April 2019: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India, published a report titled, ‘SDG Footprint of African NDCs: Advancing the Co-benefits Approach,’ which explores how a number of African countries are designing systems to simultaneously achieve their climate targets and the SDGs.

Building on a 2015 study of Asian NDCs, the report takes an in-depth look at Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of seven African countries: Burkina Faso; the Central African Republic (CAR); Ghana; Malawi; Niger; Swaziland; and Zambia, and analyzes NDCs of several other African countries.

The report notes that all NDCs recognize the value of a co-benefits approach to effectively address risks and vulnerabilities due to climate change, while enhancing synergies between development policies and climate action. Five recurrent co-benefits are highlighted in most of the NDCs studied: economic growth; inclusive growth; food security; gender equality; and good health and nutrition.

A specific example explored in Burkina Faso’s NDC is the link between land restoration and diverse co-benefits, including increased carbon sequestration, food security, improved income for farmers and poverty reduction. The NDC also highlights some co-benefits from investments in renewable energy, including reduced energy costs for businesses and homes, increased productivity and reduced pollution in the electricity generation and transport sectors. In addition to contributing to food security and poverty reduction, Côte d’Ivoire links sustainable agriculture interventions to “an increase in social peace by increasing purchasing power and job creation,” as well as a reduction in dependence on exports.

In their NDCs, Malawi and Niger explicitly mention gender equity as an important co-benefit to be achieved as part of an overarching climate strategy.

The report concludes by noting that the African NDCs studied reflect a sustainable development approach that can further contribute to climate action and reduce the adversities, while simultaneously helping build capacities and reducing economic disparities. [Publication: SDG Footprint of African NDCs: Advancing the Co-benefits Approach]