Uganda: increasing institutional capacity to monitor and report climate and clean air actions

Uganda road by Nina R / Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Ongoing

started:

2020

Through this project, Uganda looks to integrate climate and clean air actions in the transport and waste sectors. This project will enhance policy frameworks and institutional capacity to address short-lived climate pollutant (SCLP) and greenhouse gas emissions in Uganda’s revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and national air quality regulations and standards.

Objectives

This project will enhance Uganda’s capacity to address climate change and air pollution in an integrated manner by:

Supporting national regulators in finalizing the national ambient air quality regulations and standards to address greenhouse gases and SLCPs from the industry, transport and waste sectors
Supporting the UNFCCC National Focal Point in reviewing and updating Uganda’s NDC to include greenhouse gases and SLCPs from the industry, transport and waste sectors
Training national regulators and agencies on integrated climate change and clean air strategies, their monitoring and enforcement

Full implementation of the policies and measures in Uganda’s NDC would result in a 22% reduction of national greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The country hopes to derive significant benefits from controlling SLCPs.

Why we're doing this work

Although Uganda’s greenhouse gas emissions are minimal - 0.010% of global emissions in 2012 – they have grown by 50% from 1990-2012. This increase is largely attributable to rapid economic growth, industrialization and a growing vehicle fleet.

Uganda’s emissions are expected to continue to increase as the country focuses on further industrialization of the economy in its five-year National Development Plan (NDP3).

Air pollution is also rising, especially in the capital city Kampala. According to the Air Visual’s 2018 World Air Quality Report, Kampala has the second worst air quality in Africa in terms of measured PM2.5. This not only has strong negative impacts on the health of the city’s inhabitants, but also undermines Uganda’s efforts in climate change mitigation.

Reducing black carbon emissions, especially from the industry, transport and waste sectors is expected to deliver quick results for climate, air quality and the health of Uganda’s citizens.

What we're doing

To achieve these objectives, the project will hold:

Working sessions and a stakeholder validation workshop to develop national ambient air quality regulations and standards
Working sessions and a stakeholder validation workshop to review and update Uganda’s NDC
Training workshops and peer exchanges for officials of six relevant lead agencies on integrating climate change and clean air strategies, their monitoring and enforcement.