A policy brief by Romy Chevallier, Climate and Environment Lead for the Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are national policy instruments that communicate countries’ domestic climate commitments to the international community, report progress towards these commitments and outline support that is needed to ensure effective implementation. NDCs are required to be updated every five years to ensure increasing ambition and alignment with the latest climate science. The NDC revision process allows countries to reflect internally and draw on the experiences of others, both in the region and globally. Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries are at different stages in this process. Of the 16 Member States, 11 were able to submit their revised NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in advance of the UNFCCC’s twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November.This policy briefing seeks to promote the uptake of key lessons from NDC revision processes for the SADC region, with good practice examples drawn from both within and beyond the region. Recognising that NDCs must be reflective of national priorities and circumstances, these revision processes can support development objectives by unpacking and analysing key elements of other countries’ NDCs – both in content and process – as the basis for engagement and dialogue between regional climate policy stakeholders.these revision processes can support development objectives by unpacking and analysing key elements of other countries’ NDCs – both in content and process – as the basis for engagement and dialogue between regional climate policy stakeholders.these revision processes can support development objectives by unpacking and analysing key elements of other countries’ NDCs – both in content and process – as the basis for engagement and dialogue between regional climate policy stakeholders.
Recommendations
- Extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation processes, driven from the highest political level, are key in NDC development to ensure ownership by all stakeholders. This includes marginalised groupings, such as women and the youth.
- Updated NDCs must be informed by improved data collection and in-depth technical analysis and must align with existing climate and development policy processes and frameworks, including countries’ long-term, low-carbon emissions frameworks.
- NDCs must be enhanced to include details such as quantifiable mitigation and adaptation actions, sectoral targets, as well as detailed implementation roadmaps, with explicit reference to the required means of support.
- The use of forecasting tools, including building scenarios for alternative futures, can enhance NDC ambition, strengthen dialogue and catalyse transformative change.
Click here to access the policy brief on SAIIA website.
