Speech of Amanda K. Serumaga Resident Representative UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles for the ‘National Consultation Process – Review of the Mauritius Nationally Determined Contributions’

March 6, 2021

Ms. Amanda K. Serumaga, UNDP Mauritius and Seychelles Resident Representative. Photo: Jean-Yan Norbert@UNDP Mauritius

 

 

Hon. Kavydass RAMANO, Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change

Mrs Nathoo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change

Mr. Seewoobaduth, Ag. Director of Environment

Mr André Pouilles Duplaix, Director l’Agence Française de Développement

Permanent Secretaries and Officials of other public, parastatal bodies and private sector operators.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies, and gentlemen,

I am pleased to join the Ministry in welcoming you to the National Consultation Process for the review of the Mauritius Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Today’s event is an important milestone in the update of the NDCs, a process initiated since ‘Les Assises de L’Environnement’; and, which gained momentum with the launch of the High-Level dialogue for the review of the NDCs on 16 February 2021, in this very location

The past three weeks have witnessed dialogue between the key sectoral stakeholders and the facilitators with the support of the Ministry of Environment and UNDP resulting in considerable progress towards the preparation of the revised NDCs for Mauritius. 

UNDP, through the Climate Promise initiative, is privileged to provide the platform for such coordination; and, together with the technical support of AFD and under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment, we are looking forward to maintain this collaboration to set ambitious climate targets.

The intense NDC revision activities during the past three weeks have included 15 workshops and working sessions since the launch of the High-Level dialogue. This was followed by 11 sector-specific workshops, a preparatory consultation for the Ministerial meeting, a session on the Institutional Coordination mechanisms, and the Ministerial meeting held yesterday.

It is notable that during several sectoral sessions, the respective Senior Chief Executives and Permanent Secretaries fully participated in the discussions to assess achievements during the past 5 years since the last NDC and to provide better insights about the targets that could be set for the NDC revision. The highly interactive and engaging sectoral discussions are a testimony to the dedication of the various teams to contribute towards bolder NDCs that befit the ambitions of the Republic of Mauritius.

Rodrigues is also fully involved in the consultative process. The Climate Promise initiative was launched in Rodrigues, on the 24th of February, in the presence of the Honourable Minister Ramano, and the Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues, Mr Serge Clair. And I note that today, we are joined by a delegation of 5 representatives from the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and a dedicated session for the NDC priorities for Rodrigues will be held tomorrow.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Building on this first phase of consultations, we are here today to hear preliminary recommendations for adaptation and mitigation targets and actions. It is also an opportunity for all participants to share their views and discuss the cross-sectoral implications on the proposed climate actions.

The results of today’s activity will be further complemented with ongoing technical studies undertaken with the UNDP Climate Promise Initiative and AFD’s support. The consolidated NDCs, including recommendations for strengthened institutional coordination, and highlighting alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals will then be widely disseminated.

The UN has recently published a NDC Synthesis report covering submissions up to 31 December 2020, which includes new or updated NDCs by 75 Parties, representing approximately 30 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these countries increased their levels of ambition to reduce emissions. Nevertheless, the level of ambition communicated through these NDCs indicates that changes in these countries’ total emissions would be small, less than 1%, in 2030 compared to 2010. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), by contrast, has indicated that emission reduction ranges to meet the 1.5°C temperature goal should be around 45% in 2030 compared to 2010.

Ladies and gentlemen, the need to increase ambition is thus high and urgent.

We have no doubt that the revised NDC of the Republic of Mauritius will improve on the first NDC submitted in 2015. Even before all the targets are finalised and approved by end of April 2021, we can observe that the revised NDC will be more structured than the 2015 submission. It will thus be possible, to track progress towards the attainment of the targets. In fact, a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework will be set up in the coming months as planned under the Paris Agreement.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I take this opportunity to thank the Honorable Minister and the staff of the Ministry of Environment for their relentless efforts over the last few weeks. And for the work of the consultant teams, who have played a key role in facilitating discussions.

Commendable progress has been achieved so far in the update of the NDCs, but we know that the road ahead to achieve a low carbon, climate-resilient, and inclusive future is long and arduous. Small Island Developing States like Mauritius, despite contributing less than 1 % of the global greenhouse gas emissions, suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change.

The challenge of implementing the NDC commitments will require even more efforts from all stakeholders – in fact from each one of us at the local and international level– to ensure we are able of limiting average global temperature rise to a safer 1.5 °C. Mauritius has the opportunity to showcase to the world that vulnerable small islands developing states, can be vibrant and powerful advocates for climate action.

On this note I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Thank you for your kind attention.