Update of Nationally Determined Contribution of Maldives, 2020

1. Quantified information on the reference point (including, as appropriate, a base year) Target is given relative to the projected emissions (a) Reference year(s), base year(s), reference to 2030 under a BAU scenario with 2011 as the base period(s) or other starting point(s) year of emissions. (b) Quantifiable information on the reference Emissions in 2030 under a BAU is 3,284.92 Gg CO2e. indicators, their values in the reference year(s), base year(s), reference period(s) or other starting point(s), and, as applicable, in the target year 1 (c) For strategies, plans and actions referred Various actions need to be undertaken to achieve to in Article 4, paragraph 6, of the Paris the NDC target. A brief description of the activities Agreement, or policies and measures as are provided below. components of nationally determined  Increase of electricity production by contributions where paragraph 1(b) above renewable energy (RE) with storage and grid is not applicable, Parties to provide other stabilization. Efforts will be made to increase relevant information the installed the RE share to 15% of the energy mix, which includes the public and private sector.  Increase supply and demand side efficiency. Increase of efficiency of generators and upgrading the grids to minimize grid loss would be essential. Significant upgrading of the existing power production infrastructure needs to be done via routine scheduled maintenance, synchronization and optimization of power production and reducing grid loss to at least 5% is required. In addition, demand side management would include implementation of the standard labelling program and improvement of building standards for energy efficiency.  Waste to energy. The planned installation of 8 MW in Thilafushi and 1.5 MW in Addu City will be completed. These systems will be optimized for grid connection and electricity production.  Establishment of vehicle/vessels emissions standard and establishment of efficient transport management system and promotion of hybrid-vehicles.  Use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for electricity generation within greater Malé region. The diesel used for power production could be replaced with LNG for the greater Malé region with the proposed LNG plant in Thilafushi and the interconnectivity bridge. 2 (d) Target relative to the reference indicator, 26% reduction of emissions in 2030 (under a BAU) expressed numerically, for example in in a conditional manner, in the context of percentage or amount of reduction sustainable development, supported and enabled by availability of financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building. However, the Government of Maldives believes that it has a responsibility to take a transformational economic and environmental path to development and aims to reach net-zero by 2030 provided on condition that it gets the extensive support and assistance from the international community. Maldivian government will develop a plan with consultation of development partners, donors and other stakeholders, mapping out the net-zero pathway. (e) Information on sources of data used in  The base year information was collected from quantifying the reference point(s) Maldives Energy Supply and Demand Survey 2010-2012.  The emission projections are based on the modelling approach of the Maldives Energy Supply and Demand Survey 2010-2012.  The economic projections are based on the IMF World Economic Outlook Update (2017)  Population projections were obtained from the Maldives Population Projections 2014- 2054 available from the Maldives National Bureau of Statistics.  Detailed description of the methodology is included in the Annex of First BUR of Maldives (f) Information on the circumstances under Changes of circumstance where underlying which the Party may update the values of assumptions (e.g. fuel prices, technological the reference indicators feasibility etc.) may have to be reflected to update the indicators.

2. Time frames and/or periods for implementation 3 (a) Time frame and/or period for Already under implementation and will continue to implementation, including start and end do so till the end of 2030. date, consistent with any further relevant decision adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) (b) Whether it is a single-year or multi-year Single – year target target, as applicable

3. Scope and coverage (a) General description of the target The target for 2030 is to reduce emissions under a BAU where the emissions reduction is mostly from the energy and waste sector (b) Sectors, gases, categories and pools As per the IPCC guidelines: covered by the nationally determined key sectors covered: contribution, including, as applicable,  Energy consistent with Intergovernmental Panel  Waste on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines Gases covered:  Carbon dioxide (CO2)  Methane (CH4)  Nitrous oxide (N2O) (c) How the Party has taken into The Maldives is committed to expanding the consideration paragraph 31(c) and (d) of inclusion of all categories of emissions and decision 1/CP.21 removals as much as possible. Inclusion of sources and sinks were considered based on the latest inventory (inventory of 2015) of the BUR and was decided that still more data gaps needs to be filled and this will be addressed overtime in subsequent inventory updates. 4 (d) Mitigation co-benefits resulting from Maldives will account for any mitigation co-benefits Parties’ adaptation actions and/or from adaptation and/or economic diversification as economic diversification plans, including mitigation actions in accordance with the description of specific projects, measures assumption and methodological approaches in and initiatives of Parties’ adaptation Section 5. actions and/or economic diversification plans

4. Planning Process (a) Information on the planning processes that the Party undertook to prepare its nationally determined contribution and, if available, on the Party’s implementation plans, including, as appropriate (i) Domestic institutional arrangements, As the Ministry mandated with the climate change public participation and engagement portfolio, the Ministry of Environment has updated with local communities and indigenous the NDC in consultation with all relevant peoples, in a gender-responsive manner stakeholders including those in the public and private sector. In addition, the NDC was shared with the general public for their feedback. During the updating process, various development plans and ongoing activities within the sectors were considered. (ii) Contextual matters, including, inter alia, as appropriate: a. National circumstances, such as Please refer to the Maldives latest national geography, climate, economy, communication (Second National Communication) sustainable development and and the First BUR. poverty eradication 5 b. Best practices and experience  Taking into consideration the financial and related to the preparation of the technical capabilities of the country nationally determined  Conducting socio-economic analysis of the contribution mitigation actions.  Engaging stakeholders to confirm their roles and responsibilities to achieve the target.  Briefing policy makers on the technical and financial implications in achieving the NDC target  Use of existing national reports in various sectors c. Other contextual aspirations and Not Applicable priorities acknowledged when joining the Paris Agreement (b) Specific information applicable to Parties, Not Applicable including regional economic integration organizations and their member States, that have reached an agreement to act jointly under Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement, including the Parties that agreed to act jointly and the terms of the agreement, in accordance with Article 4, paragraphs 16–18, of the Paris Agreement (c) How the Party’s preparation of its Not Applicable for this round of NDC nationally determined contribution has been informed by the outcomes of the global stocktake, in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 9, of the Paris Agreement 6 (d) Each Party with a nationally determined contribution under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement that consists of adaptation action and/or economic diversification plans resulting in mitigation co-benefits consistent with Article 4, paragraph 7, of the Paris Agreement to submit information on: (i) How the economic and social Cost and benefits were assessed for all the consequences of response measures interventions considered while taking into have been considered in developing the consideration the financial and technical capacity of nationally determined contribution the country. (ii) Specific projects, measures and Enhancement of the existing economic activities to be implemented to diversification plans. contribute to mitigation co-benefits, including information on adaptation plans that also yield mitigation co- benefits, which may cover, but are not limited to, key sectors, such as energy, resources, water resources, coastal resources, human settlements and urban planning, agriculture and forestry; and economic diversification actions, which may cover, but are not limited to, sectors such as manufacturing and industry, energy and mining, transport and communication, construction, tourism, real estate, agriculture and fisheries

5. Assumptions and methodological approaches, including those for estimating and accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and, as appropriate, removals 7 (a) Assumptions and methodological The Maldives will account for its anthropogenic approaches used for accounting for GHG emissions and removals using the 2006 anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and removals corresponding to the Party’s Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas nationally determined contribution, Inventories, IPCC Good Practice Guidance and consistent with decision 1/CP.21, Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse paragraph 31, and accounting guidance Gas Inventories. The models applied projects adopted by the CMA; amount of energy used for every national sector based on population and economic growth. Default emission values from IPCC 2006 Guidelines are used to derive the emission. (b) Assumptions and methodological See 5(a) above. The Maldives will also apply specific approaches used for accounting for the assumptions and methodologies, where relevant, implementation of policies and measures when accounting for progress of various policies or strategies in the nationally determined and measures in its future reporting. contribution; (c) If applicable, information on how the Party See 5(a) above will take into account existing methods and guidance under the Convention to account for anthropogenic emissions and removals, in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 14, of the Paris Agreement, as appropriate (d) IPCC methodologies and metrics used for The Maldives emissions for CO2, CH4 and N2O will estimating anthropogenic greenhouse gas be derived using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, via the emissions and removals; Reference and Sectoral approach. The Tier 1 methodology will be used for emission estimates. The aggregation of GHG emissions will be estimated, and will be reported, using the 100-year time-horizon global warming potential (GWP) values from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. 8 (e) Sector-, category- or activity-specific assumptions, methodologies and approaches consistent with IPCC guidance, as appropriate, including, as applicable (i) Approach to addressing emissions and Not applicable subsequent removals from natural disturbances on managed lands; (ii) Approach used to account for emissions Not applicable and removals from harvested wood products; (iii) Approach used to address the effects of Not applicable age-class structure in forests; (f) Other assumptions and methodological approaches used for understanding the nationally determined contribution and, if applicable, estimating corresponding emissions and removals, including (i) How the reference indicators, For the purpose of projections: baseline(s) and/or reference level(s),  Energy use per capita and waste generated including, where applicable, sector-, per capita is used to assess domestic energy category- or activity-specific reference and waste generation levels, are constructed, including, for  For the tourism sector energy use per tourist example, key parameters, assumptions, bednight and waste generated per tourist definitions, methodologies, data bed night is assessed. sources and models used;  For other industrial and commercial activities, energy use is normalized to GDP dollar. 9 (ii) For Parties with nationally determined Not applicable contributions that contain non- greenhouse-gas components, information on assumptions and methodological approaches used in relation to those components, as applicable (iii) For climate forcers included in Not applicable nationally determined contributions not covered by IPCC guidelines, information on how the climate forcers are estimated; (iv) Further technical information, as Not applicable necessary; (g) The intention to use voluntary cooperation The Maldives intends to participate in the under Article 6 of the Paris mechanisms under the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. However, due to lack of agreed rules at the time of this submission, the level of participation for achievement of the NDC target is not determined.

6. How the Party considers that its nationally determined contribution is fair and ambitious in the light of its national circumstances (a) How the Party considers that its As the Maldives is a highly indebted Small Island nationally determined contribution is fair Developing State at the frontline of the climate and ambitious in the light of its national emergency, all mitigation using domestic resources circumstances; should be considered ambitious. Thus, it is fair for a country like the Maldives, to put forward a (b) Fairness considerations, including conditional target while aspiring to significantly reflecting on equity; increase that target on the basis of available finance, technology and capacity. Though the emissions produced by the Maldives is negligible, given its extreme vulnerability to climate impacts, emission reduction can contribute to 10 increasing resilience and achieving sustainable development. However, achieving our targets are constrained by the limited land area, geographic isolation of islands and geographic dispersion of population and small economies of scale contribute to these challenges. In addition, limited capacity and challenges associated with transformation of the already established power generation systems remain as barriers to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. Apart from solar energy, ocean currents and waves surrounding the islands can be considered as potential renewable energy sources for the Maldives and other SIDS. However, the technologies to harness them are still at pilot stages globally and commercially unavailable. This has resulted in the Maldives being heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels despite the advancement of government policies that promote and implement renewable energy technology adoption. As the Maldives is already facing the consequences of extreme and slow onset events, there is a need for urgent and immediate adaptation actions. The Maldives is undertaking a number of adaptation actions through the use of domestic and international resources most of which addresses the immediate needs of the country. The COVID19 pandemic has further exacerbated these vulnerabilities making the Maldives one of the hardest hit countries in the world in terms of its impact on GDP. Considering these constraints and the increasing vulnerabilities to the adverse impacts of climate change and the minor share of global GHG emissions, while allowing the country to pursue sustainable development without overburdening the population, the Maldives’ NDC is highly equitable and ambitious 11 (c) How the Party has addressed Article 4, The target given is higher than the target submitted paragraph 3, of the Paris Agreement; in 2015 with more information regarding the actions to be taken. (d) How the Party has addressed Article 4, Not applicable paragraph 4, of the Paris Agreement; (e) How the Party has addressed Article 4, The target takes into account the national paragraph 6, of the Paris Agreement circumstances.

7. How the nationally determined contribution contributes towards achieving the objective of the Convention as set out in its Article 2: (a) How the nationally determined The target set and the activities identified are contribution contributes towards meant to contribute to the overall objective of the achieving the objective of the Convention convention to limit dangerous anthropogenic as set out in its Article 2; interference with the climate system. The NDC does take into consideration that any mitigation action taken does not adversely impact ecosystems ability to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. (b) How the nationally determined The NDC target given will contribute to achieving contribution contributes towards Article 2, the target of limiting the warming to below 1.5 oC, paragraph 1(a), and Article 4, paragraph 1, while keeping in consideration that it contributes to of the Paris Agreement sustainable development while eradicating poverty by reducing dependency of imported energy and switching to more cost-effective, reliable and sustainable energy sources. 12 The Maldives enhancement adaptation efforts The Maldives, as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, considers strengthening adaptation actions and building climate resilience as a high national priority. Similar to mitigation efforts, increasing the adaptation resilience is also considered economy wide and targets all the sectors. Enhancing Agriculture and Food Security Agriculture and food production is very limited in the Maldives due to the small size of the islands, land scarcity, poor soil conditions and limited water resources. However, the sector has strived to sustain its contribution to the national economy and food security. The sector’s contribution remain a significant source of income for many women especially smallholder farmers and island communities. The Maldives has a highly import oriented economy with respect to its staple food requirements. Moreover, the extensively scattered and geographically dispersed nature of islands results in tremendous barriers and challenges, adding risks towards maintaining adequate storage and distribution facilities and systems especially during severe and extreme events and unexpected market irregularities.  Strengthen existing climate risk insurance mechanisms for building resilience against the loss of assets, livelihoods due to extreme events and enhancing relief efforts in the post disaster period taking into account national food and nutrition security.  Scale-up investments in building public food reserves and stocks and expanding regional distribution mechanisms across the country as an adaptive measure to increase accessibility and availability to reduce risks of food shortages during extreme events and market irregularities.  Promote research and development focusing on climate smart technologies and practices to address challenges facing the sector due to climate variabilities, seasonal changes and extreme events.  Enhance capacity to implement climate smart and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies and practices towards reducing pest damages and pest induced crop losses to increase resilience on crop yields and food security. d  Facilitate and enhance access to finance via available national funds and other mechanisms including access to micro-credit, grants etc., to increase farmer’s capacity to enhance food security and to increase investments on production systems. 13 Infrastructure Resilience Given the small and low lying geographic nature of the islands, our critical infrastructure is in close proximity to the coast. Infrastructure is constantly exposed to coastal hazards such as sea swells, storm surges and associated coastal flooding. This infrastructure needs protection from the potential adverse impacts of climate change. As part of increasing infrastructure resiliency, the Maldives will consider to undertake the following actions.  Enhancing the resilience and climate proofing of critical infrastructure such as airports, ports, powerhouses and other utilities etc.  Enhancing the National Building Code to incorporate climate resilience including coastal infrastructure.  Increase resiliency through better spatial planning and increased connectivity between the islands.  Strengthen the legislative framework by establishment of a National Planning Act and Physical Planning Act. The legislation will facilitate integration of climate change into development planning while considering the economies of scale for public services, land use planning and population consolidation.  Strengthen efforts to conserve and restore mangrove ecosystems considering its numerous services and benefits to people and nature including livelihood of communities and its role as natural buffers or barriers for flood mitigation. Public Health Climate Change has both direct and indirect health impacts. Warmer temperatures and wetter monsoon seasons could increase the prevalence of vector borne diseases. Extreme weather such as storm surges and flooding cause significant damage to health care facilities and the delivery of health services during emergencies. These impacts are not limited to physical diseases, but also affects mental and social well- being. This often has a disproportionate burden on women, elderly persons, persons with disabilities and children. Food and water borne diseases are not common in the Maldives. However, heavy rainfall and flooding promotes the transmission of such pathogens when there are no proper mechanisms to ensure adequate food safety and disposal measures. Poor sanitation and groundwater contamination also increase the chance of spreading water borne diseases.  Facilitate integration of climate change into the national health systems to ensure sustainable and climate resilient adaptation measures. 14  Enhance the institutional and human capacity to implement the existing vector surveillance programs covering all islands to address the emergence and re-emergence of such diseases and in implementing adequate food safety measures.  Strengthen the existing legal frameworks to address national vector control and implementation of food safety policies and standards.  Enhance the resilience of health infrastructure through increased climate proofing and incorporating green and energy efficiency measures.  Enhance public health advocacy and awareness activities to reduce vector borne and other non- communicable diseases including those driven by heat stress and poor air quality.  Promote research to understand the nexus between climate change and health such as its impacts on vector borne diseases, mental health and air quality. Enhancing Water Security Ground and rainwater are the main sources of fresh water in Maldives. In most of the islands, groundwater is not suitable for potable use due to saltwater intrusion and poor water quality. Future climate projections show that Maldives will experience issues with adequate availability of rain water which increases risk to accessibility and quality of water sources.  Implementation of cost-effective Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) systems to cater for the water needs of the entire population to reduce the risk of water shortages during dry seasons.  Enhance decentralized water security and safety plans to be implemented in all islands, considering the nuanced differences of the available water resources and minimize the detrimental impacts on the water resources.  Integrate stormwater management into infrastructure development projects.  Improve the overall understanding of impacts from climate change on the natural water resources based on the latest science and implement policies, standards, regulations to pre- emptively protect the natural water resources from future impacts.  Strengthen policies, programmes and campaigns to increase the efficiency of water use to reduce human pressure on the existing water resources. 15 Coastal Protection The geographical nature of our islands results in communities having to live in very close proximity to the shoreline. Communities are highly exposed to risks associated with coastal hazards such as sea swells, sea level rise and these impacts have increased many folds over the past few decades. Hence, investments to coastal resilience is a critical need and priority for the Maldives. Given the characteristics of the country, coastal management is essential to increase resilience in other vulnerable sectors.  Promote use of evidence-based decision making on coastal adaptation planning and management of coastal zones.  Facilitate mobilization of financing to reduce exposure of communities to coastal hazards.  Mainstream climate change risks into coastal development policies.  Continue to facilitate investments in coastal protection of inhabited islands, industrial islands and resorts. Safeguarding Coral Reef Biodiversity The Maldives is very rich in its marine flora and fauna. The coral reefs make up a significant portion of the Maldives biodiversity. The formation and protection of islands, livelihoods of the people and economy of the country depends on our marine environment in particular the coral reefs, with their immense contribution to the tourism and fisheries industries. The reefs support rich biodiversity providing food and livelihoods to island communities. This vital ecosystem is highly sensitive to changing sea surface temperature and other climatic factors. Evidence from Maldivian reefs supports that warming of the ocean surface leads to significant coral bleaching and mortality has been observed in the Maldives due to El-Nino phenomenon during the past two decades. In some instances, coral reefs surrounding the islands are also stressed due to land-based sources of pollution.  Facilitate research to address knowledge gaps and climate change impacts on coral reefs and marine ecosystems in order to promote sustainable and resilience-based management of coral reefs and marine ecosystems.  Strengthen existing coral reef monitoring program by engaging partners and stakeholders and developing tools (such as remote sensing, projections) for predicting, measuring and monitoring effects of climate variabilities and changes on reefs, marine ecosystems and vulnerable species.  Strengthen national conservation programs considering different categories of protection, local and community management, ecosystem-based approach to contribute to the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity and increase their resilience to climate change impacts while taking the livelihoods of the resource users into account. 16  Enhance resilience of coral reefs and ecosystems by developing policy tools, incorporating into development plans, promoting best practices, increasing advocacy and through management actions.  Implement measures to reduce sources of pollution on coral reefs and ecosystems especially marine life through appropriate policies, development of appropriate treatment facilities, management and safe disposal of solid waste taking into account the timely phasing-out of single use plastics. Tourism Tourism is the largest contributor to GDP. The Maldivian tourism industry is highly dependent on its limited environmental resources. A slight modification in its resources will have a cascading impact on the national GDP.  Mainstream climate change risks into tourism sector policies to enhance resiliency and sustainability of the sector.  Facilitate access to finance to increase the resilience and sustainable environmental management of the sector.  Mainstream and promote clean energy and energy efficiency technologies to reduce the overall emissions.  Establish an insurance mechanism to reduce the impacts on the tourism sector through risk sharing and risk management. Fisheries Fisheries remains the primary industry for many island communities occupying men and women alike. Fish products are the country’s main exports and is one of the key sources of foreign exchange. Fisheries is also a key primary productivity sector and contributes to approximately 20% of the domestic employment. Climate change is expected to have a profound impact on oceans and marine life and the Maldives is no exception. The changing distribution of fish stocks and their food due to climate variability and accelerating effects of climate change is expected to have a significant impact on Maldives fisheries, fisheries dependent livelihood activities and food and nutrition security. Further, the increasing trend of frequency and magnitude of extreme events and anomalies could be devastating to the fishing communities nutritionally and economically.  Facilitate fisheries research and development initiatives taking into consideration resilience building of the sector towards managing the changing of fish stocks and its migration patterns, adapting to efficient technologies and investing in national capacity needs. 17  Enhance diversification of the fisheries sector including promotion of multi-functionality to respond to the emerging challenges and uncertainties due to climate variabilities and extreme events while protecting the health and sustainability of the marine resources and ecosystems.  Promote sustainable fisheries by increasing efficiency of fishing vessels, promoting technologies that have potential for reducing GHGs and by developing and upgrading land based fisheries infrastructures and facilities for a low carbon foot- print.  Facilitate access to finance to empower the industry towards meeting the vulnerability challenges and increase its contribution to sustainable blue growth considering vulnerable small- scale fishers and fishing communities and their productive role in maintaining food and nutrition security, livelihood and sustaining a successful blue economy.  Strengthen insurance schemes to enhance resilience of small-scale fishers and fishing industry to cover against losses due to extreme events and anomalies, ensuring a minimum monthly income for lost fishing days especially for small-scale fishers. Early Warning and Systematic Observation Information and data availability on climatology, hydrology and geophysics is scarce in the Maldives. Wide geographic spread of the islands complemented with capacity constraints and inadequate resources have challenged the expansion of the observation networks. Improvement of data collection, management and forecast remains critical areas for early warning dissemination.  Promote research to understand past and future climate trends and their associated impacts.  Continue strengthening and expansion of the meteorological network and early warning systems to cover the entire archipelago.  Improve the climate and weather forecasting tools for decision making.  Strengthen the early warning systems and risk management tools. 18 Disaster risk reduction and management The Maldives is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme climate events due to its fragile ecological profile and low elevation. Communities have experienced extensive damages in recent times, due to strong winds and frequent flooding. Future climate projections indicate that extreme events are likely to be more severe and frequent. Respective authorities and communities need to be better prepared to address and manage natural disasters.  Strengthen the existing databases on disaster risk management.  Strengthen collaboration with the island communities to understand and obtain information on local impacts.  Enhance mechanisms for collection of information on losses and damages.  Facilitate the promotion and participation of the public and private sector in the disaster insurance scheme. Cross-cutting Issues Finance The Government of Maldives will actively seek ways to increase both public and private resources for climate action. To this end, the Maldives will continue to forge partnerships with individuals, private sector, civil society and local governments to mobilize climate finance. The government has been increasing its budgetary allocations for climate action annually in recent years. These include allocations under the Public Sector Investment Programme, recurring budgetary contributions, local contributions for donor supported projects, and loan repayments. In addition, the government continues to spearhead efforts to mobilize additional climate finance through innovative financing mechanisms, direct investments in projects, and provision of loans and guarantees to attract private finance to achieve its climate goals. The Maldives will continue to enhance its enabling environments to attract climate finance.  Review and update the National Strategic Framework to Mobilize International Climate Finance every five years, outlining priority areas for donor support.  Improve government’s capacity to tap into international climate finance mechanisms.  Establish and operationalize a system for tracking public and private climate finance flows.  Scale up annual budgetary allocations for climate adaptation and mitigation through the Public Sector Investment programme.  Establish a National Climate Change Trust Fund to attract investments and to implement a range of alternative financing mechanisms for increasing resilience and low emission development programmes.  Continue allocations from the Maldives Green Fund to finance investments on climate action.  Introduce incentives for private sector including SMEs to invest in green development. 19 Climate governance and capacity building Implementation of NDC and other climate related policies requires the necessary capacity and good governance mechanism. Addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation needs transformational changes. These changes need proper knowledge transfer, human resource capacity building, and increasing public awareness in addition to the financial and technological enhancements.  Mainstream climate considerations into national development planning processes.  With support from the international community, develop the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) with short, medium and long-term adaptation programs to address adaptation needs nationwide.  Strengthen climate governance through enactment of the climate change legislation.  Continue the national capacity building programs with assistance from the international community.  Develop and promote appropriate technologies to address climate change impacts with support from the international community.  Implement appropriate policies and strategies to address the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups. * * * * * 20