[CO-23-003] Colombia – Develop an agriculture sector strategy to inform NDC update

Background

The agricultural sector contributes significantly to Colombian GHG emissions and short-lived pollutants, mainly through enteric fermentation, manure management, and flood-prone crops, which generate methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). According to the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, prepared under the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), livestock farming is one of the main sources of emissions (15%). In this context, improving the quantification, monitoring, and projection of emissions is essential for designing effective policies and meeting the country's climate commitments. This project responds to a request made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia to develop an agriculture sector strategy to reduce short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions which will inform the formulation of the NDC 2030-2035 to be delivered in 2025.

Activities

Funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and led by The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the Center for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems (CIPAV), the objective of the project is to develop a strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) from the agricultural sector, which will serve as a basis for the formulation of the NDC 2030-2035. To achieve this objective, 7 outcomes are being developed oriented to generate a mitigation strategy for the agricultural sector hand in hand with the Ministries and productive sectors, the identification and analysis of mitigation strategies in Colombia and knowledge transfer to government actors to optimize mitigation measures and the possibility of financing. To this end, policies and guidelines are being analyzed, estimates and projections of the country's emissions and mitigations in the agricultural sector reviewed and improvement measures proposed. The project will build on previous experience related to the national inventory of greenhouse gases, in the development of policies such as the Sustainable Livestock NAMA, and relationships with ministries and productive sectors. This project will support the Government of Colombia to raise its ambition for the agriculture sector in its 2025 NDC update, delivering a sector strategy that prioritises methane mitigation actions. Colombia's BUR3 and first modelling of measures focused on increasing sector ambition should serve as the basis for this project.

Through the proposed outputs and activities, the project should achieve the following by its completion:

• The Government of Colombia endorses an agriculture sector strategy by 2024.
• The Government of Colombia includes methane measures or targets in its 2025 NDC update.
• The Government of Colombia has increased capacity to assess and model their SLCP emissions, especially methane, to prioritise and implement measures, and to track progress by the end of the project.