Background

The Paris Agreement provide a great opportunity to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, and in the context of sustainable development. So far, 44 African countries have ratified the Paris Agreement.

Based on a bottom-up approach of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to climate action developed on a voluntary basis by Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Paris Agreement provides a framework for countries signal their intention and level of ambition towards tackling climate change based on national context, development priorities, capabilities and circumstances. This represents a significant shift in the global procedure in addressing climate change. Like any novel process in experimentation prior to adoption, there are bound to be challenges to translate the NDC commitments into actionable and effective measures.

The Paris Agreement offers a dynamic but durable framework for increasing climate action over time. One of the sources for this dynamism is the “global stocktake“ – a moment every five years for all countries to pause and account for what has been achieved so far, and what must still be done, to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The global stocktake is a key element in the ambition mechanism of the Agreement; it will provide countries with the basis for strengthening their actions and submitting new national climate commitments in the two years following each successive global stocktake. In preparation for these stocktakes the Paris Agreement provided for the global facilitative dialogue to be held in 2018. At COP23, under the presidency of Fiji, the 2018 facilitative dialogue was enabled and coined the Talanoa Dialogue which aims to bring all Parties and stakeholders in an inclusive, participatory and transparent international conversation on where Parties are with their climate actions, where they want to be and how to get there?

With already 44 African countries have ratified or otherwise joined the Paris Agreement with very ambitious NDCs (conditional and unconditional) with investment requirements in ythe order of USD 2.5 trillion, it is crucial that African countries are fully engaged at this point, with the implementation of their NDCs and secured significant and adequate support with means of implementation (finance, capacities, and technologies). So far many African countries are making considerable progress in preparing for NDC implementation. Such as undertaking consultations on the implementation of NDC, developing NDC implementation plans that prioritize specific sectoral climate actions, designing institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms to support NDC work, assessing how to attract or reorient investments toward climate actions and, designing monitoring systems to measure progress toward NDC goals.

Without substantial support, it would be highly unlikely for African countries to achieve the goals and targets outlined in their NDCs. Furthermore, it important to ensure proper alignment of NDC implementation with other national development agendas - such as the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Agenda 2063 of the African Union - using an integrative approach and joint programming for cost-effective implementation.

In this regard, the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) has carried out a semi-structured survey to shed light on the status of NDC implementation in Africa with a view to supporting member States towards enhancing preparedness and implementation of the various activities specified in their NDCs.

Overall objective of the meeting

The overall objective of the workshop is to share the findings of the analysis of the survey results with the member States, development partners and other key stakeholders and provide the opportunity for countries to share their experiences and challenges with NDC preparedness and preparations for the Talanoa Dialogue.

Specific objectives

Specific objectives of the meeting are:

• To highlight key findings from the survey regarding the status and implementation of the NDCs
• To establish a collaborative framework between member states specifically at sub regional level for the sharing of information and experiences on the implementation of the NDCs
• To promote the exchange of experience and expertise in the implementation of the NDCs in Africa region
• To discuss the sub regional specificity of the NDCs and road map for the implementation of the NDCs
• To discuss how African countries can enhance good practices with means of implementation for better climate actions through the NDCs, particularly with private sector involvement and human and institutional capacity.
• To support countries with preparedness for the Talanoa Dialogue and COP24

Target participants

• All National Focal Points
• Civil society
• Development partners
• Private sector
• Acandemia

Expected output and outcomes

Outputs

• Meeting report
• Web publications
• A consensus-based review of priority intervention areas and challenges/opportunities
• Peer-to-peer exchange and sharing of lesson learned in understanding of NDCs and in addressing challenges encountered during the course of implementation.
• Status report on readiness of African countries for the Talanoa Dialogue

Outcomes

• Identification of common challenges and practices as well as opportunities for enhanced NDC ambition of Member States
• Opportunities to develop joint action and collaboration on common challenges within the region
• Recommendations for enhanced preparedness towards the Talanoa Dialogue

Information Note

The Enhancing Readiness for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Implementation in Africa workshop will take place in Addis Ababa, from 26-27 March 2018. The Conference will be held in Conference Room 6, ECA Conference Centre, at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Please read the following information carefully, as it will help you to plan your travel to Addis Ababa.

Immigration requirements

All participants will receive a visa on arrival at Bole International Airport, where they will be required to produce and present their Workshop invitation letter to the immigration authorities. Thus, kindly ensure you print and bring with you this letter. Sponsored Participant should print the VISA UPON ARRIVAL document and bring it to show the Addis Ababa Airport Authorities. Kindly note that they will charge you $50 (Cash) upon arrival.

In order to assist participants in obtaining visas upon arrival, the African Climate Policy Centre needs to receive your online registration and a copy of the photo page of the passport before your arrival at the Bole International Airport.

Please note that an Ethiopian visa costs US$ 30 or the equivalent in euros per person. Payment must be made in either US dollars or in euros at the time of issue. For media personnel, the cost of a visa is US$ 40 or the equivalent in euros. Holders of diplomatic and service passports and United Nations Laissez-Passer will receive visas gratis. Bank receipts for money changed at the airport must be kept securely as customs officials may ask you to present them on your departure. ....

Information Note PDF