At the event, organised by EUROCLIMA+, the experiences of Chile, Armenia and the Republic of Kenya were presented.

Santiago de Chile, 06 October 2021. "Accelerating climate ambition and green recovery: Experiences from countries around the world in the NDC review and updating process", was the title of the virtual exchange co-organised on 23 September by EUROCLIMA+, through the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), in partnership with the Ministry of Environment of Chile and the NDC Partnership and the Regional Collaborating Centre for Latin America of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (RCC Panama and RCC Kampala). This meeting aimed to exchange experiences from different regions of the world on key elements for increasing climate ambition and promoting green recovery through national processes to review and update climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

In particular, during the session, experience and lessons learned were shared by four countries; Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Chile, Republic of Armenia and Republic of Kenya, which have experienced different challenges and barriers in updating their NDCs but have taken firm steps to increase climate ambition and promote green recovery in their territories.

The event was aimed at representatives of countries in charge of climate policy, including UNFCCC National Focal Points, and the NDC Partnership and EUROCLIMA+ programmes, as well as relevant stakeholders who have been involved in the NDC review and updating processes. 

James Grabert, UNFCCC Director of Mitigation, began the opening segment and highlighted the importance of updating each country's NDC and the need to encourage ambition for this as soon as possible. He said, "According to the IPCC report, global temperature rise is expected to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next 20 years, so there is a need to act quickly during this decade until 2030. In order to reduce global temperature rise to 1.5°C we need to reduce CO2 emissions 45% by 2030, the science tells us, so governments must significantly increase their climate ambition or the world will suffer severe climate consequences, especially vulnerable countries".

This was followed by Piedad Martín, Deputy Regional Director of UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean, who stressed that the urgency of climate change remains despite the current health crisis and that combating climate change is a global challenge. The Deputy Regional Director said "We are suffering, and we are sick from this pandemic, but the Earth has also shown signs that it is sick. The health of both us and our planet is linked". She also stressed that "This calls for governments to be able to redirect their current investments to more sustainable sectors to further the goals of the Paris Agreement".

Then it was the turn of Felice Zaccheo, Head of the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Union, who highlighted the importance of the exchange, "This event is an opportunity to open a space for joint reflection on the urgent need to increase climate ambition and ensure the alignment of COVID-19 economic recovery programmes with NDC commitments".

The panellists' presentations began with the experience of Ethiopia. H.E. Commissioner Fekadu Beyene of the Environment, Forests and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia shared the country's process in updating its NDC. He noted that "the revision of the NDC builds on several national development and climate policy interventions or initiatives, including the first NDC National Adaptation Plan, the Emerging Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy for 2050, the Green Legacy Initiative and the Ethiopia Development Plan, which considers green economy as one of its strategies and pillars for the period 2021 to the 20th century".

For Armenia, Deputy Minister of Environment Anna Mazmanyan highlighted the country's climate commitment and the importance of international support. She further noted that "A key component of the NDC is transparency to track the process of the implementation of the country's commitment under the Paris Agreement. In addition, Armenia is ready to increase its ambition and move towards carbon neutrality with support from international donors".

The representative of Kenya, H.E. Mohammed Elmi, Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, addressed how Kenya has been affected by the consequences of climate change. Elmi noted that "In Kenya, we suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic with local invasions and flooding that "led to a rise in the country's lakes, with severe consequences on our infrastructure, nature, people and their lives". The Kenyan government has many plans to combat climate change, but requires international assistance, "Kenya is in the process of developing a green emissions and climate resilience strategy for 2050., Despite our efforts, we lack the resources, capacity and technology to implement the plans we have, and we call on our colleagues to support climate action and COVID-19 vaccination in the country".

For Armenia, Deputy Minister of Environment Anna Mazmanyan highlighted the country's climate commitment and the importance of international support. She further noted that "A key component of the NDC is transparency to track the process of the implementation of the country's commitment under the Paris Agreement. In addition, Armenia is ready to increase its ambition and move towards carbon neutrality with support from international donors".

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To conclude, Andres Landerretche, High Level Envoy of the Chilean Presidency of COP25, presented the country's climate strategy and NDC update. "To meet the goals proposed in our NDC and in the Paris Agreement, our countries must undergo profound changes in the forms of production, consumption, energy measures, among others, and that will have a significant effect on our communities," said Landerretche. The country has an advantage in dealing with climate change because "Chile has a broad political consensus that climate change is a state policy, the climate crisis has forced the country to broaden its outlook, and this is a good starting point. Because of this we have a number of tools, first our updated NDC and we are committing to carbon neutrality by 2050, there is also a Climate Change Framework Law under discussion today, and new tools such as the Climate Risk Atlas and sovereign green bonds".

The closing remarks were made by Pablo Vieira, Global Director of the NDC Partnership's support unit, who, in addition to highlighting the relevance of the experiences presented by the countries, pointed out that COP26 is an opportunity to help countries implement and update their NDCs. "Trust between countries is essential for building international agreements, mobilising support and generating coordinated work to increase climate ambition and green recovery globally," he said.

He also highlighted that the NDC Partnership will have a pavilion at COP26 and invited proposals for the organisation of events that allow its members to share experiences and best practices to advance in the fight against climate change.

You can review the recording of the event at the following link.

About EUROCLIMA+

EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain. It aims to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation, resilience, and investment.

The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the UN Environment Programme.