Regional Webinar on Advancing National Planning on SLCPs and Implementation in West African States

Emissions of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants - such as black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - and associated emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants are harming millions of people around the world through their direct and indirect impacts on human health, agriculture, ecosystems, and the climate.

Compelling scientific evidence indicates that fast action to control these pollutants can deliver substantial climate and air quality benefits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified no pathways to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees without substantial, rapid reductions in SLCPs. In 2021, the World Health Organisation updated air quality guidelines that halved the guideline value for particulate matter air pollution exposure to protect human health, due to the strength of evidence on the damaging effects air pollution has, even at low levels. Simultaneously achieving global climate and quality objectives requires action at the national scale, where decisions are often made that impact major emission sources.

West Africa is one of the regions that has most effectively shown its willingness and capability to engage on SLCP mitigation planning, and many countries in the region now have concrete targets and plans relating to SLCP mitigation. National SLCP Plans, or equivalent documents have been developed and endorsed in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Ghana, while SLCPs have been integrated into climate change commitments in these countries, as well as in Benin, Mali, and Liberia. The first countries in the world to quantitatively state the health benefits of their NDC implementation, in addition to GHG emission reductions, were Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

As a result of the world-leading work undertaken in West Africa over the past decade, there are therefore substantial opportunities over the next decade, including:

• Increasing implementation of priorities and targets on SLCPs across the region
• Encouraging other regions to adopt the approaches and best practises shown by West African countries in their NDC planning.

The aim of this event is to identify key strategies, and lines of action that can be effective in building on the work undertaken in West Africa to increase implementation of actions that can reduce SLCPs.

The first part of this event will highlight and show the impact of Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) work building the capacity of countries for effective national planning and implementation of SLCP mitigation and for taking an integrated approach that simultaneously improves air pollution and mitigates climate as well as delivering on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this integrated approach, countries assess and prioritize mitigation measures that can increase a country’s climate change mitigation ambition while helping them achieve air quality goals as well as provide local development benefits. As a result, countries have SLCP action plans and/or have integrated SLCP mitigation measures into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other relevant national air quality or climate plans, endorsed at ministerial and/or cabinet level that provide clear pathways for reducing SLCP emissions.

The second part of the event will include country presentations from West African countries, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo, emphasising the approach they have taken to include SLCPs in their updated NDCs or for identifying priority mitigation actions to reduce SLCPs that can also support regional development imperatives. 

The third part of the event will focus on implementation of the mitigation measures identified in the National SLCP Plan, with key note speakers from the African Development Bank and Methane Hub on potential opportunities to scale-up action in the region.

Expected outcome: Recommendations on a Regional approach to enhance capacity to take up planning and mitigation in ECOWAS countries and to identify organisations that can support regional processes.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://york-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/94836662687?pwd=cXpyQVhBZGZYMll2REVWQS9YeEV...

Meeting ID: 948 3666 2687
Passcode: 462670

Speakers & Agenda

OPENING

• Introduction to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) (Peter Dery, Ghana CCAC Co-chair)
• Key note speaker (Leko Moussa, Director of Environment, Ecowas Commission)
• Key note speaker (Richard Munang, Regional Coordinator, Climate Change and Deputy Regional Director OiC, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa Office)

SEGMENT 1: Supporting SLCP National Action Planning, Policy and Implementation

• Introduction, Co-lead to the Supporting National Action Planning Hub (Benjamin Brida, CCAC Coordinator, Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

• Initial results [framing messages] from the Africa Integrated Assessment on Air Pollution and Climate Change (Alice Kaudia, Co-chair for the Africa Integrated Assessment on Air Pollution and Climate Change)

• CCAC’s work on National Planning (Séraphine Haeussling, CCAC and Chris Malley, SEI)

SEGMENT 2: Panel – Country Experiences on the approach for including SLCPs into National Planning Processes

• Introduction to panel (Catalina Etcheverry, CCAC Secretariat)
• Ivory Coast (Benjamin Brida, CCAC Coordinator, Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development)
• Togo (Boulewoue Sankoutcha,CCAC Focal Point, Direction de l'Environnement)
• Benin (Wilfried Mongazi, CCAC Focal Point, Ministry of Environment in charge of the management of Climate Change, Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Resources and Forestry)
• Ghana (Daniel Benefoh, Ghana EPA)
• Nigeria (Bala Bappa, CCAC Coordinator, Nigeria)

SEGMENT 3: Panel – Implementation of SLCP mitigation priorities

• Introduction to panel (Vincent Banoeyelle, CCAC Secretariat)
• Opportunities: Climate finance for ECOWAS countries (Shakil Beedassy, Climate Finance Specialist of African Development Bank)
• Opportunities to support national methane mitigation efforts (Carolina Urmeneta, Programme Director, Circular Economy, Global Methane Hub)

Country Interventions - Open Discussion

• Overview of country commitments to cut black carbon and CH4 emissions

• Sharing of country experiences from the floor

SEGMENT 4: Q&A and wrap up