19 October 2015: The UNFCCC Secretariat has reported that Antigua and Barbuda, Guinea, Niger, Oman and Uganda have formally submitted their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), bringing the total number of Parties that have made their submissions to 154.

Niger’s INDC, which was submitted on 29 September, sets out the country’s intended unconditional mitigation commitment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions of 2.5% below 2020 business-as-usual (BAU) levels and 3.5% below 2030 BUA levels; and conditional commitments of 25% below 2020 BUA levels and 34.6% below 2030 BAU levels. The INDC further sets out the intended measures to implement these commitments, including: upscaling good sustainable land management (SLM) practices over all agro-ecological areas; improving the rate of access to electricity; reducing the demand for wood energy per inhabitant; promoting domestic gas of biogas and biofuels at both the industrial and family level; and doubling the rate of energy mix to reach 30% energy mix in the primary and final energy balance. The INDC covers carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as the agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU), and energy sectors.

In Guinea’s INDC, which was submitted on 1 October, the country outlines its intended mitigation commitments to: produce 30% of its energy (excluding wood-energy) from renewable energy sources; support the dissemination of technologies and practices that are energy- efficient or use alternatives to wood-energy and charcoal; improve the country’s energy performance; make the exploitation of mineral resources climate-compatible; and manage its forests sustainably. It states that implementation of these commitments would result in an estimated GHG emission reduction of 13% below 1994 levels (excluding land-use change and forestry) by 2030. The INDC covers the agriculture, forestry, energy, water resources, coastal zone, livestock, fisheries and mining sectors.

In its INDC submitted on 16 October, Uganda outlines its intention to implement a series of policies and measures in the energy supply, forestry and wetland sectors. It estimates that the potential cumulative impact of these policies and measures could result in GHG emission reductions of about 22% below the 2030 business-as-usual levels of 77.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, by 2030. The INDC further states that the full implementation of these actions is conditional on the support of the international community through both climate finance instruments and international market mechanisms, explaining that national sources are assumed to cover approximately 30% of incremental costs of the activities in the next 15 years, with 70% assumed to originate from international sources.

The INDC sets out the planned policies and measures, including: construction of enabling infrastructure for electricity sector development, including power lines, substations and transmission facilities; development of an enabling environment for forestry management, such as community forest management groups; and development of an enabling environment for wetland management, including creation of a national information database through re-inventory and assessment of all wetlands.

In its INDC submitted on 19 October, Oman outlines its intended contribution of controlling its expected GHG emissions growth by 2% during 2020-2030. It intends to achieve this target by: reducing gas flaring from oil industries; increasing the share of renewable energy; increasing energy efficiency in industry; developing new legislation on climate change that will support the adoption of low carbon and energy efficiency technologies; and reducing hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) use in the foam and refrigeration sector. The INDC covers the energy; industrial processes and waste sectors. It also covers the following gases: CO2, CH, N2O, HCFCs and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

Antigua and Barbuda’s INDC, which was submitted on 19 October, contains the country’s conditional mitigation targets of: establishing, by 2020, efficiency standards for the importation of all vehicles and appliances; finalizing, by 2020, technical studies with the intention to construct and operationalize a waste to energy plant by 2025; achieving, by 2030, an energy matrix with 50 MW of electricity from renewable sources both on and off-grid in the public and private sectors; and protecting, by 2030, all remaining wetlands and watershed areas with carbon sequestration potential as carbon sinks. It further sets out unconditional targets of: enhancing the established enabling legal, policy and institutional environment for a low-carbon emission development pathway to achieve poverty reduction and sustainable development; and by 2020, updating the Building Code to meet projected impacts of climate change. The INDC also outlines adaptation targets such as increasing seawater desalination capacity, and improving and preparing all buildings for extreme climate events. The intended contributions are directed at the energy, health, tourism, agriculture, waste, water, transportation, forestry and land use change sectors.

All Parties to the UNFCCC are expected to submit INDCs in advance of the Paris Climate Change Conference, which will take place in November-December 2015. Those that were submitted by 1 October 2015 will be included in a synthesis report on their aggregate effect by 1 November 2015. Parties are anticipated to agree on a global climate change agreement to take effect in 2020 at the Paris Climate Change Conference. [UNFCCC Press Release, Guinea] [Guinea’s INDC] [UNFCCC Press Release, Niger] [Niger’s INDC] [UNFCCC Press Release, Uganda] [Uganda’s INDC] [UNFCCC Press Release, Oman] [Oman’s INDC] [UNFCCC Press Release, Antigua and Barbuda] [Antigua and Barbuda’s INDC]