The UK Government has increased its financial support to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to advance the efforts of developing countries as they implement their national climate pledges, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs.
This new tranche of funding, totalling £6 million, brings the UK's overall total contribution to £9 million. The funding will be channeled through UNDP’s flagship Climate Promise initiative, which is the largest global programme of its kind delivering support to countries on their NDCs. UK government's initial contribution was made in 2022.
The new financial package will enhance the implementation of forest, land, and nature related NDC targets in 7 countries: Cambodia, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, and Viet Nam.
“The agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector accounts for approximately 22 percent of global GHG emissions and can provide up to one-third of the necessary emissions reductions to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement,” Cassie Flynn, Director of UNDP’s Climate Hub said. “The UK’s contribution will help UNDP continue to support developing countries to capitalize on this opportunity for greater mitigation ambition and deliver their forest targets.”
Significant achievements were already realized in the initial funding phase, including the launch of Ecuador's Carbon-Zero Programme and analysis of the potential contribution of Article 6 in the context of NDC implementation in Vietnam . As well, the provision of direct grants to Indigenous Peoples and local communities bolstered their engagement in NDC implementation across Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, and Congo.
“Any efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change must involve turning the tide on biodiversity and nature loss,” said the UK’s Environment Minister Lord Benyon, “That is precisely why we are providing a further £6 million to the Climate Promise, which will support the UNDP in bolstering countries around the world in their endeavors to tackle climate change, protect and restore nature, and alleviate poverty.”
The UK’s additional contribution to the Climate Promise comes as part of a broader effort to scale up delivery of forest-related targets as a critical component of delivering the Paris Agreement goals, including the launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership at COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022, building upon Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use declaration and aims to track the progress being made to “halt and reverse forest loss by 2030”.
For more information:
Mehmet Erdogan, mehmet.erdogan@undp.org
Sila Alici Kavuk, sila.alici.kavuk@undp.org
UNDP's Climate Promise is the world's largest offer of support to countries on NDC processes, supporting 85% of all developing countries to both define and revise their pledges, and turn them into concrete action. More information can be found here.
The technical support for this critical pillar of work under the Climate Promise is delivered through UNDP Climate and Forests, with support from its Forest Declaration Partners – Climate Advisers, Climate Focus and Meridian Institute. More information can be found here.