Supporting Ghana's NDC update

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Ghana has received national planning support from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) since 2013. One of the outputs of this cooperation has been Ghana’s National Action Plan to Mitigate Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP), which was finalized in 2018. The Plan identifies 16 measures capable of substantially reducing emissions of methane and black carbon, as well as CO2 and other air pollutants.

In 2021, Ghana received support from the CCAC to update its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in coherence with its National SLCP Plan. Ghana’s NDC revision comprised three components: i) technical review, ii) teaching, awareness raising and stakeholder engagement, and iii) high-level political engagement informed by the results of the technical review.     

Objectives

To advance the priorities identified in Ghana’s National SLCP Plan, three overall aims were identified:
   

  • Inclusion of SLCPs in Ghana's NDC update as a way to achieve high-level political endorsement for the priorities identified in Ghana’s National SLCP Plan.  
  • Focus on implementation of the mitigation measures identified in the National SLCP Plan.  
  • Inclusion of SLCPs within relevant monitoring and evaluation frameworks. This would enable the sustainable monitoring of implementation of actions to reduce SLCPs within climate change MRV systems, as well as within the National monitoring and evaluation process in Ghana.   

Activities

Activity 1: Include SLCPs in Ghana's updated NDC: 

  • Quantify SLCP and air pollutant emissions reductions alongside greenhouse gases in the mitigation assessments conducted for the NDC revision  
  • Identify SLCP mitigation measures to include in the NDC revision  
  • Assess the costs and social implications of SLCP mitigation 

Activity 2: Identify actions to implement the mitigation measures in Ghana's National SLCP Plan:

  • Identify the actions currently being taken that can facilitate implementation 
  • Identify the additional actions needed to increase implementation  
  • Determine the funding needed to ensure implementation 

Since the finalization of the Ghana National SLCP Plan, there have been a number of changes in circumstances. For example, Ghana started undertaking a revision to their First NDC submitted to the UNFCCC in September 2016. Ghana’s envisioned their NDC revision to be comprised of three components; i) technical review, ii) teaching, awareness raising and stakeholder engagement, and iii) high-level political engagement informed by the results of the technical review. The NDC revision constitutes an opportunity to include the measures of the SLCP Plan in the revision process. 

In addition, there was also the opportunity in moving forward with the implementation of the measures included in the National SCLP Plan and putting in place the elements needed to include SLCPs in relevant monitoring and evaluation frameworks in Ghana. 


Outcomes

Of the 16 measures mentioned in Ghana's National SLCP Plan, 11 are included in Ghana’s first updated NDC. The NDC also mentions four additional measures that target sources of SLCP emissions.  

The contribution of the CCAC and the Stockholm Environment Institute are mentioned within introduction of the updated NDC submitted to UNFCCC in November 2021. 


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