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On the eve of 2020, governments will submit updated and enhanced nationally determined contributions to remain within the limit of a 2°C temperature increase as per the Paris agreement of 2015.

Building on FAO's regional-level analyses of the NDCs, the report “Energy in and from agriculture in the African Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) - A review" looks at African Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement from the viewpoint of FAO’s programme on Energy-smart food for people and climate. The analysis demonstrates that African countries are concerned by the importance of sustainable cooking energy and the necessity to develop renewable energy services for agriculture.

Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Paris Agreement requires each Party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve.

The paper examines all 53 African (I)NDCs, together with the 243 policies and measures (P&M) related to “energy in and from agriculture”, with the aim of guiding parties in the implementation of their NDCs and ensuring future commitments. These policies and measures were divided into three main categories: modern bioenergy, traditional bioenergy, and energy in agri-food systems.

"The analysis of African INDC through the lens of energy in and from agriculture shows that this is perceived as a realistic solution to mitigate emissions from the agriculture sectors as well to  support their adaptation to climate-induced disasters", explained Olivier Dubois, Senior Natural Resources Officer for FAO.

The report demonstrates that bioenergy is an area of major interest for African countries: access to clean cooking technologies remains a challenge, whereas modern bioenergy systems are seen as sustainable sources of renewable energy to reduce the heavy dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation, transport and residential use. Forty-seven countries (89 percent of African NDCs) mention at least one measure related to modern or traditional bioenergy.

Moreover, the issue of energy use in agriculture and the need to foster the deployment of renewable energy in agrifood systems is a concern shared by most African parties to the convention.

“This journey through African NDCs demonstrates that energy access for cooking and in agri-food chains is a major concern for African countries. They face the challenge of an increasing population asking for better energy services, notably for agriculture, and the need to reduce human pressure on natural resources while improving food security” xplained Florent Eveillé, Natural Resources Officer for FAO.