Unite for a Sustainable Future: German-Rwandan Partnership Takes on Climate Change with NDC-Oriented Projects and Collaborative Financing

By Emmanuel Mutangana

The German and Rwandan governments are collaborating to address the impacts of climate change. Their efforts include implementing the NDC, which necessitates 11 billion dollars. Achieving this financing requires cooperative efforts to secure the required funds for the NDC.

This was revealed on Thursday, July 6th, 2023, during a climate change dialogue with development partners organized by GIZ Rwanda.

According to Beatrice Cyiza, Director General of Environment and Climate change in the Ministry of Environment, Rwanda is expecting technical support and capacity building from the German counterpart.

She said “The objective of the dialogue is to strengthen collaboration between the German cooperation actors and the Rwandan governmental institutions as well as other agencies”.

Beatrice Cyiza, Director General of Environment and Climate change in the Ministry of Environment, Rwanda

“The other objective of this dialogue is to introduce the activities of the GIZ global project NDC Assist II in Rwanda and to discuss the role of Rwandan stakeholders during the project implementation, and also to share knowledge and best practices in fighting climate change, mitigation, and climate finance”.

The event coincided with the official launch of two GIZ projects namely NDC Assist II activities in Rwanda and the “Article 6 Capacity Building”.

Speaking to the media shortly after the official launch of the projects, Tobias Cossen, GIZ Rwanda Cluster Coordinator for Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Urban Development, said “We are discussing the NDC Assist II project, which was committed at the end of last year during the German-Rwanda government negotiations.”

He explained that “The project has a duration of three years and the German contribution involves financing activities, interventions, and more.”

“We are working alongside Rwanda partners, including the Ministry of Environment, REMA, FONERWA, and others.” He added The German government has been a long-standing friend of Rwanda, particularly in the field of environment and natural resources management. As climate change continues to have devastating impacts on both developing and developed countries, global cooperation is necessary to address this issue

On the launched projects, he noted that “This partnership is part of our larger climate and development partnership. Within this partnership, we focus on developing various working activities. For instance, today we discussed the capacity building for Article 6. So we have an exchange with the government institutions to identify gaps where capacity building is needed.”

He added that “In order for the Rwandan government to negotiate its interests effectively within the climate dialogue zones, such as COP28, a work plan should be designed. This plan includes specific activities, such as providing technical trainings for government officials and these trainings are then implemented to train the individuals involved.” “I am optimistic about our progress, particularly with our partners in Rwanda. Our longstanding friendship and the ongoing intense dialogue contribute to our positive outlook.” He said.

In addition to Environment sector, Germany and Rwanda have been collaborating for decades in the fields of technical cooperation and financial cooperation. Therefore, the two countries have established an effective implementation model that aligns the government’s demands with the assistance provided by the German government.

 “I believe we are heading in the right direction. To effectively address climate change will require a collective effort from each of us considering that impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident on a daily basis.” Mr. Tobias said.

Carbon Marked as a financial avenue

“Rwanda NDC has identified a financing requirement of 11 billion US dollars until 2030. Now the question arises, where will the funds come from? In this context, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is particularly intriguing as it offers potential financing opportunities through the global sale of carbon certificates by Rwanda.” He explained.

“For instance, if we examine the basics here in Rwanda, we observe remarkably low emissions per capita. Consequently, there exists immense potential in the forestry sector and plant industry. This potential allows for economic utilization of other countries’ advantages…

 “So, for instance, a company with high emissions, such as in Germany, would have the opportunity to purchase certificates from Rwanda due to its relatively low emissions. This would result in an income or revenue stream for Rwanda…” He explained.

“Now, the question is how to develop these processes and revenue streams. This is precisely where we desire to collaborate with our industry partners, as well as REMA, who leads the corresponding processes for the UNFCCC.” Mr. Tobias revealed.

About Rwanda’s NDC

As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Rwanda seeks to contribute to the ambitious goal of limiting temperature rise to 2°C with efforts to reach 1.5°C agreed under the Paris Agreement.

To enhance climate action to implement the Paris Agreement, Rwanda has developed an ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

The plan covers a broad range of sectors including agriculture, energy, forestry, water resources, land, emergency management, health, transport, industry, mining and waste. Rwanda’s NDC is an ambitious climate action agenda that features a 38% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to business as usual by 2030, equivalent to an estimated mitigation of up to 4.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).