Djibouti pledges to slash carbon emissions by up to 60 per cent

Jessica Shankleman
clock

African republic says it needs help from Green Climate Fund to achieve ambitious goal

The Republic of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa has become the latest country to submit its carbon reduction pledge to the UN ahead of this year's climate summit in Paris.

Djibouti committed this weekend to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 compared with a business-as-usual scenario. But the government said the target could rise to 60 per cent if it received additional funding from the international community to support decarbonisation efforts.

The pledge was made through Djibouti's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), which all countries are required to submit to the United Nations by October this year, detailing how they intend to cut carbon emissions and enhance climate resilience under a new international agreement.

Djibouti is one of the world's poorest countries as well as being one of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including extreme drought and temperatures, rising sea levels, and flash floods.

See our interactive map showing what countries have pledged so far for a deal in Paris

The country's government said it would invest more than $3.8bn (£2.4bn) in collaboration with the international community to achieve its carbon reduction goal, with the aim of becoming a showcase for sustainable development in the Red Sea region. It is already developing new "National Strategies" for the green economy, biodiversity and climate change to help meet its goals.

However, the government said that $1.6bn more funding from sources such as the recently launched Green Climate Fund would enable it to reduce emissions by 60 per cent by 2030, effectively returning the country to 2010 emissions levels.

According to the World Bank, drought in Djibouti between 2008 and 2011 caused a yearly economic contraction of about 3.9 per cent of GDP. However, the country has already invested in a wide range of resilience measures to reduce these losses, such as rehabilitating the dike protecting people from its most flood-prone dry river bed and updating its emergency plans.

As a result, floods in 2013 had a significantly smaller impact than in previous years, with far fewer victims and a shorter period of disruption to people's livelihoods.

Nevertheless, Djibouti's INDC predicts that even in an optimistic scenario where global temperatures rise by just 2ºC, climate change would cost the country more than $5bn between 2010 and 2060. This could rise to $9bn if temperatures rise by 4ºC to 5ºC.

This article was published as part of BusinessGreen's Road to Paris Hub, hosted in association with PwC.

More on Policy

Cities can steer the clean energy transition - but they need the power to act

Cities can steer the clean energy transition - but they need the power to act

Local authorities' ability to deliver climate goal is being hampered by short-term funding pots and the lack of a local area energy planning framework, writes Southampton City Council's Lorna Fielker

Lorna Fielker, Southampton City Council
clock 05 November 2024 • 4 min read
Global Briefing: EU greenhouse gas emissions down eight per cent in 2023

Global Briefing: EU greenhouse gas emissions down eight per cent in 2023

Scientists say climate change made Spanish floods worse, philanthropists pledge $51.7m for protection of the high seas, and Microsoft builds a wooden data centre

BusinessGreen staff
clock 01 November 2024 • 8 min read
Biodiversity Net Gain: Study argues tweaks could make rules twice as effective for nature

Biodiversity Net Gain: Study argues tweaks could make rules twice as effective for nature

Benefits of statutory biodiversity credit market introduced in England earlier this year risk being dampened by preference for localised offsetting, researchers warn

Cecilia Keating
clock 31 October 2024 • 3 min read