Africa’s NDC Implementation in Global Food and Energy Crises

12 November 2022 – 17:15 to 18:15 PM GMT +2
Rio Convention/GCF/GEF Pavilion

 
Concept

Recent global crises compound the challenges in addressing inefficiencies in the energy and food system: This threatens to derail efforts to tackle the world’s critical challenge of reducing global greenhouse emissions quickly enough to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and increased consumer demand for food drastically raised food prices across the globe – increasing the severity of food insecurity for the 811 million people around the world who go to bed hungry every night. The war in Ukraine has caused further disruption, affecting a third of the world’s wheat market, and worsening a food security crisis. Likewise the war has pushed up energy prices for many consumers and businesses around the world, – including in the developing world which is already facing energy access challenges. The systemic challenges have strengthened pressure at all levels for new oil and natural gas supplies as a false solution to this challenge.

The development and implementation of ambitious, targeted, and coherent public policies play a critical role in driving actions that support the sustainable transformation of the energy and food systems. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as the official documents outlining countries’ pledged mitigation actions, are a key mechanism to guide policy development and implementation on the ground and develop sectoral policies aligned with climate goals. They can also increase public finance flows towards activities that reduce climate risks to energy food systems and mitigate emissions from these sectors, as well as drive private sector investment to such policies. To support NDC implementation, vertical integration policy making from on the ground to national policy, regulation and legislation is required.

In this event we will explore the energy and food transition in Africa including the barriers and opportunities for NDC implementation in this rapidly changing context. This will include a dialogue with an expert panel to discuss what opportunities, including the policy, regulatory and legislative changes that can facilitate accelerated implementation.

Event objectives

• Discuss NDC Implementation in the current context (raising the profile on impact as well as ambition) for African countries
• Showcase the need for cross cutting/collaborative approaches to support food and energy transitions towards resilient landscape development
• Explore required support such as tools and guidance to Parties in Africa on national implementation of NDC (including co-benefits for the CBD, SDGs and CCD) with focus on food and energy
• Explore to what extent this aligns with the priorities of funders for investments in African Countries.
• Discuss importance of aligning NDCs, NBSAPs and LDNs

Key Messages

• The global food and energy transitions can benefit climate, nature and people: the extent to which this is realised (in Africa) will depend on robust and accelerated NDC Implementation.
• There are immediate opportunities for actors such as WWF, and funders like GCF, GiZ to support nationally lead activities putting in place the necessary governance across all levels, through developing capacity building and information exchange activities.
• WWF and GiZ are entering a partnership which will explore this further and co-develop with African countries policy toolkit and guidance on both food and energy ahead of COP27.
  
  

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From the Earth Negotiations Bulletin

More from the IISD: highlights and images for 12 November 2022