MBABANE – About 100 climate experts and officials gathered in Mbabane on Monday to assess Eswatini’s climate progress and kick off the development of a new five-year national plan to combat climate change.
The meeting, which took place on June 3, marked the official start of the country’s third Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) process, a key part of Eswatini’s commitment under the Paris Agreement. The government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, launched the process in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Khangeziwe Mabuza, said the gathering was a moment to reflect on the successes and shortcomings of the current national plan, known as NDC 2.0. She said it was essential that the next plan, due in 2030, is both practical and inclusive.
“We’re here to look at where NDC 2.0 has done well and where it hasn’t, so we can come up with an ambitious but realistic NDC 3.0,” she said. She added that the presence of experts from across different sectors would contribute to a stronger national effort.
NDCs are country-level climate action plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Eswatini submitted its first plan in 2015 and updated it in 2021 with a more ambitious economy-wide target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5% by 2030 compared to business-as-usual levels. That target could increase to 14% with adequate international funding.
Chief Economist at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Sifiso Mamba, urged stakeholders to view the upcoming plan as a development tool that must align with the country’s overall economic and planning priorities.
UNDP Resident Representative Henrik Franklin said the success of NDC 3.0 would depend on better access to data, cross-sector coordination, and investment in climate technologies. He called for the use of tools such as artificial intelligence to drive climate innovation and urged that the new plan be structured in a way that can attract capital.
The NDC 3.0 process is being supported under UNDP’s Climate Promise programme, which has so far assisted 85% of developing countries. Eswatini’s technical and financial support is also being facilitated through the NDC Partnership, with backing from the United Kingdom and other partners.
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