MINSK, 27 October (BelTA) – Belarus has adopted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, BelTA learned from UNDP Belarus.
Taking into account the economic situation and capacities of the country, a new unconditional target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in the LULUCF sector (land use, land use change or forestry). And a new conditional target is to achieve the reduction of not less than 40% in the LULUCF sector provided that the country will use international financing mechanisms to introduce the best available solutions to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The NDC were developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and adopted by the government. It was officially forwarded to the UNFCCC Secretariat (UN Climate Change) on 8 October 2021. Thus, the country supports the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
"The Nationally Determined Contributions is a strategic document that covers all key sectors of the economy and highlights the path for climate action,” said Boleslav Pirshtuk, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, National Coordinator of the EU4Climate project. “Its implementation will contribute toward developing a green economy, preserving the natural capital and facilitating employment through the creation of green jobs."
In 2016, Belarus ratified the Paris Agreement and committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, it set its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2030 over 1990. Belarus has already successfully achieved this goal. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, Belarus is to revise its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions every five years and set more ambitious goals, which is confirmed by the adoption of the next NDC.
In 2020, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection began working on the NDC. Expert support to the process has been provided by the EU4Climate project, which is implemented by the United Nations Development Program and funded by the European Union.
The document was developed in close cooperation with the Global Support Program, the Small Grants Program and other strategic partners. A team of experts from the EU4Climate project developed and presented a baseline scenario and a scenario with additional measures under moderate and optimistic economic growth forecasts. In the process, climate policies and measures directly or indirectly influencing the contribution were analyzed and progress towards the target was assessed.
According to UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus Alexandra Solovieva, only together, by setting ambitious goals, can countries cope with the progressive crisis of climate change. UNDP, within the Climate Promise global platform, has supported Belarus on this path. “Now we need to join forces and focus on achieving this goal by developing a low-carbon economy, green finance and new technology,” Alexandra Solovieva added.
The UNDP Climate Promise aims to coordinate global action on climate change by supporting countries to increase the ambition of their NDCs. The initiative is implemented in 118 countries, which makes it the world's largest climate support proposal. It is supported by the EU, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain and other countries.
