The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) has engaged key leaders that participated in the 60th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The sessions were held at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) from June 3-13, 2024 in Germany. The UNFCCC is the United Nations’ primary process for negotiating international agreements to limit dangerous climate change.
This year’s sessions focused on critical issues such as climate finance and advancing progress on the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as the Ministry’s delegation, led by Minister Roland Layfette Giddings, commits to Liberia’s revised NDC under its Transport-Infrastructure Sector.
According to a public works release, these initiatives are cross-cutting with various sectors and aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15.1 percent below business-as-usual levels by 2030.
The Ministry’s efforts include road upgrading and incorporating climate change considerations into infrastructure plans, designs, and implementations.
Minister Giddings and the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Urey Yarkpawolo, as Sectoral Heads, had several productive discussions during the sessions, emphasizing Liberia’s climate goals, support from international partners, and ensuring positive outcomes that benefit the country.
The Ministry, amongst other things, is focused on implementing equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient infrastructure while enhancing local adaptive capacity; thus exploring principles used by infrastructure professionals to achieve climate-resilient infrastructure.
This includes the inclusion of women and young professionals, examining implementation examples, and understanding how climate and risk assessment training contributes to local adaptive capacity.
The Public Works Ministry at same time further Ministry recognizes that addressing climate change requires collective efforts across all sectors to build resilience and effectively adapt to its impacts.
The NDCs are central to the Paris Agreement and represent each country’s efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to climate change impacts.
The Paris Agreement mandates that each Party to prepare, communicate, and maintain successive NDCs with the aim of achieving their objectives through domestic mitigation and adaptation measures.
In a notable discussion with Mr. Ousmane Fall Sarr, Coordinator of the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, the Ministry pledged its support and commitment to the Alliance’s mission.
This is a platform that aims to foster carbon markets and result-based climate finance in West Africa, enhancing the region’s position in international carbon markets, facilitating technology transfers, and accessing result-based climate finance for NDC implementation.
The Alliance includes members from Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo.
Minister Giddings stressed the need for capacity building and innovation in Liberia, particularly in the areas of green-grey infrastructure and emerging technologies and elaborated on the next steps for the EPA and Public Works to map resilience needs and opportunities for integrated nature-based infrastructure solutions.
