Samoa, a small island developing state in the South Pacific is at the forefront of efforts to address issues associated with the impacts of climate change. Like other islands in the region, the impacts of climate change on the environment are already quite evident and will continue to pose significant threats in the future. On a global scale, Samoa’s contribution to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are negligible as highlighted in its Second National Communication (SNC) and second GHG Inventory, 2007. Despite the low contribution to global emissions, Samoa is ramping up its efforts to reduce its GHG emissions and demonstrate to the global community the actions being undertaken by a small and vulnerable country to address climate change.
NDC Target
Conditional (100.00%)
Unconditional (0.00%)
Samoa submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to the UNFCCC Secretariat on 23 November 2015.
No further revisions were undertaken, and the same document was endorsed and submitted as the First Nationally Determined Contribution on 22 April 2016.
Samoa is targeting the energy sector with a focus on the electricity sub-sector. 26% of electricity was generated from renewable energy sources in 2014. As mandated by the Secretariat, countries are to submit enhanced/updated NDC every five years to reflect their updated climate action targets.
The achievement of the emission reduction target specified above will be through both unconditional and conditional means based on available and additional external financing being made available to Samoa.
Target Sector
Adaptation
Samoa recognises that the adverse effects of climate change will have significant impact on the country particularly in sectors such as agriculture, coastal infrastructure, health, forestry, meteorology, tourism, and water. These sectors were prioritized in the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA)and adaptation projects in these sectors have been successfully implemented with external financial support. While the focus of Samoa’s NDC is on Mitigation, Samoa highlights the need to build on work that has been undertaken to ensure actions that have been identified during the implementation of previous adaptation objects are addressed at a future stage.
Mitigation
Samoa is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time pursue a low carbon emission development pathway which would have significant economic benefits. The Energy sector which accounted for 50% of total GHG emissions in 2007 is targeted for emissions reductions in this NDC and in particular the electricity subsector. This ambitious target is supported by a combination of policy level actions and development projects.
Target Year
Activity Implementation Year
Current Activity
The NDC Hub through its partner, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is supporting Samoa with its enhanced NDC submission and a related NDC Implementation Roadmap and NDC Investment Plan.
Samoa's NDC Journey
The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution for Samoa was submitted in 2015.
Nationally Determined Contribution for Samoa was submitted in 2016.
The Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution for Samoa is expected to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat at the end of 2020.
Contact details in-country team
Ms. Frances Debra Brown-Reupena
NDC Hub Focal Point
CEO, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment (MNRE)
The Regional Pacific NDC Hub is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of United Kingdom, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand.
