The Indian Institute of Resources and Energy (TERI) has published a report entitled “The SDG Footprint of African NDCs: Advancing the Mutual Benefit Approach”, which explores how a number of African countries are designing systems to simultaneously achieve their climate goals The SDGs.
Based on a 2015 study of Asian NDCs, the report examines in detail the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of seven African countries: Burkina Faso; the Central African Republic (CAR); Ghana; Malawi; Niger; Swaziland; and in Zambia, and analyzes the NDCs of several other African countries.
The report notes that all developing countries recognize the value of a joint benefits approach to effectively address climate change risks and vulnerabilities while enhancing synergies between development policies and climate action. Five recurring co-benefits are highlighted in most of the NDCs studied: economic growth; inclusive growth; food safety; gender equality; and good health and nutrition.
The Burkina Faso NDC is a specific example studied: the link between land restoration and various related benefits, including increased carbon sequestration, food security, improved farmers’ incomes and poverty reduction.
The NDC also highlights some of the co-benefits of renewable energy investments, including reducing energy costs for businesses and homes, increasing productivity and reducing pollution in the production and transportation sectors. electricity. In addition to contributing to food security and poverty reduction, Côte d’Ivoire associates sustainable agricultural interventions with “a reinforcement of social peace by increasing purchasing power and job creation”, as well as only by reducing the dependence on exports.
In their NDCs, Malawi and Niger explicitly mention gender equity as an important secondary benefit to be achieved as part of a comprehensive climate strategy.
The report concludes by noting that the African NDCs studied reflect a sustainable development approach that can contribute more to climate action and the reduction of adversity while helping to build capacity and reduce economic disparities.
Source: SDG Knowledge Hub.