Liberia

Liberia joined the CCAC in 2014 to step up its ambition to combat short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), especially in the waste, household energy and cooling sectors.  

The country faces growing impacts of climate change including rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and extreme flooding during the rainy season. Furthermore, local air pollution levels exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and threaten the lives of a population of almost five million people. This is particularly the case in urban centres and for a large portion of the population which uses solid biomass fuels for cooking.  

With support from the CCAC, Liberia is looking to reverse these trends with actions to address the country’s main SLCP emission sources: household energy, transport, and waste. The Environmental Protection Agency has completed an integrated air pollution and climate change emission inventory. Key government representatives have also received capacity building support for policymaking and the development of strategies to reduce SLCP emissions. In addition to improving air quality and contributing to the country’s climate change objectives, these SLCP mitigation efforts will support national development objectives, such as the aims identified in Liberia’s Pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development of 2018. 

In its revised Nationally Determined Contribution, Liberia set a target to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 64% below the business-as-usual scenario by 2030, divided into unconditional reductions of 10% and 54% of additional reductions conditional upon international support. A National Climate Change Steering Committee has been established to coordinate and supervise the implementation of climate change policy and related activities. The NDC identifies nine key mitigation sectors, namely: agriculture, forests, costal zones, fisheries, health, transport, industry, energy and waste, as well as a cross-cutting target for urban green corridors.   

Liberia’s National Policy and Response Strategy on Climate Change of 2018 lays out a national climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy, including sectoral implications, cross-cutting issues, and an assessment of climate change vulnerability.  

In the agricultural sector, the Food and Agricultural Policy and Strategy 2014 – 2019 aims to move agricultural production from subsistence to sufficiency to meet national demand of staple foods and livestock. To ensure that the increasing production does not increase emissions, several policies aim to promote renewable energy. Executive Order on the Continuation of the Liberia Rural and the National Energy Policy (2009) aim to foster economic development in rural areas by establishing the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency and Rural Energy Fund. The fund is dedicated to commercial development and supply of modern energy services to rural areas. It focuses on locally available renewable energy sources and commits to using only biomass and other energy sources that do not contribute to deforestation or food insecurity.    

Find out more about Liberia’s climate change policies:  

• Act creating the Environment Protection Agency of the Republic of Liberia (2002): Establishes the Environment Protection Agency, the National Environment Policy Council, the Environmental Court of Appeals, the Environmental Administrative Court, the Environment Protection Fund. It designates environmental inspections and other matters relative to the environment, and lays out the conduct of impact assessment and monitoring, as well as environmental enforcement orders.   
• Environmental Protection and Management Law of the Republic of Liberia (2002): Legal framework for developing sustainably, managing and protection the environment, providing high quality information and advice on the state of the environment and for related matters.   
• National Disaster Management Policy (2012): Framework for reducing disaster risks and building community resilience in the context of sustainable development. It seeks to create a foundation for the development of effective and functional legal, institutional framework and good governance for disaster risk management.  
• Food and Agriculture Policy and Strategy (2008): Sets out to increase productivity and income of Liberia’s subsistence farmers, also aims to slow deforestation, develop adaptation mechanisms, and provide information to farmers on climate change.