GCF Methane Consultant

Result of Service The consultant will be responsible for developing of two zero draft concept notes for the parallel proposal (one on technical assistance, to be submitted by UNEP and one for investment, to be submitted by Pegasus Capital Advisors) to be submitted to the GCF. The cross-cutting parallel proposal should delivers on the Global Methane Pledge, based on the Global Methane Assessment, addressing methane emissions in multiple countries from two of the main emitting methane sectors: waste and agriculture. The two concept notes need to be developed in the GCF concept note format, addressing the GCF eligibility criteria. The consultant has overall responsibility for the production of the concept notes, inclusive of initial assessments of the mitigation potential of each of the key impact sectors of the two main methane emitting sectors and climate vulnerability profiles of countries, as well as to expand on the program structure based on the initial outline and scope. The consultant will also develop the partnership and financial elements of the proposal (section C, implementation arrangements in section B.2, relevant parts of the GCF investment criteria in section B.3).

Throughout the assignment, the consultant is expected to regularly engage with the UNEP team and key partners in the CCAC on the proposal. The concept note on the investment will be done in consultations with and input from Pegasus. One or more online workshops will be held to review the draft with the UNEP team working on IMEO and methane mitigation, the CCAC partnership, and other relevant partners. Final deliverable of the consultancy is the two GCF concept notes ready for initial submission to the GCF.

Work Location Home-based

Expected duration 4 months

Duties and Responsibilities Reducing methane emissions, alongside deep decarbonization efforts, is one of the world's best opportunities to keep the 1.5°C temperature limit within reach and to deliver "fast mitigation" in the coming decades. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) - 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a 20-year time frame, and 28 times more potent on a 100-year time frame. Methane has a relatively short residence time in the atmosphere - it breaks down after about 12 years on average – which means that methane action leads to a faster reduction of atmospheric concentrations and thereby contributes to avoiding dangerous tipping points. This comes with benefits for projected adaptation needs. The IPCC reports that methane concentrations have increased rapidly since 2007. Methane is now responsible for almost half of global warming. The new CCAC / UNEP baseline report, which examines a baseline scenario for 2030 with no new action, points to a further increase.

In addition to its climate impacts, methane also affects air quality because it is an ingredient in the formation of ground level (tropospheric) ozone, a dangerous air pollutant. This comes with direct impacts on health, but also affects plant growth and with this ecosystems health and food security.

More than half of global methane emissions stem from human activities in three sectors: fossil fuels (35 per cent of human-caused emissions), waste (20 per cent) and agriculture (40 per cent). In the fossil fuel sector, oil and gas extraction, processing and distribution account for 23 per cent, and coal mining accounts for 12 per cent of emissions. In the waste sector, landfills and wastewater make up about 20 per cent of global anthropogenic emissions. In the agricultural sector, livestock emissions from manure and enteric fermentation represent roughly 32 per cent, and rice cultivation 8 per cent of global anthropogenic emissions.

Existing cost-effective measures can reduce human-caused methane emissions by 45% this decade according to the UNEP Global Methane Assessment report. This would avoid nearly 0.3°C of global warming by the 2040s and complement all long-term climate change mitigation efforts. It would also, each year, prevent 255 000 premature deaths, 775 000 asthma related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat, and 26 million tonnes of crop losses globally. Measures would therefore also increase resilience to climate change. Separately, a 2021 Environmental Research Letter concluded that “Overall, strategies exist to cut global methane emissions from human activities in half within the next ten years and half of these strategies currently incur no net cost.”

There is strong political will and commitment to tackle methane emissions from the main emitting sectors while driving development agendas and generating multiple benefits. More than 120 countries as well as 27 supporters, including the Green Climate Fund, have signed the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) launched at COP26 in Glasgow. The GMP is a voluntary collective effort to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. The UN Food Systems Summit, held in 2021, made a strong case for the need for a food systems transformation. Amongst other action areas, it gave rise to the ‘Food is never waste’ initiative. SDG 12.3 has targets on food loss and waste. An increasing number of countries have reflected methane action, action in the agriculture or waste sector, or have specifically highlighted food loss and waste in their updated NDCs (45 countries) – mostly as a mitigation measure but also under adaptation. Finally, the Egyptian COP27 Presidency is launching an initiative on waste called 50 by 2050, starting out in Africa, but set to become a global effort.

UNEP is well placed to support methane mitigation efforts from the food systems and waste sector and to drive the adaptation agenda. UNEP, hosting two efforts which are both core implementers of the GMP, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the International Methane Emission Observatory (IMEO). CCAC is the first port of call for GMP country engagement, supports Roadmap development and institutional strengthening. CCAC supports since 2012 methane mitigation efforts by fostering and strengthening high-level commitments and mobilizing partners; raising awareness; supporting sectoral and national planning, policy and implementation, advancing policy-relevant methane science, analysis and tools, strengthening institutions, and scaling up finance. The CCAC sector Hubs on agriculture and waste respectively, are platforms for peer-to-peer exchange and matchmaking. IMEO is a data focused initiative that brings together satellite data on observed methane emissions, and thereby will serve monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) function. UNEP is the custodian of SDG 12.3 and has issued the Food Waste Index Report, which provides both a methodology for countries to measure food waste at household, food service and retail level, and the most comprehensive food waste data collection, analysis and modelling to date.

Under the direct supervision of the head of the CCAC secretariat, and in collaboration with the IMEO and CCAC teams, the consultant is expected to develop two zero draft concept notes for the parallel proposal (one on technical assistance, to be submitted by UNEP and one for investment, to be submitted by Pegasus Capital Advisors) for submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for programmatic technical assistance and investment schemes in participating countries to reduce methane emissions.

Develop two concept notes for the parallel proposal with Pegasus for consideration by the GCF that aims to reduce methane emissions from key sources sectors to avoid warming in the near term while providing benefits for air quality and health, food security, and adaptation. The program will target 5 impact sectors: - Food waste prevention - Agricultural waste - Organic waste management - Sustainable cold chains - Sustainable healthy diets The program will engage and collaborate with 12 countries in 3 regions that are identified based on the following criteria: methane reduction potential and abatement cost, food loss index, food waste index, highest commodity producers of rice, sugarcane, coco and palm oil and livestock, political commitment (i.e. reflection of targeted sectors in NDCs, GMP signatories, supporters of COP27 presidency’s 50 by 2050 initiative on waste, and engagement in the CCAC as well as UNEP’s regional food waste working groups), private sector engagement in targeted sectors. It is expected that not all countries will work in all five impact sectors / all technologies.

Qualifications/special skills ¿ Advanced University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in a field related to natural resources, environment, climate, and/or air quality is required. OR ¿ A bachelor’s degree plus two additional years of relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of the master’s degree. ¿ At least 7 years’ experience, in an area related to environment, climate, and air quality policies and processes is required; ¿ Experience with climate funding mechanisms, such as the GCF, is required.

Languages ¿ Fluency in oral and written English is required. ¿ Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset

Additional Information Travel may be required for this consultancy.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.