African Technology Policy Studies Network

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Building the Capacity of Selected sub-Sahara African Countries to Effectively Measure Progress in their Nationally Determined Contributions’ Implementation Using Tracking Tools and Indexes

Project Duration: 2022 – 2025

Grantor: African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

Principal Investigator: Dr Nicholas Ozor

Contact Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org

Co-PIs: Dr. Mithika Mwenda (PACJA) and Prof. Chidi Magnus Onuoha (WAGEDI)

Grant Amount: USD 433,730.50

Project Description/Background

Numerous attempts have been made globally to regulate climate-induced challenges through mitigation and adaptation measures. The three most potent Conventions, Protocols, and Agreements that come into mind include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of 1994, the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, and the Paris Agreement of 2015. From the Rio summit of 1992 to the Paris Agreement in the Conference of Parties (COP) 21, they all aim at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the coming into force of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty based on the Party’s voluntary submissions was seen as a major milestone towards bringing years of near deadlock negotiations to a conclusion and progressive global responsibility by all aimed at combating the rising GHGs. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with conditional and unconditional commitments, are key by-product of the Agreement and require all the countries to spell out their intended actions to address climate change over 5-year periods in terms of adaptation, mitigation, and means of implementation as well as opportunities arising therefrom and sustainable development co-benefits for the continent. Despite the Paris Agreement providing little guidance on what and how climate change adaptation would be included in the NDCs, most African NDCs highlight a number of cross-cutting strategies to address their mitigation ambitions as well as their adaptation needs. This is purblind considering the continent is already dealing with increased severity and frequency of climate risks and hazards due to its geographical positioning, overreliance on climate-sensitive production sectors such as agriculture, tourism, resource, and infrastructure deficit, and the limited adaptive capacity of the people.

It is against this background that the ATPS and its partners, in 2019, developed and piloted an NDC implementation monitoring, tracking tools, and index to gauge the status of NDC implementation in countries against the targets indicated in their submitted NDCs. This was measured across the five (5) NDC components [Governance, Finance, Mitigation, Adaptation and Measurement, Reporting & Verification (MRV)] as depicted in the monitoring tool and Index. The Index will indicate areas among the components where each country is performing well and where they are not performing well, hence, enabling policy decisions to improve in areas where performance is low. Moreover, the Index promotes comparability among countries/regions which can spur healthy competition to improve country/regional compliance based on the Index results. This project, therefore, seeks to utilize the key product from this pilot study (monitoring and tracking tools) already developed and validated in eight (8) African countries to build the capacity of focal persons/champions in twelve (12) selected SSA countries to effectively measure their NDCs implementation progress using the tracking tools and Indexes.

Key objectives and activities

  1. Identify and train strategic NDCs implementation champions/ focal persons in twelve selected SSA countries;
  2. Work with the trained champions/ focal persons to deploy the NDC tracking and monitoring tools and generate indexes for the target countries; and
  3. Promote and advocate for the use of the NDC implementation tracking tools and index for decision-making and in fostering compliance with the Paris Agreement in SSA.


Expected outcomes

  1. Increased capacity of countries to collect and utilize the NDC data, using tracking tools and indexes to make informed policy and programmatic decisions.
  2. Progressive increased ambitions and compliance to the Paris Agreement and achievement of the NDC targets brought about by increased buy-in and strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders in SSA countries.


Expected outputs and deliverables

  1. Stakeholder mapping and analysis report
  2. A training manual for Trainers of Trainers
  3. Workshop reports
  4. NDC data for the participating countries
  5. Proceedings report
  6. Policy Brief
  7. Research papers
  8. Online hosted NDC index


Project Outputs 

Training Manuals

NDC Training Manual – English Version

NDC Training Manual – French Version

Policy Briefs

  1. Paving the Way for Climate Action: Kenya’s Journey Towards Implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  2. Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in the Implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) In Ethiopia
  3. Advancing Tanzania’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) Goals Through Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement
  4. Collaborative Climate Action for Sustainable Development: The Case of NDCs Implementation in Uganda
  5. Stakeholder Participation in the Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Côte D’ivoire
  6. Stakeholder Participation in Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Implementation: Challenging Issues and Opportunities
  7. Stakeholder Participation in the Implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): Best Practices, Challenges and Opportunities
  8. Uniting for a Sustainable Future: Boosting Stakeholder Engagement in Sierra Leone’s Climate Goals
  9. Empowering Stakeholders for Inclusive and Sustainable Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation in Botswana
  10. Empowering Local Communities and Enhancing Public Awareness for Sustainable NDCs Implementation in Namibia
  11. Unlocking Zambia’s Climate Potential: Enhancing Stakeholder Roles in the Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  12. Enhancing Climate Action in Zimbabwe Implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  13. Participation Des Parties Prenantes À La Mise En Oeuvre des Contributions Déterminées Au Niveau National (CDN) En Côte D’ivoire