education:

  • Advanced degree (Master or Ph.D.) in a relevant field, such as Public or International Law, Environmental Policy and/or Economics, Climate Change, or any related qualification.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of climate change;
  • At least 3 years of demonstrated experience of work with climate related projects and analytical tasks;
  • Practical experience with evaluation reports and/or assessments on the country progress vs climate commitments.

For the energy consultant:

Education:

  • Advanced degree (Master or Ph.D.) in a relevant field, such as Public or International Law, Energy, Industry, Chemistry, Engineering, Environmental Technologies, or any related qualification.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of energy and/or climate change;
  • At least 3 years of demonstrated experience of work with energy and/or climate related projects and analytical tasks;
  • Practical experience with evaluation reports and/or assessments on the country progress vs energy and/or climate commitments.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

  1. Proposal, explaining why they are the most suitable for the work, including past experience in similar assignments, providing a brief information on above qualifications and methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable).
  2. Financial proposal (in USD), specifying a fee per day and total requested amount including all related costs, e.g. fees, per diems, travel costs, phone calls, etc.;
  3. CV and/or the duly filled in and signed Personal History Form (P11), and at least three names for a reference check.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal will specify the daily fee, travel expenses and per diems quoted in separate line items, and payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked.

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.