Story of Impact #1 - Liberia takes action after UNOSD’s Executive Training Course in May 2024 on climate SDG Synergies
Story of Impact – Liberia takes action after UNOSD’s Executive Training Course in May 2024 on climate SDG Synergies
In May 2024, the UN Executive Training Course for Policymakers in Incheon, Republic of Korea gathered representatives from 20 countries, including Liberia, to integrate SDGs and climate action into national planning. The course focused on aligning the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement to ensure integrated Sustainable Development Goals implementation with Climate Action, especially as countries develop new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0).
Liberia, a least developed country (LDC) in West Africa bordering Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire, has recently seen its GDP growth rebound after a decade-long decline. The participants, including Liberia’s representative, developed action plans focused on alignment across financing, data, and collaboration. This article highlights follow-up and impact as a result of Liberia’s participation in the training.
<Mr. D. Emmanuel Williams, Director of Public Investment, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning of Liberia>
Liberia’s Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is ramping up climate coordination efforts through new measures following the attendance of the Liberia delegation, Mr. D. Emmanuel Williams and Mr. John Kanneh, at the 2024 Executive Training on climate and SDG synergies organized in May 2024 (https://unosd.un.org/events/2024ETC). The training engaged delegations with two representatives, one from the SDG process and one climate change focal point to ensure strengthened dialogue and cooperation.
Liberia is developing a new national development plan with a focus on ensuring greater efficiency and resilience to achieve sustainable development amid challenges from climate change. As technical coordinator for Liberia’s next national development plan (2025-2029) , Mr. Williams plays a key role in integrating sustainable development and climate change priorities into national planning.
Upon their return last May, the Liberian delegation recognized a need for greater climate change coordination across government, where ministries had so far “operated in silos”. Prior to the training, there was minimum cooperation between climate change focal points in government. The delegation follow up after the training led to the creation of a Climate Change Coordination Desk within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to integrate climate priorities into development strategies and manage climate financing. This new desk aims to embed climate awareness in Liberia’s development framework and unify climate efforts across ministries and counties.
Following their efforts, the Ministry has since formed partnership with several key ministries, including Agriculture, Education, and Public Works, to coordinate and enhance pre-existing climate-smart strategies in their fields. The Ministry of Agriculture, for instance, is increasingly focusing on climate-resilient farming, while the Ministry of Public Works is adopting environmentally responsible practices in infrastructure projects.
Climate action is currently being embedded in Liberia’s upcoming national and sub-national development plans (2025-2029) . A team of government and NGO representatives, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Conservation International and local organizations, is reviewing the plans to ensure they aligns with climate-resilient goals, laying a foundation for sustainable growth.
“Our number one priority should be capacity development… we have to look at sustainable capacity development.”
To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning introduced a policy requiring ministry officials attending international events to submit a report and conduct a department-wide knowledge-sharing session. This process aims to strengthen capacity-building by ensuring insights gained abroad are shared, enhancing the team’s expertise for complex policy and planning challenges.
Reflecting on his experience, Mr. Williams advised future participants in trainings to focus on turning international exposure into concrete actions using the action plan template that is developed during each workshop. “There’s a call for action” he noted, further highlighting that impact comes when those ideas are brought home and followed through.