Policymakers, representatives of civil society, and development partners today convened at the Mountain View Hotel to officially launch the development process for Eswatini’s Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS). The LT-LEDS is a long-term national strategy through, which countries outline how they will transition to a low-emission, climate-resilient development pathway by mid-century – around 2050 – under the 2015 Paris Agreement. As one of the 192 signatories to the Agreement, Eswatini is actively implementing programmes to meet its objectives.

In practical terms, an LT-LEDS:

• Sets out a long-term vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the 1.5°C or well-below 2°C temperature goals; 

• Identifies pathways to net-zero or near-zero emissions;

• Aligns climate action with national development priorities such as economic growth, job creation, energy access, and poverty reduction;

• Guides sectoral transitions across energy, transport, agriculture, forestry, land use, and industry; and

• Ensures coherence between long-term objectives and short- to medium-term instruments such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Eswatini was among the first ten countries to submit its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNDP has supported the country in developing the NDC and is now extending this support to the LT-LEDS process.