PNG: Ex-Ante Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Assessment, Trans-National Highway

PNG: Ex-Ante Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Assessment, Trans-National Highway

Please note that the deadline is based on Korean Standard Time Zone (KST, UTC+9)

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page.

Project background

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Its road network is a lifeline for economic growth, social connectivity and access to essential services, and it is increasingly compromised by intense rainfall, flooding, landslides and related hazards. The heavy rains of 2024 alone caused damages estimated at PGK 500 million (approximately USD 125 million).
With funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), GGGI is implementing the Climate Finance Initiative for Resilience and a Sustainable Transition (Climate FIRST), developed under the PNG–Australia Climate Change Action Plan (PACCAP), in close collaboration with the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA).
Under Climate FIRST, GGGI is supporting the PNG Department of Works and Highways (DoWH) to prepare a climate-resilient road investment in Morobe Province (the Trans-National Highway 9 Mile to Bulolo Resilient Road Project) for potential financing by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). To make the best use of resources, the work concentrates on a selected first section of approximately 25-45 km, agreed in consultation with DoWH and AIIB, to be prepared to the required standard by December 2026 as a model for the rest of the corridor.
All deliverables under this assignment are intended for DoWH and AIIB. The governing technical and safeguard context is therefore the AIIB Environmental and Social Framework (ESF, June 2024), the AIIB Procurement Policy (as revised through June 26, 2024) read with the Directive on Procurement Instructions for Recipients (July 26, 2024), the DoWH Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CCRVA) Framework (May 2025) and its Guidelines, and the DoWH Climate-Responsive Manuals 1–5 (Design; Construction; Maintenance; Operations; Rehabilitation and Decommissioning). GGGI procurement and contracting processes follow GGGI rules and templates.
A central mandate of this work is capacity building: GGGI teams work alongside DoWH, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority, CCDA and the PNG National Weather Service (PNGNWS), so that lasting technical capability remains within PNG institutions after the project ends.

Objectives of the assignment

GGGI seeks to engage a competent consultant (hereinafter referred to as the “Consultant/Service Provider”) to undertake an ex-ante greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment of the selected road section of the Trans-National Highway 9 Mile -Bulolo Resilient Road Project. The assignment will quantify the project’s gross and relative GHG emissions in accordance with the methodology agreed with AIIB and provide transparent, traceable, and reproducible results for AIIB project appraisal. Building on the GHG assessment results, the assignment also includes a pre-feasibility assessment of the project’s potential to access carbon market finance (Task 4).
The GHG assessment (Tasks 1–3) is expected to be completed within 1 month (30 calendar days) from the time of contract signing, tentatively during November 2026, including review and necessary revisions, subject to timely availability of the required traffic, design, cost, and construction quantity inputs. The carbon market pre-feasibility assessment (Task 4) shall be completed within 90 calendar days of contract signing, within the overall contract duration.

The methodological basis shall apply the IFI Harmonized Framework and the IFI Joint Approach for the Transport Sector, supplemented by the AIIB GHG Accounting Guidance for Investment Projects. The assessment period shall cover the construction period plus 20 years of operation.

Deliverables and Payment schedule

Scope of Work

Task 1 – Methodology, scenarios, and assessment boundary

• Prepare a concise methodology note in collaboration with relevant project team members, applying the agreed upon methodological basis and identifying the specific guidelines, tools, and emissions factors used.
• Identify and describe the most plausible baseline (without-project) scenario and with-project scenario, including the key GHG emission sources for each.
• Define the assessment boundary, key assumptions and parameters, and GHG gases considered, and justify any material exclusions.
• Complete the relevant methodological and project-characterization sections of the AIIB GHG assessment summary template (see Annex I below) with reference to the interim economic analysis parameters where applicable.
• Ensure that the baseline scenario, assessment boundaries, and key assumptions are consistent with the interim economic analysis; where any difference is necessary, clearly explain and justify the difference.

Task 2 – Ex-ante GHG emissions calculations

• Calculate GHG emissions for the construction period and 20-year operational period, including both gross and relative emissions in accordance with internationally recognized principles and methodologies, with gross emissions disaggregated by Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3 and removals in line with the AIIB GHG assessment summary template, and non-CO2 gases converted to CO2e using GWP values from a clearly identified IPCC source.
• Cover material construction-phase emission sources, including embodied emissions from construction materials, construction plant/equipment, and relevant land-use change.
• Assess and include operational emissions, including traffic emissions under baseline (without-project) and with-project scenarios, accounting for diverted and induced traffic consistent with the traffic forecasts used in the economic analysis, and relevant maintenance-related emissions over the assessment period.
• Present the full calculations in a transparent, consistent, and traceable manner that enables reproduction of the results using the same set of input values.
• Document key assumptions and data uncertainties, apply conservative assumptions where data are limited, and test the sensitivity of the results to the main drivers (e.g., traffic growth rates and emissions factors).

Task 3 – Results, reporting, and AIIB coordination

• Prepare a transparent and reproducible Excel model and accompanying GHG assessment report in accordance with AIIB’s reporting requirements, including gross, baseline, and relative emissions, other consequential emissions (OCEs) where applicable, and year-by-year values over the assessment period together with average annual values (tCO2e/year) for comparison against AIIB’s significance threshold for GHG reporting.
• Finalize the AIIB GHG assessment summary template with the assessment results and submit it together with the GHG assessment report and supporting calculations.

• Coordinate and participate, as required, in discussions with the GGGI project team, DoWH, AIIB, and relevant consultants or specialists undertaking related project preparation assignments.

• Respond to review comments from GGGI, DoWH, and AIIB in a timely manner, revise the assessment accordingly, and submit the final outputs (AIIB project summary template, reproducible Excel model, and GHG assessment report) within the contract period.

Task 4 – Pre-feasibility assessment for Carbon Market trading

• Review any applicable domestic PNG carbon market requirements, including the Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Markets) Regulation 2025, identifying the permits, carbon-rights arrangements, registration, stakeholder and benefit-sharing requirements, and any authorization or accounting considerations relevant to the proposed carbon market pathway.
• Assess and compare the project’s preliminary eligibility and readiness under different recognized and appropriate carbon market crediting programs and applicable methodologies and consistency with Task 2 calculations, including key requirements for additionality, baseline setting, robust quantification, monitoring, independent validation and verification, registry issuance, safeguards, and avoidance of double counting.
• Identify and recommend the most suitable carbon crediting program, applicable methodology, and project structure for this project, including clear justification based on eligibility, methodological fit, additionality requirements, monitoring and reporting requirements, transaction costs, expected credit quality and marketability, and compatibility with applicable PNG carbon market requirements; identifying key gaps or conditions that would need to be addressed for the project to proceed under the recommended pathway.

• Prepare a pre-feasibility analysis assessing the project’s potential suitability for carbon credit development, including an indicative estimate of potential credit volumes and revenue range based on the Task 2 relative emissions results, together with the principal technical, regulatory, methodological, and commercial gaps; including an indicative roadmap, timeline, and cost range for progressing towards future validation, registration, verification, and issuance.

OUTPUT / DELIVERABLE

SCOPE OF DELIVERABLES

PERCENTAGE

OF MAXIMUM AMOUNT

DUE DATE

1. Inception and GHG Assessment Methodology Report

Methodology note; baseline and with-project scenarios; assessment boundary and key assumptions; proposed treatment of Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3 and relevant upstream/downstream emissions; relevant sections of the AIIB GHG assessment summary template; anticipated data gaps and workplan.

15%

15 calendar days from contract signing

2. Final GHG Assessment Report and Model (Task 1,2, and 3)

Final ex-ante GHG assessment covering gross, baseline and relative emissions; completed AIIB GHG assessment summary template; transparent and reproducible Excel calculation model; key assumptions, emission factors, data sources and uncertainties; and identification of material mitigation opportunities for further assessment under the carbon-credit pre-feasibility study

30%

30 calendar days from contract signing

3. Carbon Credit Pre-FS Package and Report (Task 4)

Assessment of applicable PNG carbon-market requirements; comparison of relevant carbon-crediting programs, methodologies and project structures; recommended crediting pathway and methodology; preliminary assessment of additionality, MRV readiness, crediting potential and commercial viability; key technical, regulatory, methodological and commercial gaps; and an indicative roadmap, timeline and cost range for progressing toward validation, registration, monitoring, verification and issuance.

55%

90 calendar days from contract signing

All reports and outputs must be in English, in accordance with GGGI’s formatting requirements, and submitted in hard copy, electronic, and editable MS Word and Excel formats (as applicable) along with complete sets of raw data, research materials, and interview notes.

Reporting Arrangements

• The Consultant/Service Provider’s work progress will be monitored primarily through periodic review meetings, the precise schedule of which is to be determined based on consultation with the Consultant/Service Provider, and no less than weekly.
• The Consultant/Service Provider will report to the GGGI PNG Country Representative / Finance Strategy Cooperation Unit Senior Assistant and work day-to-day with the GGGI project team, AIIB and designated DoWH counterparts, as required.
• Deliverables will be subject to review by GGGI, DoWH, and AIIB. The Consultant/Service Provider shall respond to and incorporate review comments within the contract period.
• GGGI and the project team will facilitate access to available project documents and relevant outputs from linked project preparation assignments. The Consultant/Service Provider shall identify and inform of material data gaps at the earliest possible stage.
• The Consultant/Service Provider is also expected to periodically produce, upon GGGI’s request, a formal progress report that includes: an overview of the project, a narrative description of project activities, detailed information on project objectives and milestones, actual achievements made against the timeline set, etc.

Suggested Methodology

The Consultant/Service Provider shall describe in its proposal its proposed approach to undertaking the ex-ante GHG assessment, including application of the agreed methodological basis, definition of the baseline (without-project) and with-project scenarios and assessment boundaries, treatment of relevant construction, operational and maintenance emissions, and preparation of transparent and reproducible calculations.

The Consultant/Service Provider shall also describe its general approach to completing the assessment and review process within the required timeline, including proposed data requirements, emission-factor selection, quality-assurance arrangements, and coordination plan with the economic analysis and other project preparation workstreams. The proposal shall also outline the proposed approach to the carbon market pre-feasibility assessment (Task 4), including the crediting programs and methodologies to be screened and the approach to assessing additionality and commercial viability.

Expertise required

Competence Requirements and Allocation

• Advanced degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Engineering (Civil, Environmental, etc.), Environmental Sciences, Economics, or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in climate, environmental, and/or infrastructure-related work, including at least 5 years of direct experience in GHG accounting for infrastructure projects.

Functional

• Demonstrated experience undertaking ex-ante GHG assessments for infrastructure projects including road/transport infrastructure; PNG/Pacific project experience would be considered an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience applying internationally recognized GHG accounting methodologies and preparing transparent and reproducible GHG calculation models.
• Significant experience working on projects financed or supported by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) or Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
• Familiarity with IFI/MDB climate, environmental and reporting requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in carbon market feasibility, development or advisory work under recognized crediting programs (e.g., Verra VCS, Gold Standard, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement), including methodology selection, additionality assessment and MRV design; familiarity with PNG’s carbon market framework would be considered an advantage.
• PNG and/or Pacific project experience would be considered an advantage.
• Strong technical reporting and Excel modelling skills in English.

Corporate

• Understands and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision, and values.
• Commits to team goals and works effectively across the organization with individuals of different views, cultures, nationality, gender, and age.
• Excellent problem solver.
• Exemplifies the highest standard of honesty, integrity, and professionalism.

Administrative information

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Application, Cover Letter, and CV must be sent in English. A consortium, or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.