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Job title: International Consultant – Technical Reviewer of Greenhouse Gas Inventories – LULUCF Sector

Duty Station: Home based (with one in-country mission in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova)

Contract type: Individual Contract

Expected workload: up to 25 consultancy days over the period January - March 2026

BACKGROUND

The UNEP/GEF Project SB-021477.39 “Moldova: Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication (BTR2/NC6) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)” is being pursued to support the Republic of Moldova (RoM) to prepare and submit the combined BTR2/NC6 report that complies with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement reporting requirements while responding to national development goals.

With the adoption of the Paris Agreement (PA), adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC in December 2015, all countries agreed on an enhanced transparency framework (ETF) for action and support (Article 13), with built-in flexibility which takes into account Parties’ different capacities and builds upon collective experience. The Paris Agreement, sets out a global action plan that puts the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C. It establishes that each individual Party should submit a Nationally Determined Contribution and revise it every five years in order to achieve the global goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In the context of the ETF, countries are expected to track and report progress towards achieving their NDCs, and communicate adaptation actions, including good practices, priorities, needs and gaps, so as to inform the global stock take under Article 14 of the Agreement. Besides submitting their National Communications (NCs) every four years, signatory countries will be expected to submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) including a National Inventory Report (NIR) every two years starting from December 2024, thus replacing the Biennial Update Reports (BURs).

Under the UNEP/GEF Project “Moldova: Enabling Activities for the Preparation of Combined Second Biennial Transparency Report and Sixth National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, Moldova will receive support to prepare its combine BTR2/NC6 Report and submit it to the UNFCCC by December 2026, in compliance with UNFCCC and PA reporting requirements and in alignment to national development goals, with built-in flexibility provided in light of its capacities. Moreover, the country will be supported to undertake a self-assessment and stocktaking exercise for preparation of the project proposal for the subsequent BTR development. 

The content of deliverables produced under the project Output 1: Combined BTR2/NC6 Report prepared and submitted to UNFCCC by December 2026, must follow the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs) for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement (FCCC/PA/CMA/2018/3/Add.2).

Moreover, as adopted at COP 26 in Decision 5/CMA.3, the following will be observed: (i) outlines for the NC, BTR & National Inventory Document (NID); (ii)  the Common Reporting Tables (CRT) for reporting GHG Inventory and the Common Tabular Formats (CTF) for reporting the NDC progress, financial, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support provided and mobilized, as well as support needed and received (FCCC/PA/CMA/2021/10/Add.2).

The BTR2/NC6 project shall be built on findings and recommendations from the technical expert review of the BTR1 and expert review of previous NCs and BURs.

The combined BTR2/NC6 Report is expected to include the following content:

• National inventory report of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases;
• Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;
• Information related to climate change impacts and adaptation under Article 7 of the Paris Agreement;
• Information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity-building support needed and received under Articles 9–11 of the Paris Agreement;
• Other relevant information, including:
  • Research and Systematic Observation;
  • Education, Training and Public Awareness; and
  • Gender Mainstreaming into the Climate Policies.

Chapter 1: ‘National inventory report of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases’ of the combined BTR2/NC6 Report aims to provide a description of the country’s national circumstances related to GHG emissions and removals and produce the National Inventory Report (NIR), which will be submitted as a stand-alone report^[1]. Information to be provided in Chapter 1 of the combined BTR2/NC6 Report includes but is not limited to:

• A description of national circumstances and institutional arrangements related to GHG inventory;
• A brief description of methodologies and data sources used;
• Brief description of key category analysis (KCA);
• Brief general description of QA/QC activities and their implementation;
• Time-series consistency and recalculations;
• General uncertainty assessment, including data pertaining to the overall uncertainty of inventory totals;
• General assessment of inventory completeness;
• Metrics for the 100-year time-horizon global warming potential;
• Summary of any flexibility provisions applied;
• Trends in direct greenhouse gas emissions and removals;
• Description of emission and removal trends by gas;
• Description of emission and removal trends by sector;
• Trends in indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

The above proposed scope of work is categorized into the following three main deliverables, with a sample list of activities below:

• The section on national circumstances and institutional arrangements related to GHG inventory compiled:

• Describe national inventory arrangements, including institutional, legal, and procedural arrangements for the continued estimation, compilation, and timely reporting of NIRs;
• Compile information related to inventory planning, preparation and management - that includes information on national focal points responsible for inventory and inventory preparation process, data archiving of all information and processes for the official consideration and approval of the inventory.

• The section on methodologies and metrics, including: methodologies, parameters and data sources used, KCA, QA/QC, time series consistency and recalculations, uncertainty assessment, inventory completeness, metrics for the 100-year time-horizon global warming potential and summary of any flexibility provisions applied compiled:

• Compile information on the methodologies parameters and data sources used in the GHG inventory process;
• Design surveys and forms to collect activity data, identify research needs and undertake the required actions for generating on regular basis activity data, developing national emission factors and country specific methodologies in a scientific sound and consistent manner, provided that they are more accurate than the IPCC defaults and are documented transparently;
• Collect, review and compile data and conduct the national GHG inventory for the 1990 – 2024 periods;
• Recalculate the existing national GHG inventory for the years 1990 – 2022, if needed;
• Conduct key category analysis, uncertainties assessment, and assessment of inventory completeness;
• Carry out QA/QC activities (e.g., at sectoral and key categories level) for the national GHG inventory for the years 1990-2024,
• Update the GHG inventory archive for the inventory in a way that is consistent with the National System for Monitoring and Reporting (NSMR);
• Technical capacity building, including participation of project staff, sector leads and national consultants in regional/international workshops and trainings on GHG inventory.

• The National Inventory Document (NID) and the Common Reporting Tables (CRTs) compiled:

• Compile the ‘Executive Summary’ of the NID;
• Compile Chapter 1: ‘National circumstances, institutional arrangements and cross-cutting information’ of the NID;
• Compile Chapter 2: ‘Trends in greenhouse gas emissions and removals’ of the NID;
• Compile sectoral chapters of the NID: Chapter 3: ‘Energy’ (CRT sector 1); Chapter 4: ‘IPPU’ (CRT sector 2); Chapter 5: ‘Agriculture’ (CRT sector 3); Chapter 6: ‘LULUCF’ (CRT sector 4); Chapter 7: ‘Waste’ (CRT sector 5); Chapter 8: ‘Other’ (CRT sector 6) (if applicable);
• Compile Chapter 9: ‘Indirect carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions’ of the NID;
• Compile Chapter 10: ‘Recalculations and improvements’ of the NID, including information on the areas of improvement and/or capacity-building in response to the review process;
• Compile the annexes to the NID, including: Annex I: ‘Key categories’; Annex II: ‘Uncertainty assessment’; Annex III: ‘Detailed description of the reference approach (including inputs to the reference approach such as the national energy balance) and the results of the comparison of national estimates of emissions with those obtained using the reference approach’; Annex IV: ‘QA/QC Plan’; Annex V: ‘Any additional information, as applicable, including detailed methodological descriptions of source or sink categories and the national emission balance’; Annex VI: ‘Common Reporting Tables’;
• Finalize the National Inventory Document (NID) and the Common Reporting Tables (CRTs), pursuant to the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, for submission with the BTR2/NC6;
• Translate the NID from Romanian to English;
• Publish the NID in Romanian and English;
• Draft in Romanian language Chapter 1 ‘National inventory report of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases’ of the combined BTR2/NC6 Report:
• Translate Chapter 1 ‘National inventory report of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases’ of the combined BTR2/NC6 Report from Romanian to English;
• Organize a national workshop to present the results on the national inventory of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks for 1990-2024 periods, to all interested partners and relevant stakeholders, policy makers, decision makers and with participation of the representatives of civil society and environmental NGOs.

As the national GHG inventory is a key component of the combined BTR2/NC6 Report, there are opportunities under the respective project, on the one hand – for peer reviewing the most relevant chapters of the draft National Inventory Document (NID) and Common Reporting Tables (CRTs), before their submission to the UNFCCC and their review by the technical expert review team (TERT) in the upcoming technical expert reviews (TERs) of biennial transparency reports (when the scope of TER includes the review information reported in the BTRs, including any relevant annexes, in line with decisions 18/CMA.1, 5/CMA.3 and 9/CMA.4; the first BTR1 of the Republic of Moldova is scheduled to be reviewed from 4 to 8 May 2026); and on the other hand – for enhancing the level of knowledge of the national experts and partner institutions involved in the development of national GHG inventory, specifically in the light of the findings of the peer review exercise to be undertaken and of the recommendations for inventory improvements to be further considered in the process of developing combined BTR2/NC6 Report of the Republic of Moldova under the UNFCCC.

In this regard, the Public Institution “Environmental Projects National Implementation Office” (PI “EPNIO”) of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova is seeking the expertise of an international consultant to:

• Perform the peer review of structure and content of the Land Use Matrix afferent to the Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’, developed by the Republic of Moldova early in 2016 year, in accordance with the reporting requirements defined in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement); assess its adequacy to the reporting requirements set up in decisions 18/CMA.1, 5/CMA.3 and 9/CMA.4 and propose options and solutions for its optimization;
• Perform the peer review of the national GHG inventory for Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ (CRT tables) and of Chapter 6 ‘LULUCF Sector’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’, before its submission to the UNFCCC; and enhance the professional knowledge and skills of the national experts and institutions involved in the development of GHG Inventory for Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’, based on review findings and recommendations.

SCOPE OF WORK

The focus of this assignment is to perform a peer review of the structure and content of the Land Use Matrix afferent to the Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’; assess its adequacy to the reporting requirements set up in decisions 18/CMA.1, 5/CMA.3 and 9/CMA.4; and propose options and solutions for its optimization; respectively to perform a peer review of the national GHG inventory – Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ (CRT tables) and of Chapter 6 ‘LULUCF Sector’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’, before its submission to the UNFCCC.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Peer review the structure and content of the Land Use Matrix afferent to the Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’

In close cooperation with the ‘National GHG Inventory’ Thematic Working Group Coordinator, LULUCF Sector Lead and national consultants, the international consultant will:

• conduct a peer review of the structure and content of the Land Use Matrix afferent to the Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’, covering the 1970-2024 period, developed by the Republic of Moldova early in 2016 year, in the spirit of AFOLU, as defined in Volume 4 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement);
• consider the land use categories classification in the Republic of Moldova, the existing statistical system in place, and other relevant national and sectoral circumstances;
• clarify the methodological concerns (tiers, approaches, methodologies, coefficients, etc.) and issues related to the conversion of land use categories from one category to another;
• assess its adequacy to the reporting requirements set up in decisions 18/CMA.1, 5/CMA.3 and 9/CMA.4 and propose options and solutions for its optimization;
• suggests simplification of Land Use Matrix and additional checks regarding the consistency of land conversions, including demonstration and training for national consultants;
• suggests solutions for improved land use monitoring, given the imminent National Forest Inventory (NFI) implementation.
• Peer Review the draft Chapter 6: Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ of the ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’ and the Common Reporting Tables (CRTs) for Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’

The international consultant will conduct a detailed peer review assessment of the GHG inventory for Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ (including the CRT tables) and information provided in the draft Chapter 6: Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ of the ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’.

S/he is responsible for producing a timely Review Report of high quality, in line with decision 1/CP.24, paragraph 42, conforming in extent possible to overall standards set in Chapter VII ‘Technical expert review’ of the Annex to Decision 18/CMA.1 ‘Modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’; Annex VI ‘Outline of the technical expert review report, pursuant to the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’ of Decision 5/CMA.3 ‘Guidance for operationalizing the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the enhanced transparency framework referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’; respectively Part III: ‘UNFCCC guidelines for the technical review of greenhouse gas inventories from Parties included in Annex I to the Convention’ of the Annex to Decision 13/CP.20.

International Consultant will examine the data, methodologies and procedures used in preparing the GHG inventory for the Sector 4: ‘LULUCF’. S/he is required to pay particular attention to key categories, progress in the implementation of any planned improvements, and where recalculations and other changes have been reported. International consultant will verify that the data has been calculated transparently, checking also for calculation errors when spreadsheets are provided, and will identify areas for improvement or further work. S/he will highlight any errors, inconsistencies and data gaps and will provide comments on discrepancies in the GHG inventory, including explanations of the possible sources of error. International consultant will also provide written references of the data sources used to review the inventory.

S/he should follow to the extent possible the ‘Outline of the technical expert review report, pursuant to the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’, from Annex VI of Decision 5/CMA.3, respectively the ‘UNFCCC guidelines for the technical review of greenhouse gas inventories from Parties included in Annex I to the Convention’ from Part III of the Annex to Decision 13/CP.20.

In above mentioned context, the Review Report must contain tentatively the following sections:

1. Sector Overview: it will provide a general overview on the completeness, consistency, and transparency of the national GHG inventory for LULUCF sector;
2. Key categories: it will include a detailed assessment of the inventory for each key source and sink category.
3. Non-key categories: it will include a detailed assessment of the inventory for most relevant non-key source and sink categories.
4. Final conclusions and recommendations: it will include the main conclusions and recommendations to improve the GHG inventory for Sector 4: ‘LULUCF’.

International consultant will prepare a Review Report of approximately 20-25 pages, depending on the quality of the inventory reviewed.

MAIN OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

International consultant will submit the Final Report to the BTR2/NC6 Project Implementation Unit, set up within the PI “EPNIO” of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova.

S/he will be responsible for:

1. Conduct a desk review of National GHG Inventory – Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ (CRT tables) and of Chapter 6: Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’ and submit a preliminary list of questions to the national inventory team, by early-January 2026 (4 w/ds);
2. Assess the structure and content of the Land Use Matrix and database, afferent to the LULUCF sector, and its adequacy to the reporting requirements defined in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement), by mid-January 2026 (2 w/ds);
3. During his/her in-country mission, to be organized, mid-January 2026 and/or alternatively early in February 2026 (3 w/ds), assess the existing statistical system in place and how the land use categories classification is implemented in the Republic of Moldova, respectively assess if the representation of national land use categories is explained in a transparent manner in NID; and conduct an in-depth peer review of GHG Inventory – Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’(CRF tables) and Chapter 6 ‘LULUCF Sector’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’;
4. Discuss and clarify with the LULUCF Sector Lead and national consultants the methodological concerns (tiers, approaches, methodologies, coefficients, etc.) and issues related to the conversion of land use categories from one category to another, in the spirit of AFOLU, as defined in Volume 4 of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines and in the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (Wetlands Supplement), late in January 2026 and/or alternatively early in February 2026 (2 w/ds);
5. Conduct the review of the structure and content of the Land Use Matrix and database afferent to Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’, covering the 1970-2024 period, developed by the Republic of Moldova early in 2016 year; assess its adequacy to the reporting requirements set up in decisions 18/CMA.1, 5/CMA.3 and 9/CMA.4; propose options and practical solutions for its optimization, by mid-February 2026 (7 w/ds);
6. Document the findings in the Review Report and send the draft to the national inventory team for comments, by late-February 2026 (3 w/ds); and
7. Providing the final version of the Review Report, considering the feedback received from the national inventory team, by early March 2026 (2 w/ds).
8. Providing the Final Report on undertaking activities, including practical recommendations and guidance on managing, maintaining and regular updating of the Land Use Matrix and inventory database, by mid-March 2026 (2 w/ds).

All deliverables should be presented in a final, edited and publishable format, including all references.

Travel arrangements

The in-country mission to the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau City is expected:

• During the in-country mission (3 working days within the period: mid-January and/or alternatively early in February 2026) consultant will undertake an in-depth peer review of the GHG Inventory – Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ (CRT tables), Chapter 6: Sector 4 ‘LULUCF’ of the draft ‘National Inventory Document: 1990-2024, Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in the Republic of Moldova’.

Institutional arrangements

• The consultant will report to the BTR2/NC6 Project Implementation Unit, set up within the PI “EPNIO” of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova;
• The estimated level of effort is approximately 25 working days, spread between January to March 2026;
• The contract assignment will be for a fixed all-inclusive daily fee;
• The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment; and
• Payments will be made per deliverable, upon satisfactory delivery and acceptance by the BTR2/NC6 Project Implementation Unit, set up within the PI “EPNIO” of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Moldova. If the quality does not meet standards or requirements, the consultant will be asked to rewrite or revise (as necessary) the document before proceeding to payment.

Payments schedule

The payment for the provided services will be carried out in two instalments based on accepted deliverables:

• 30% upon finalization of the in-country mission;
• 70% upon submission and approval of the Final Report on undertaking activities.

Qualifications

Education

• Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in forestry and/or climate change related fields.

Experience

• At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in application of IPCC methodologies for preparation of GHG inventories – LULUCF sector;
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience in providing technical review services of national GHG inventories (LULUCF sector) and inventory system products, including national inventory reports;
• At least 2 years of demonstrated experience in designing and/or providing professional trainings for the GHG Inventory staff;
• Proven experience in working with international or local organizations on similar assignments (successful experience in working with UN agencies) is an asset.

Competencies

• Demonstrated comprehensive technical knowledge related to estimation and technical review of national GHG inventories;
• Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work;
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Positive, constructive attitude to work;
• Excellent human relations, coordination, planning and team work skills;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

Language

• Proficient in written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of Romanian is a distinct asset.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

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

1. Technical Proposal - explaining how applicant responds to each of the qualification requirements and why s/he is the most suitable for the work (particularly providing details on the previously implemented similar assignments and previous experience in the fields related to this consultancy as described in the job description);
2. CV containing personal information, including records of past experience in similar assignments and concrete outputs obtained, with three references;
3. Financial Proposal, specifying a total lump sum amount (in USD), and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables.

Documents should be submitted by email on cancelaria@onipm.gov.md, no later than Friday, 26 December 2025, by 14:00. Only that shortlisted will be contacted.

^[1] The detailed Outline of the national inventory document can be found in the Annex V (p. 41) of the Decision 5/CMA.3 Guidance operationalizing the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the enhanced transparency framework referred to in Article 13 of the Paris Agreement.