Sierra Leone’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-SL) has achieved a significant milestone in its fight against climate change by submitting the country’s first Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The EPA-SL played a critical role in gathering and processing environmental data for the report. This data will serve as a strong foundation for future reports, including Sierra Leone’s first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) due in December 2024.

“This is a major step forward for Sierra Leone’s commitment to transparent and informed environmental governance,” the EPA-SL said in a statement.

The BUR process has not only fulfilled an international obligation but has also improved the country’s mechanisms for collecting and analyzing vital environmental data. This data is crucial for informed policy decisions on climate change.

The insights gained from the BUR will be instrumental in updating Sierra Leone’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which outline the country’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The BUR includes a detailed emissions inventory and a mitigation analysis, which will directly inform the development of a long-term Low-Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS).

This strategy aims to align Sierra Leone’s development goals with sustainable practices, ensuring economic growth goes hand-in-hand with environmental well-being.

The successful completion of the BUR is a result of the EPA-SL’s diligent work and the support of the UNFCCC National Focal Point (NFP). This process establishes a tradition of transparent reporting, strengthening Sierra Leone’s ability to enact effective climate change strategies and secure international support for these initiatives.

See Report Here.