Mbabane – The Kingdom of Eswatini has submitted its Third Nationally Determined Contributions, known as NDC 3.0, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, marking a major step in the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.
The plan, developed through a collaborative national process, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2.24 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035, an increase of 115 percent from the previous target. Government officials said the strategy reflects inputs from more than 850 representatives across 17 multi-stakeholder workshops, including youth, women, and other vulnerable groups.
The NDC 3.0 introduces a Just Transition framework to guide Eswatini’s move toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Key sectors covered include agriculture, forestry and land use, energy, waste management, industrial processes, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, health, water resources, infrastructure, and human settlements. Cross-cutting priorities focus on gender, youth, children, finance, technology, and capacity building.
Among mitigation measures, the plan outlines a shift to clean cooking solutions, a national rollout of solar-powered public electric vehicle charging networks, and a target to reduce open burning of municipal waste by 30 percent by 2035. Adaptation strategies aim to limit climate-related economic losses to no more than 3 percent of GDP annually and reduce acute food insecurity to under 5 percent within the same timeframe.
Government officials pointed to past climate events, including the 2015-2016 El Niño drought, which cut maize production by 33 percent and cost the economy E3.8 billion, and Cyclone Eloise in 2021, which caused millions in infrastructure damage, as drivers for the plan.
The Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development led the initiative, ensuring that the contributions reflect a whole-of-society approach and that climate actions benefit all emaSwati.
Readers can access the full Eswatini NDC 3.0 document and learn more
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