CBIT | Nationally Determined Contributions

What are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the individual climate pledges made by countries under the Paris Agreement. They outline each country's plans to contribute to the global goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, adapt to climate impacts, and secure the necessary financing for these endeavors. NDCs are short- to medium-term plans that must be updated every five years with increasingly ambitious targets, reflecting each country's capabilities and capacities.

0.01%

The Bahamas's contibution to carbon emissions

30%

Reduction our GHG emission compared to its business-as-usual (BAU) scenario

30%

Renewable energy in our country’s energy mix.

Essentially, an NDC serves as a country's roadmap for reducing emissions and adapting to climate change impacts, with every Party to the Paris Agreement mandated to establish and update their NDC every five years. These contributions are "nationally determined," meaning that each country decides its own targets and actions based on its unique circumstances, capabilities, and priorities. Typically, NDCs include emission reduction targets, policies, and measures to achieve these targets, as well as strategies for enhancing resilience to climate impacts.

NDCs play a vital role in the global effort to limit global warming to well below 2°C and strive to keep it within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris Agreement's objectives.

As a Small Island Developing State and although its contribution to the global emission of greenhouse gases is almost negligible at 0.01%, The Bahamas is a responsible member of the international community, and as such, is committed to setting ambitious emission reduction targets.

The Bahamas Updated NDC was developed under the umbrella of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Project entitled “Building Blocks for Strengthening The Bahamas Country Programme” developed collaboratively between the Government of The Bahamas, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoENR), which is the National Designated Authority (NDA) and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), whose mandate is to coordinate the Caribbean Region’s response to climate change, is accredited to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and who served as the Delivery Partner with responsibility for the implementation of this Project.

The Bahamas NDC Commitment

The Bahamas' Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted in 2022, outlines the country’s commitments to addressing climate change.

The Bahamas aims to reduce GHG emissions by 30% compared to the business as usual scenario. Additionally, The Bahamas aims to increase the sales of electric and hybrid vehicles, targeting 35% and 15% of total sales, respectively, by 2030. Achieving these targets necessitates promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, incentivizing mechanisms, and promoting the electrification of road transportation.

Furthermore, as climate change takes a toll on The Bahamas, the country must also take action to prevent and minimize impacts. In this context, The Bahamas seeks to reduce its vulnerability and improve its ability to prepare and respond to climate change. This will be done by strengthening the national regulatory framework and leverage adaptation funding, protecting human health, ensuring food and clean water security, improving ecosystem management and conversation, and increasing resilience of energy infrastructure while diversifying the energy matrix with a focus on renewable energy.

The realization of these mitigation and adaptation targets is contingent upon receiving international support for technology transfer, capacity-building, and financial resources. The indicative cost for implementing The Bahamas' NDC measures through 2030 exceeds USD 4 billion for both mitigation and adaptation actions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Climate change is the change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods (UNFCCC, 1992).

GHG are atmospheric gases that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. They play a crucial role in the Earth's climate system by trapping heat and contributing to the greenhouse effect, which regulates the planet's temperature. While naturally occurring in the atmosphere, human activities have significantly increased the concentrations of these gases, leading to global warming and climate change.

The main gases are: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Fluorinated Gases

GHG emissions inventories are systematic compilations of data on greenhouse gas emissions from various sources within a defined geographic area, such as a country, region, or city. These inventories include emissions from sectors such as energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, forestry, and waste management.

Due to its location in the Atlantic hurricane belt and like other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), The Bahamas is extremely vulnerable to the effects of disasters and climate change, as some 80 percent of the landmass is within 5 ft (1.5 m) of mean sea level and coastal areas hold the majority of the population and economic activity.

For that reason, it is paramount that The Bahamas undertakes major efforts to increase the resilience to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change and contributes to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bahamas is undertaking major efforts to shelter against the effects of climate change and is implementing ambitious measures to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, the country submitted its Updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, pledging a 30% reduction of emissions by 2030 and aiming for improving its resilience against the adverse effects of climate change.

Moreover, The Bahamas undertakes efforts across all sectors to enhance its response to climate change.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) are pledges countries make to the international community regarding its intended reduction of greenhouse gases and in some cases also its efforts to adapt to climate change. NDCs are communicated since 2015 under the Paris Agreement, and all signatory countries are required to enhance the ambition of their NDCs every five years.

The Bahamas in its Updated NDC from 2022 pledges a reduction of 30% GHG emissions through compared to the business-as-usual scenario in which no action is taken by 2030. It intends to do so by implementing ambitious reduction measures in its priority sectors: Energy, Industry, Transport, Forestry, Waste.

Climate change mitigation refers to actions taken to reduce or prevent the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere, as well as the improvement of carbon sinks aiming to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Mitigation efforts are essential for limiting global warming, stabilising the Earth's climate system, and minimising adverse effects on ecosystems, economies, and societies.

In The Bahamas, the NDC drives the implementation of 41 targeted actions in the priority emitting sectors.

Adaptation is defined, in human systems, as the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, adaptation is the process of adjustment to actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects”. (IPCC, 2022).

In The Bahamas, the NDC drives the implementation of 47 targeted actions in the priority adaptation sectors.

Loss and damage refers to the negative effects of climate change that occur despite mitigation and adaptation efforts. While mitigation addresses the causes of climate change (like reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation addresses its impacts (like building sea walls to prevent flooding), loss and damage is concerned with the unavoidable and irreversible impacts of the climate crisis.

Climate change impacts and risks are becoming more complex and difficult to manage. Scientific evidence suggests that loss and damage is unequally distributed and not comprehensively addressed by current adaptation and mitigation, particularly in vulnerable developing countries. Multiple climate hazards will occur simultaneously and interact, resulting in compounding risks across sectors and regions.

Climate finance refers to local, national, or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.

Between 2010 and 2020, the Bahamas has received about 155 Million USD from international climate funds and development partners as well as from the private sector to implement climate change actions with 91% of the funding received for mitigation actions and about 9% for adaptation actions.