Least Developed Countries Launch 2050 Vision Towards a Climate-Resilient Future
By: Payton Martinez
The world’s Least Developed Countries Group (LDCs) has launched a long-term strategy for climate resilience and net zero emissions by 2050. Mr. Sonam P. Wangdi of Bhutan, current Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group, announced this plan at the 2019 Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23, 2019.
The LDCs consist of 47 nations who are particularly vulnerable to climate change but have done the least to cause the problem. Of the LDCs, 33 are in Africa, nine are in Asia, one is in the Caribbean, and four are in the Pacific. The LDC Group was established in 1971 by the UN General Assembly with the goal of drawing international support for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the UN community. The LDCs represent more than 880 million people (about 12% of the global population), yet account for less than 2% of world GDP and about 1% of global trade. LDCs have exclusive access to certain international support measures, many of which focus on development assistance and trade.
In launching their 2050 Vision, the LDCs revealed the toll that extreme weather events, like droughts, wildfires, floods, and landslides, have taken on their nations between 1970 and 2019. According to reports released by the Group ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit, more than two thirds of people killed in climate-related disasters during the past 50 years were living in the world’s poorest nations. In the past year, drought in the Horn of Africa has left more than 15 million people in need of aid in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. These statistics underscore not only the importance of achieving the goals set forth in the 2050 Vision but also the urgency with which climate-related impacts must be addressed.
Under the 2050 Vision, the LDCs set forth five primary goals. Firstly, the Vision aims to break down barriers in order to work with local communities, government, the private sector, civil society, and academia in order to tackle climate change. Additionally, the Vision seeks to channel 70% of climate funding to support efforts to address climate change at the local level by 2030. The Vision also strives to make integrated plans for adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to climate change at the local and national level. The Vision further aims to strengthen local and national awareness about climate change and increase knowledge about capabilities and institutions to deal with the issue. Finally, the Vision aspires to ensure all national climate decisions are transparent, participatory, and centered on gender and social justice.
In order to achieve the goals set forth in their 2050 Vision, the LDCs are asking for an initial investment of $450 million USD over 10 years in the LDC Initiative Effective Adaptation and Resilience, a new adaptation initiative. This investment will be used by the LDCs to fund the adaptation and resilience work outlined in 2050 Vision. The LDCs are also planning two additional long-term initiatives that will work to support the 2050 Vision: (1) the LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative for Sustainable Development, and (2) the LDC Universities Consortium on Climate Change. In 2020 the LDCs plan on committing to additional nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement, in addition to setting forward long term plans to reach net zero emissions and climate resilience by 2050.
The impacts of climate change on the LDCs and their willingness to set forth ambitious goals to address these impacts ultimately highlights the need for the international community as a whole to be more engaged and ambitious in their response to climate change. As Mr. Sonam P. Wangdi noted while unveiling the 2050 Vision, “[w]e have committed to doing more than our fair share in the global effort to halt the climate crisis and address its impacts. But we cannot do it alone. We are asking the international community to commit to supporting our priorities, our initiatives and our Vision.”