Buchanan — National stakeholders, including Liberia's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Focal Points and sectoral experts have initiated the process of developing a roadmap to support the upcoming revision of the NDC.
During a two-day workshop held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, the stakeholders embarked on outlining key issues that should inform a detailed stock take of what has been achieved in the implementation of the current NDC.
In 2021 Liberia submitted its updated and revised NDC covering the period 2020-2030, in which the country commits to reducing its economy-wide emissions by 65% below business-as-usual scenario by 2030.
"We have convened because this is a global call for climate action to cut down on GHG emissions and so this workshop is to help us to begin the process of developing a roadmap that will now lead to reviewing and possibly revising the current NDC," said John Kannah, NDC Coordinator at the Environmental Protection Agency.
"This could include setting more targets and creating new goals to reduce greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as a country."
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC) in 2015 signed the Paris Agreement- a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21). The NDCs are climate action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts in keeping with the Paris Agreement. Each Party to the Paris Agreement is required to establish an NDC and update it every five years.
Liberia's next NDC revision is due in 2025. But updating the NDC requires technical and financial supports, according to Kannah. "So basically, the roadmap is a document we develop to request funding in terms of how we can go about to roll out the update of the 2021 NDCs."
The workshop was convened by the Environmental Protection Agency through the NDC Implementation unit and supported by the United Nations Development Programme under its Climate Promise Phase Two project. It was supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom.
Dorsla Farcarthy, Team Leader for Inclusive & Green Growth at UNDP, also speaking said, "every five years, countries need to review, take stock, and see where they are making progress, where they need to make changes so that you know, implementation can be smooth. Because mind you we have between now and 2030 and this is 2024 and there is an urgency for Liberia to act on its NDC commitments".
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"So, the best thing to do at this time is to review where you bring all the stakeholders together and they can come, discuss, brainstorm, and come out with something at the end of the day. But we need to do more. We have a financing strategy, our NDC will cost around four hundred million, that's a lot. So, unless the NDC can get support, we're not going to do much. The roadmap is there but it needs to be funded," Farcarthy added.
Participants of the workshop included national technicians, NDC focal points, civil Society, the private sector, University of Liberia, the National Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and development partners.
The civil society's concern has always been how to optimize citizens participation in decision making on issues affecting natural resources and their welfare. Civil society plays a very key role when it comes to processes like these, said Benedict Powo, representative of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia. "Sometimes people prepare those documents, but when it comes to the implementation that can be a problem. So, this is an important workshop and we are happy to be part of the crafting process and making sure that our voices are heard."
In its revised 2021 NDC, Liberia commits to reducing its Green House Gas emissions by 65% below the projected business-as-usual level by 2030.
However, experts say the country needs to do more to meet up with its commitments.
