By Ndey Sowe
The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and National Resources (MECCNAR) has on Tuesday commenced a two-day forum to update its National Determined Contribution (NDC) on climate change activities in The Gambia.
The forum focuses on “Cost-Benefit Analysis of Priority Actions under The Gambia’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) Update” organized by the aforesaid ministry and supported by ICLEI (local government for sustainability) Africa and NDC partners.
The event’s objective is to validate a recently concluded gap analysis of the NDC carried out with stakeholders, select the top-priority actions and conduct an economic assessment that would lead to a long-term action planning for the eventual development of suitable projects related to climate change activities.
The Gambia should have sent its update in 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it could not. The climate change update is supposed to be done every five years.
According to officials, the results of the gap analysis and coasting will constitute the foundation to assess needed resources for the NDC plan, including financial, human, institutional and technological.
Mbye Jabang, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and National Resources, said the NDCs and their set targets lie at the core of attaining the long-term goals of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, under which countries update their NDCs by 2020 and every five years thereafter, to implement solutions that limit global warming to under 2 and 1.5 degrees Celsius, and to adopt the effects of climate change.
He remarked: “As implementing partners of the NDC Partnership (NDCP) Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP), ICLEI Africa and IRENA are supporting The Gambia through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources to achieve the objective of increasing her ambition and add value to its updated NDC.”
Aissata De, United Nations Development Programme Country Representative (UNDP), said in this process, the UNDP will oversee the updating aspect of the NDC together with developing an MRV system tool, whilst IRENA will cover the power sector coming up with mitigation measures and ICLEL will fund the Cost Benefit Analysis of identifies to mitigate and adopt measures as well as update processes and develop an implementation plan.
“The revised NDC will strongly articulate gender-sensitive, medium and long-term climate strategies ensure inclusion of new sectors, updating emission targets by sector and enhancing political buy-in, ownership and coordination among others,” she added.
Dr Kate Strachan, Senior Professional Officer ICLEI Africa, said most of the work they do is to connect leaders as well as develop local governments.
“We work with 25 countries along the continent ranging from energy, climate change among others for development,” he noted.