Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of Cape Verde (INDC).

The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of Cape Verde is hereby submitted jointly by the Ministry of Environmental, Housing and Land Planning and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a view to contribute to the process of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Paris in December 2015. It responds to COP decisions 1/CP.19 and 1/CP.20 inviting all Parties to communicate to the secretariat their INDCs so as to achieve the objective set out in Article 2 of the UNFCCC and in a way that demonstrates a progression beyond their current undertakings. The submission draws attention to the fact that Cape Verde is a small island developing state (SIDS) and that the strategies, plans and actions for low greenhouse gas emission (GHG) development put forward herein reflect the special circumstances and adaptation challenges of Cape Verde, which require specific international support in terms of capacity-building, technology transfer, and financial commitments (pag. 1).
The preparation of this document was coordinated by the National Directorate of Environment and is structured as follows: (i) summary of contributions; (ii) national context and overall vision; (iii) mitigation; and (iv) adaptation. Cape Verde´s mitigation contributions listed herein are expressed in the form of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) Targets and other Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). RE and EE Targets are proposed for both 2025 and 2030, along with biennial monitoring of progress based on pre-defined indicators and supported by GHG inventories. As a small island development state (SIDS), Cabo Verde has one of the lowest GHG emissions per capita and yet is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In particular, Cape Verde faces severe adaptation challenges associated with water resources availability, food and energy security, and desertification processes. (pag. 3). The Key strategic axes are: Promoting integrated water resources management, guaranteeing stable and adequate water supply (for consumption, agriculture, ecosystems and tourism); Increasing adaptive capacities of agro-silvopastoral production systems in order to ensure and improve national food production and promoting Cape Verde´s ocean-based economy; Protecting and preventing degradation of coastal zones and their habitat (pag. 6).
In order to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding, this first section presents a summary of Cape Verde’s intended mitigation and adaptation contributions. Cape Verde strongly believes that, in light of its national circumstances, its position as an arid small island developing states (SIDS) particularly vulnerable to climate change, its INDC is fair, ambitious, and represents a genuine contribution towards achieving the objective of the article 2 of the Convention. INDC specific priority sectors are: Energy, transport, waste, AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use), and adaptation. GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); and nitrous oxide (N2O) (pag. 2).
Based on the analysis already carried-out during the NAPA process, Cape Verde now seeks international support to further develop the necessary strategies and national policies to establish an integrated framework that increases the country’s overall adaptive capacity, as well as the level of resilience of those most vulnerable to climatic variability and climate change. Building on the priorities identified during the development of the NAPA process, Cape Verde proposes to focus its adaptation actions on the following strategic axes: Promoting integrated water resources management, guaranteeing stable and adequate water supply (for consumption, agriculture, ecosystems and tourism); Increasing adaptive capacities of the agro-silvo-pastoral production systems in order to ensure and improve national food production, and promoting Cape Verde´s blue economy; and Protecting and preventing degradation of the coastal zones and their habitat (pag. 19.)