NAMAs can be implemented at national, regional, or local levels and in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner. The requirements for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of NAMAs entail having a strong, credible and transparent system for tracking GHG emissions that is consistent, comparable, complete and accurate. The MRV provides assurances that the NAMAs are contributing to emissions reduction, and that this reduction is monitored, the progress is reported, and the results verified.

NAMA projects whose primary function is the direct reduction of GHG emissions as well as the increase in mitigative capacity of developing countries, should also have other important social, economic and environmental benefits. Hence, NAMA projects could include strategies (such as a national renewable strategy), policies (such as an energy efficiency standard or a feed-in-tariff), programmes (such as an energy efficient lighting programme) and projects (such as a bus rapid transit lane).

Support can be requested for either the preparation of the NAMA concept, for its implementation, or both. The UNFCCC has set up a NAMA registry to record submitted NAMAs and to facilitate the matching of finance, technology and capacity-building support for NAMAs seeking international support. A country can also choose to submit domestically-funded NAMAs for which international support is not requested (“unilateral” NAMAs) for recognition.

NAMAs in Lebanon

Since NAMAs in the various sectors are considered a discrete set of measures that feed into the transition to a low-emission development, they provide an opportunity to achieve long term transformational change supporting sustainable economic growth in Lebanon.

Council of Ministers' decision 14/2013 has officially launched the NAMA process in Lebanon, and the NAMA decision 196/1 has been published in the official gazette officiating the NAMA process. 

Lebanon first identified 13 mitigation actions that can be packaged as potential NAMAs in the form of NAMA ideas. They included activities related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste and wastewater management, transport etc. A series of workshops and consultations meetings with stakeholders have been conducted by the Ministry of Environment in May 2013, August 2013 and September 2013. This resulted in a shortlisted NAMA list of 5 NAMA concepts. The criteria that have been considered for the selection of NAMA proposals include GHG reduction potential, economic, social and environmental co-benefits, institutional readiness for NAMA implementation and MRV-ability.

The final consultations have resulted in choosing the two sectors for the LECB project to develop NAMAs: the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action in Lebanon’s Private Road Transport Sector (FEVs) and the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action in Lebanon’s Municipal Solid Waste Sector.

The transport NAMA and the waste NAMA project proposals have been endorsed by the Council of Ministers decision number 14/2017. The two NAMAs will be submitted to the NAMA Registry.