Stakeholder Involvement and the Consideration of Co-benefits in the Preparation of the Dominican Republic’s INDC
The Dominican Republic is highly committed to combatting climate change, as can be seen by the high level of political leadership on climate change, where the President leads the “National Council on Climate Change and the Clean Development Mechanism” (NCCC-CDM). The Council developed the National Climate Compatible Development Plan (CCDP) in 2011, which outlines the government’s commitment to increase its GDP by 140% while at the same time cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 25% by 2030.
Against this backdrop, the INDC preparation process has been an opportunity for improved analysis of the national context, identification of alternative financing options and the revalidation of national targets. This has strengthened widespread buy-in to national policy goals by the public and private sectors, as well as civil society.
The main characteristics of this process are the high-level political leadership and commitment behind it as well as its basis on the revision of existing planning in line with the overall national vision. A detailed analysis and discussion on the wider national impacts and global context of mitigation strategies, coupled with an effective communication strategy during the process, resulted in high level buy-in at the sectoral level. Stakeholder consultations addressing the co-benefits of the mitigation options fostered the engagement and reinforcement of sectoral ownership of the INDC process.
Strengthened capacities of a wide group of stakeholders. The number of stakeholders involved in the process led to increased learning and knowledge on climate change-related issues, GHG mitigation and impact measurement across a larger group of stakeholders in the key sectors of the economy.
Increased ownership of national goals: Awareness and understanding of the importance of mitigation and adaptation measures were increased amongst a wide range of stakeholders, especially building on the analysis of sector level priorities and non-GHG related benefits. This strengthened sector level buyin and ownership of the proposed measures, the INDC process and the national strategy on the whole.
Improvement of national planning processes. The INDC development process helped to develop a replicable procedure that can be used in future efforts to revisit the national planning system. It also provided the opportunity for deeper review of certain aspects of the national policy and validation through stakeholders.
Presidency and the National Council on Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism (NCCC-CDM) led the process.
A Strategic Direction Committee made up of: Dominican Municipal League, Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, the Dominican Corporation of Electrical Public Companies and the Office for Transport Reorganization.