Launch of the National Climate Policy Plan

Today, Wednesday, during a national conference organized by the Ministry of Environment, the launch of the National Climate Policy Plan – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) was announced. The event will be held over two days, February 26 and 27, 2025.

Lotfi Masoudki, the planning and follow-up official at the National Coordination Unit on Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment, stated that "it is an integrated national plan that defines national policies and strategies in all sectors, including the horizontal sector, which mainly deals with climate change governance, the legal framework, and the institutional framework, then the sectoral framework, which includes the agricultural or industrial sector, waste, and all sectors related to climate change."

According to him, the plan also "involves updating goals and policies and improving governance in the field of climate change and the legal framework." He added that the work within this plan will continue over a year until the NDCs are prepared, followed by a practical plan to convert policies and strategies into projects. Subsequently, a file will be prepared on priority projects in each sector, and files will be prepared to seek funding for major projects related to water, alternative energy, and waste at the global level.

The official pointed out that all ministries are involved in this plan and responsible for converting this national policy into practical plans and projects to achieve development that considers climate change, i.e., resilient development to climate change, to promote and strengthen the national economy and create job opportunities for youth.

He said, "We will discuss the main national priorities that should be included in the national climate change plan, which should be ambitious priorities to enhance Tunisia's resilience to climate change. This explains the presence of many ministries concerned with climate issues, such as the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water Resources, Economy and Planning, Industry, Mines, Energy, and Finance, which have proposed their plans, programs, and priorities in the field of climate change mitigation, reducing greenhouse gases, energy transition, and the climate dimensions of economic planning."

The conference also recorded the presence of the private sector, represented by the Tunisian Union of Industry and Trade, which reviewed the role of the private sector in activating national policies in the field of climate change, financial policies, and climate investment, and the necessity of integrating climate indicators into the state's financial planning.

The conference also addressed the role of the financial sector, such as the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, the Central Bank, the Advisory Banking Council, and financial institutions concerned with climate issues in addressing climate change and achieving sustainable and resilient development in the face of climate change.

Masoudki pointed out that climate finance is a complex issue involving two levels: the first is international support, to which developed countries committed during COP 29 by providing $300 billion to assist developing countries in addressing climate change.

The second level concerns the national level, which includes two sectors: the public sector, i.e., institutions and ministries required to prepare budgets that include climate indicators that consider climate change, and the private sector's role in addressing climate change, especially in the field of energy efficiency and the transition from a classical economic model to one that contributes to reducing greenhouse gases, conserving energy, and shifting from fossil fuels to alternative energies.

The speaker mentioned a third element that is no less important than the previous two, which is the role of youth and technological innovation. He added that the Ministry of Environment is currently working on this through a program with startups in workshops in all governorates of the republic, inviting financial institutions such as banks, institutions supporting industrial investment, and small and medium-sized enterprise financing institutions to establish partnerships with startups to encourage youth investment in the green economy.

The second day of the national conference on the National Climate Policy Plan, tomorrow, Thursday, will include workshops dedicated to discussing the main objectives of the NDCs.