Rwanda is a country located in the east of central Africa is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change. The country has a tropical climate moderated by hilly topography stretching from east to west. Due to climate change, rainfall has become increasingly intense and the variability is predicted to increase by 5% to 10% . Changes in temperature and precipitation and their distributions are the key drivers of climate and weather-related disasters that negatively affect Rwandans and the country’s economy, including through droughts, floods, and landslides which results in damage to infrastructure, loss of lives and property (including crops) and contribute to soil erosion and water pollution. Rwanda is highly reliant on rain-fed agriculture both for rural livelihoods and exports of tea and coffee, in addition to depending on hydropower for half of its electricity generation. The country’s ongoing economic growth is therefore highly threatened by climate change. Additionally, economic development will have a significant impact on national GHG emissions as Rwanda’s total emissions are forecasted to more than double over the 2015-2030 period under a BaU projection.

Overview of the Updated NDC (2020):
The contributions described in the new submission build upon Rwanda’s existing NDC, new policies and national plans, and reflect subsequent work in developing quantifiable mitigation and adaptation targets, and the prioritization of interventions to support these two areas. The updated NDC represents a more detailed and robust assessment of mitigation and adaptation measures in Rwanda informed by in-depth analysis, improved information and data, increased ambition, and an extensive stakeholder-driven consultation process. In the case of mitigation, detailed sector- and project-based modelling has been undertaken to now estimate the country’s mitigation potential and develop quantified conditional and unconditional contributions through 2030.