New Program Sees Senegal Take Lead in Africa’s Paris Climate Goals

Senegal has signed off on a robust national strategy for climate adaptation and mitigation, called the “co-construction of a low-carbon and resilient development strategy” drawing in funding from the French development agency (AFD) towards the reduction of the country’s net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030. This goal represents Senegal’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the 2015 Paris Agreement, arising during COP21, first submitted to, and validated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2020. The AFD has agreed to an initial three years of fiscal support for the scheme through its 2050 Facility Program, with the strategy to be coordinated and overseen by the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDRRI).

The 2050 Facility Program was created during the 2018 One Planet Summit in France, with the stated intent of supporting the 30 most vulnerable and emissive countries of the developing world. Senegal itself is counted among these, with carbon dioxide emissions on the rise at 10.1M tons per annum.

Senegal developed its first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in 2015 and was the first country in its region to utilize the resources of the Collaborative Instruments for Ambitious Climate Action (Ci-ACA) framework in an assessment of paths to emissions reductions during the program’s first phase from 2017-2019. This led to RCC Lomé- a partnership between the West African Development Bank and the UNFCCC- funding a consortium of consultants to advise the country’s authorities in their ongoing works, continuing through Ci-ACA’s second phase roll-out from September 2019. March last year saw this body facilitate a virtual workshop with international experts towards the development of adaptation and mitigation scenarios, identifying carbon pricing as the key instrument for the country in meeting its NDC goals.

With the announcement of the Senegal-AFD GHG reductions strategic partnership, carbon pricing is once more at the forefront of discussions, looking at agricultural and energy sectors as targets for new works to reduce emissions to the stipulated 30% within the decade. These programs build upon and complement existing initiatives such as the Ci-ACA and GGGI Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE) that is already pushing for a 3.5M tons CO² reduction within the next 25 years- collectively painting a bright future for the country’s green economy.