Implementing Tunisia’s climate targets
Project description
Title: Setting up institutional capacities for NDC implementation in Tunisia
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Country: Tunisia
Lead executing agency: Ministère de l'Environnement (MEnv)
Overall term: 2019 to 2023
Context
The Paris Agreement aims to keep the global average temperature rise well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. In order to achieve this goal together, each country has defined its own nationally determined contribution (NDC) to combat climate change.
Tunisia submitted an ambitious NDC to the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) prior to the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015. It aims to reduce emission intensity (CO2 consumption per unit of gross domestic product) by 41 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010, which means decoupling economic growth from CO2 emissions. To achieve the NDC, it will adopt comprehensive measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the energy (including building and transport), industry, agriculture, forestry, solid waste and wastewater sectors. The energy sector is responsible for 58 per cent of the country's emissions (latest data from 2012) and thus plays a central role in achieving the climate targets. By ratifying the Paris Agreement in 2016, Tunisia committed itself internationally to implementing its NDC.
The implementation of the NDC, as well as the requirements of the Paris Agreement, require clearly defined structures and processes to be in place at the Tunisian Ministry of Environment and the responsible sector authorities. In March 2018, the Tunisian Government adopted a decree establishing a unit especially dedicated to climate action within the Ministry of Environment.
Objective
The Tunisian Government is successfully implementing its nationally determined contribution (NDC) and related commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Approach
The project supports the Tunisian Ministry of Environment, the National Agency of Energy Conservation (ANME) and representatives from other relevant sectors in implementing the NDC.
The project focuses on four priority areas:
Establishing a strategic and institutional framework:
The project supports the Tunisian Ministry of Environment in setting up the unit for climate action, which is responsible for steering NDC implementation and reporting to the UNFCCC. It advises the ministry on developing a long-term climate action strategy and updating the NDC. It also promotes a national climate dialogue. At local level, the project develops an urban climate action strategy that involves cities more closely in achieving climate policy targets.
Creating a transparency framework:
The project supports the relevant sector authorities in building up a transparency system and improving their monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for GHG emissions and climate action measures. This enhances transparent reporting to the UNFCCC on progress of NDC implementation in compliance with the transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement.
Enhancing opportunities for climate finance:
The project provides training courses for Tunisian experts to improve their skills and supports them in developing bankable projects. The aim of these capacity building measures is to enable them to mobilise and make long-term use of national and international sources of funding to implement the NDC.
Shaping international climate negotiations and sharing experiences:
By participating in training courses and international exchange, the Tunisian Government shares its experiences and findings from the NDC implementation process at international events. The Tunisian delegation actively shapes climate negotiations at the UN level.
