Albania is party to the Paris Agreement within the UNFCCCwith the status of a Non-Annex 1 Party,and is candidate for EU membership; both these national commitments require reporting of climate change data and action.

A national system for climate change data measurement reporting and verification (MRV) needs to be established and implemented for the purpose ofimprovingthe quality of reporting as required from the UNFCCC and the EU environmental and climate changeacquis. This system is fundamental for the improvement of the quality of national climate change data and information of the decision making on action; in this way it will support the improvement of the quality of reporting, and, at the same time, alsothe mobilisation of climate finance from GCF as well as from other donors.

At present, the establishment of a national MRV system in compliance with the UNFCCC and EU acquis requirements is one of the policy objectives of the Albanian National Climate Change Strategy and National Mitigation Plan 2021- 2030, under the second strategic priority - to establish a national climate change monitoring, reporting and verification system in line with EU requirements. In addition, law no.155/2020 “On climate change” is in force since July 2021 and constitutes the basic legal act on climate change, and also defines thenational MRVof climate change data, and determines the general institutional arrangements related to it.

However, the national framework for theMRV system is not yet complete: a package of sub-legal acts pursuant to the law needs to be prepared, consulted and endorsed from the relevant line ministries and proposed for adoption to the Council of MinisterswithinJuly 2025; it includes national methods, administrative structures, procedures and data sharing processes, and the sub-legal act specifically regulating the system. At the same time, the technical capacities of the national stakeholders to implement the system need to be built.

Albania’s Ministry for Environment has received funding from the EU, through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance,for the preparation of the strategy and the law on climate change. It has received funding also from the GCF, through UNDP, for the project “Advancing Albania's planning for medium and long-term adaptation through the development of a National Adaptation Planning process”, currently under implementation, which approaches the MRV of climate change adaptation data. The Ministry plans no further funding from international donors in the mid-term periodapproachingother components of the national climate change MRV system.

On this basis, this readiness and preparatory support project proposes to assist the Government of Albania in the establishment of the national measurement, reporting and verification system for (i) greenhouse gas emissions and (ii) mitigation actions, and build the technical capacities for its implementation.

The goal is to improve the quality of Albania’s national reporting under the UNFCCC and EU acquis for GHG emissions and mitigation actions, and mobilize climate finance.

The main beneficiaries of the project will be the government and state institutions and the private sector operators with legal responsibility in the establishment and implementation of the system, as determined by the Law: the National Environmental Agency, line ministries, the private sector operators, the Institute of Statistics, the local government units, academia, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Inter-ministerial Working Group on Climate Change; the Albanian School of Public Administration and the civil society.