Jordan – Institutional strengthening support

Phase I – Institutional Strengthening – Complete

Following a call for proposals in 2014, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Ministry of Environment of Jordan to begin institutional strengthening activities for the mitigation of SLCPs. The objective of this support was to enhance the ability of government institutions to promote the coordination and scaling-up of SLCP mitigation activities at the national level, to embed SLCPs into relevant national planning processes, and to sustainably increase dedicated financial resources. Over a three-year period, technical workshops were organised in collaboration with the SNAP Initiative and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to strengthen the understanding of the co-benefits of mitigating SLCPs, to provide trainings to develop SLCP emission analysis using the LEAP-IBC tool, and to identify nationally relevant priority actions.

To begin this process, a workshop was held in Amman with the SNAP Initiative and representatives from relevant sectoral departments of the Ministry to conduct preliminary stakeholder mapping and to set priorities. The establishment of these priorities and the identification of relevant stakeholders led to the creation of a National SLCP Unit under the Climate Change Directorate of the Ministry of Environment including technical and administrative support officers to lead the project. The unit proposed mitigation strategies in several sectors such as transport and waste and was supported by the creation of an inter-Ministerial Task Force and Advisory Group to coordinate work among sectors, NGOs and academia. In addition, the unit held 11 awareness raising workshops in Jordanian governorates on SLCP mitigation, and two national consultants were to prepare educational materials as part of this informational campaign. Additionally, consultations were conducted with the National Climate Change Committee in order to integrate SLCP mitigation activities into national climate planning processes such as the activities related to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of Jordan.

In 2017, the Ministry of Environment co-hosted with the UNEP West Asia Office a regional meeting, that was attended by about 50 government officials from 16 countries across the MENA region, including Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya and UAE. The aim of the meeting was to explore opportunities to improve health, air quality, and climate in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa through reducing emissions of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP). A regional black carbon symposium was also organised in 2019.

Phase II – Black Carbon Inventory Support – Complete

The SLCP Unit, in coordination with two national consultants, began developing an integrated emission inventory of greenhouse gases, SLCPs, and air pollutants using the LEAP-IBC tool. In April 2019, a LEAP training workshop was held within the Ministry of Environment in order to integrate black carbon and other air pollutant emissions into an existing emissions data set and will be used to develop a National SLCP Strategy. The inventory estimated SLCP, air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions for historical years 2010-2017, following which baseline projections from 2018 to 2040 were developed to assess how emissions are likely to grow without intervention.

The emission reduction potential of mitigation measures within Jordan’s first biennial update report were calculated, serving as a basis for identifying additional actions to further reduce SLCPs and air pollution in Jordan. Major emission sources of black carbon come from transport, household energy, industry services and other energy consumption. The transportation sector was also identified as the largest emission source of organic carbon, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide.

Jordan continues to receive support from the SNAP Initiative to finalize the SLCP emission inventory and strategy.