Between the 28 and 30 of May the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held an inception workshop in Sierra Leone to formally launch the country’s first phase of work under the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) phase five.
The inception workshop sought to provide insights into Sierra Leone’s climate change regulatory and institutional framework, to highlight national climate change strategies and priorities, and to demonstrate the synergy between TNA and national climate action plans. UNEP CCC’s Senior Advisor for Climate and Technology Gordon Mackenzie presented a summary of the TNA background, rationale and the three-step methodology. The workshop was attended by 34 participants, with coverage of relevant sector ministries, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders.
Sierra Leone is highly vulnerable to climate change due to rising temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns affecting agriculture and water security, as well as coastal erosion and sea-level rise, impacting 1.5 million people, and deforestation and land degradation reducing biodiversity. It is estimated that climate change could reduce Sierra Leone’s GDP by up to 3% annually, as well as increase food insecurity and human health risks through waterborne diseases due to flooding and poor sanitation among other impacts.
During the inception workshop, representatives from Sierra Leone’s Environmental Protection Agency outlined their initial priority actions for both mitigation and adaptation across the country’s main sectors.
Climate change mitigation actions identified by Sierra Leone include expanding access to clean energy through off-grid solar systems in rural areas and small-scale hydropower plants, as well as developing mini-grid systems to connect rural communities and reduce reliance on diesel generators.
These innovations can be paired with expanded energy-efficient technologies in households, including improved cookstoves to reduce deforestation and lower indoor air pollution, as well as retrofitting public buildings and industries to increase energy efficiency.
In forestry and land use Sierra Leone seeks to protect existing forest cover and reducing illegal logging through enforcement and community engagement, as well as promote agroforestry and sustainable land management to enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
In waste management Sierra Leone has identified the potential to implement proper waste segregation and recycling systems in major cities and launch methane capture projects at landfills and converting waste into energy through biogas production.
Sierra Leone’s climate change adaptation priorities reflect the growing challenges the country faces from climate change. These include enhancing water resource management to ensure sustainable and equitable access to water; increasing the number of water storage systems and promoting rainwater harvesting to support agriculture during drought periods; and encouraging the adoption of drought-tolerant and climate-resilient crop varieties.
Climate change adaptation measures also include building community resilience via investing in early warning systems and risk management programmes for communities vulnerable to floods, landslides, and storms, as well as ensuring that infrastructure development (e.g., roads, bridges) integrates climate risk assessments to withstand future climate shocks.
The workshop also identified some of Sierra Leone’s challenges in meeting its climate change goals – all of which are common to developing countries meeting their requirements under the Paris Agreement. These included financial resource gaps, limited technical expertise, limited access to accurate and up-to-date climate data, and weak coordination and collaboration between government ministries, NGOs, and international partners.
Sierra Leone’s National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2017) is the country’s key climate change policy document and provides a long-term framework for climate resilience, as well as supporting the mainstreaming climate adaptation in key sectors.
Over a 30-month period the TNA process supports the goals of national climate plans by supporting the formulation of Technology Action Plans (TAPs) to implement NDCs, aligning technology needs with national development strategies and climate policies, and enhancing the capacity for the development of bankable project proposals among other support mechanisms.
After the initial phase of identifying and prioritizing climate technologies through sectoral analysis and stakeholder consultation the TNA will move to conducting a barrier analysis and then finally help Sierra Leone prepare Technology Action Plans (TAPs) with implementable project ideas and strategies.
Through the Technology Needs Assessments Project, UN Environment, through UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, helps developing countries determine their technology priorities for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Technology Needs Assessment Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility and is implemented in close collaboration with the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism, being the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network.