Jordan

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2012 with the aim to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Jordan’s strategic priorities lie in the Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Waste, HFCs and national planning work of the CCAC.  

SLCP mitigation will help fulfil Jordan’s National Vision and Strategy (NVS) 2023 of 2015, which closely aligns development priorities with environment and climate change objectives. Jordan is addressing the climate change challenge in several national policies. The National Green Growth Plan of 2017 serves as a reference guide for green policies and green growth projects in several economic sectors, which are critical to SLCP mitigation. Work in the agriculture, energy, waste, and transport sectors was carried further under the new Green Growth National Action Plan 2021-2025.  

The National Climate Change Policy 2013-2020, first established in 2013 and extended to 2030, includes a set of proposals for climate change mitigation and adaptation. It directly links the country’s development challenges to climate change risks, thus setting the focus on adaptation rather than mitigation to comprehensively protecting vulnerable groups. These general efforts to combat climate change are complemented by strategies to address specific local challenges related to the climate crisis, such as the 2006 National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification or the 2016 Climate Change Policy for a Resilient Water Sector.  

Jordan submitted a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015. It includes a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1.5 % until 2030 unconditionally and another 12.5% by 2030 with international financial aid and implementation support compared to the business-as-usual scenario. Mitigation and adaptation proposals within the NDC closely relate to Jordan’s domestic policy priorities in the energy, transport, land use and waste sectors. Specifically, Jordan foresees reducing solid waste disposed in landfills to 60% by 2025. Actions in the transport sector cover all emissions and therefore relate to both air pollution and climate change. Jordan proposes supporting electric mobility, increasing the total number of commuters using public transport to 25% by 2025, and reducing fuel consumption. 

Jordan’s actions in the transport sector aim to reduce both GHGs and air pollutants.  A favourable tax policy as well as comparatively low prices of electric vehicles support the development of electric mobility. The transport law furthermore includes a Passenger Support Fund which consists of an environmental tax on gasoline to be invested in climate action. Jordan’s NDC also suggests renewing infrastructure for a zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy.  

In terms of HFCs and cooling, Jordan ratified the Kigali Amendment in October 2019. As a Group 1 country, Jordan is required to freeze the consumption of HFCs in 2024 and gradually reduce HFC use by 80-85% by the late 2040s. Stepping up efforts under the Montreal Protocol to phase out HCFCs, Jordan set up the region’s first supermarket using a CO2-based refrigeration system. On this occasion, Nayef Al Fayez, Jordan’s Minister of Environment stated: “We welcome this great opportunity for Jordan to showcase our pioneering spirit and deep commitment to advancing environmentally friendly solutions in all areas (…) and we look forward to sharing results and to seeing replication in the country and the region.”  

In the waste sector, the NDC proposes a system for sorting, re-using and recycling. To measure this target, the aim is to reduce the share of solid waste that is deposited in landfills from 80% to 60% in 2025. Jordan’s intention is to increase the rate of solid waste that is treated and re-used from 20% to 40% by 2025.  

Discover Jordan’s climate and clean air plans further below: 

Heavy-Duty Vehicles 

• The long-term National Transport Strategy of 2014 lists protecting the environment and reducing negative impacts on the environment as one of the main principles. 

HFCs 

• October 2019: Ratification of the Kigali Amendment.  

Waste  

• 2009: The Amman solid waste management project aims at strengthening operational, functional, and environmental performance of municipal solid waste management.  
• 2003: Al Ghabawi landfill project: Constructed with gas collection systems, this was the first municipal carbon finance partnership in the Middle East. It received financial assistance from World Bank and was later integrated under the Amman solid waste management project later. The Al Ghabawi landfill site is the largest in Jordan serving Amman and 10 other major cities. Jordan's largest fraction of municipal solid waste is organic matter (60%) and Amman accounts for almost half of the total solid waste generated in Jordan.
• 1999: Rusaifeh Landfill Project: Government collaboration with UNDP, GEF and Danish Government to establish a Bio-methanation plant.