From July 6 to 8, 2026, the 2026 CGE Hands-on Training Workshop for the Latin America and the Caribbean Region took place in Antigua, Guatemala, gathering climate action specialists from across the region to advance collective capacity for climate transparency under the Paris Agreement. Among the attendees were two representatives from Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Environment: Anik Jarvis, a data consultant, and Garth Simon, a project technical officer.
Organized around the central theme “Towards Improved BTRs, with a focus on Adaptation: Exchange of Experience, Good Practices and Lessons Learned,” the workshop was designed to equip national experts with the technical skills needed to draft and submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) on schedule. These reports are a core requirement of the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework, which holds countries accountable for their climate commitments and supports global coordination on emissions reduction and resilience building.
The three-day training curriculum covered a full spectrum of high-priority topics critical to robust BTR preparation. Participants deepened their expertise in documenting climate change impacts and adaptation actions, developing standardized adaptation indicators, designing effective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems, reporting on climate-related loss and damage, navigating flexibility provisions for developing nations, drafting targeted improvement plans for future reporting, and engaging properly in the post-submission processes of Technical Expert Review and Facilitative Multilateral Consideration of Progress. The workshop’s hands-on structure also created extensive space for peer-to-peer learning, allowing representatives from different nations to share context-specific challenges and successful local strategies.
For Antigua and Barbuda, a small island developing state that is disproportionately vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, participation in this regional training aligns with ongoing national priorities. The knowledge and skills gained by Jarvis and Simon will directly support the country’s ongoing work to strengthen national climate transparency frameworks, refine adaptation reporting practices, upgrade national climate data management systems, and build long-term institutional capacity to meet future BTR submission requirements. By investing in this capacity building, Antigua and Barbuda is better positioned to access climate finance, communicate its climate action progress to the global community, and advance more effective adaptation planning to protect its communities and ecosystems.
At the conclusion of the workshop, all participating representatives received official certificates to acknowledge their active engagement in the training program and their contributions to the regional peer-learning exchange.