The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
The Climate Change Division is the lead Division charged with carrying out the functions of UNEP in the field of environmental Climate Change. To fulfill its mandate, the work of the Climate Change Division focuses on: working with Members States and Partners to accelerate and support a just transition by addressing mitigation and adaptation gaps through enhancing implementation capacity, access to finance and technology, and building resilience. The Climate Change Division promotes sustainable development and effective policies for climate stability; support action so that countries progress on decarbonization, dematerialization, and resilience pathways in line with their climate commitments, aspirations, and needs; and foster transparency in reporting.
UNEP-CCC is a leading international advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development. Its work focuses on helping developing countries and emerging economies transition to low-carbon development pathways and supporting the integration of climate resilience into national development. UNEP-CCC is actively involved in the implementation of the UN Environment Climate Change Strategy and Energy Programme.
To remain aligned with a pathway in which the rise in global average temperatures stays below 1.5°C, countries are expected to submit the third generation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.o) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat before COP30 . The first Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement has highlighted the urgent need for greater ambition, with the objective of reducing global GHG emissions by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% by 2035 compared with 2019 levels and reaching net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally.
The Gambia submitted its second NDC to the UNFCCC in September 2021, covering the period 2021 – 2030, targeting a 49.7% emissions reduction by 2030 below business-as-usual
The NDC 2.0 is supported by an NDC Update Report, an NDC Implementation Plan, and a costing. The country also submitted its Long-Term Strategy (LTS) for climate neutrality by 2050 and its first Biennial Update Report (BUR1) in 2024, with its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) in preparation.
With support from the NDC Partnership, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) through its Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC), is assisting The Gambia in developing its updated NDC 3.0 for a 2035 horizon. This draws on a stocktake of the current NDC, supported by Climate Action Africa (CAA), and additional technical support from the 2050 Pathways Platform to align with the LTS. The aim of this project is to enable The Gambia to implement increasingly ambitious mitigation and adaptation commitments aligned with the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement objectives, while also promoting socio-economic development, inclusive growth, and a just energy transition.
To support this effort, a Technical Lead is being recruited to lead the technical and analytical work for the development of the NDC 3.0, working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR), national stakeholders and UNEP. The consultant will be responsible for leading technical work regarding the modelling to be undertaken, supporting the overall technical development of the NDC, and contributing to in-country stakeholder sectoral consultations.
The Consultant shall actively engage with relevant government staff throughout the assignment to ensure knowledge transfer.
Objective: The objective of this assignment is to provide technical leadership in the development of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and climate change adaptation scenarios to inform The Gambia’s NDC 3.0. This includes the design and implementation of a robust modelling framework, the development of sectoral and economy-wide emissions and resilience pathways ensuring alignment with the Long-Term Strategy (LTS), the identification of feasible mitigation and adaptation options, and the preparation of analytical inputs to support government review, stakeholder engagement, and validation of both the mitigation and adaptation targets for inclusion in the final NDC 3.0 document. The objective of this assignment is for the Technical Lead to provide technical leadership and analytical inputs for the development of The Gambia’s NDC 3.0.
The final deliverables will include robust, data-driven modelling outputs, scenarios, and technical documentation to support the overall technical development and consolidation of NDC 3.0, aligned with the country’s Long-Term Strategy (LTS), ultimately resulting in a nationally validated NDC 3.0 ready for submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat.
The Technical Lead will work closely with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR), national stakeholders, and UNEP throughout the assignment. The consultant will lead the modelling and analytical work, contribute to stakeholder consultations, and actively engage relevant government staff to ensure knowledge transfer.