Beirut, 8 January 2025: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) organized a panel discussion titled “Planning through Crisis: Climate Progress and Challenges” to highlight Lebanon’s ongoing climate efforts and explore opportunities to achieve a net-zero future by 2050.

The event featured remarks by the Minister of Environment, Dr. Nasser Yassin, and UNDP Resident Representative, Mrs. Blerta Aliko, followed by discussions with a diverse group of stakeholders representing embassies, ministries, NGOs, and academic institutions. Participants explored Lebanon’s climate strategies, addressed key challenges, and identified pathways to advance sustainable development amidst the ongoing crisis.

Lebanon continues to take significant steps to address climate change and foster sustainable development as part of its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Through collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme, Lebanon is implementing key projects to strengthen its climate action planning and build back towards a low-emission, climate-resilient future.  The support provided by UNDP falls within the Climate Promise initiative funded by various donors thanks to generous bilateral support from Belgium, Denmark, the European Union, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The panel discussion provided a platform to present Lebanon’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) and Long-term Low-Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) prepared by the Ministry of Environment with the support of UNDP and with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Key topics included assessing Lebanon’s progress towards meeting its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets under the Paris Agreement, presenting strategies to drive Lebanon’s transition to a low-emission future by 2050, and highlighting the importance of integrating climate action, sustainable financing, and private sector engagement into Lebanon’s recovery process.

Dr. Nasser Yassin emphasized the importance of staying committed to climate goals, stating: “As Lebanon begins to recover and reconstruct after the military aggression, there will be pressures that could lead to a rise in emissions, particularly as economic activities resume, and energy demands grow. Therefore, we need to stay focused on our climate goals and continue the necessary efforts to ensure that we are on track to meet our current NDC targets, while we are working on setting more ambitious NDCs for 2035, which will serve as a roadmap to building back better”.

While underscoring the importance of innovative financing and private sector engagement, the event shed light on Lebanon’s commitment to transitioning to a low-emission future by 2050. The discussion emphasized the critical role of the Lebanon Green Investment Facility (LGIF) in becoming a source of blended climate financing for the Lebanese private sector. It also highlighted the growing role of the private sector in voluntarily reporting greenhouse gas emissions, thereby promoting transparency and accountability in line with the Paris Agreement and the Ministry of Environment’s Decision 99/1 (2013).

Mrs. Blerta Aliko reaffirmed UNDP’s strong commitment towards advancing the ambitions of the climate agenda in Lebanon, stating: “UNDP’s first hand priorities include strategic programs spanning from supporting development of public policies that are central to advancing national climate commitments to strengthening national capacities for sectoral data collection to enhance evidence based decision making as well as promoting socio - economic reforms that consider climate risks and are resilient to shrinking fiscal space and climate financing.

The panel discussion reinforced Lebanon’s dedication to meeting its climate objectives despite the complex socio-economic challenges the country faces. It is a step towards updating Lebanon’s NDCs targets (NDC 3.0), as part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement. The targets will integrate Lebanon’s long-term vision for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, its adaptation priorities, and financial mechanisms needed to drive climate action. NDC 3.0 will focus on:

•    Enhancing mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
•    Advancing adaptation measures to address climate vulnerabilities across different sectors.
•    Promoting sustainable financing mechanisms to support transformative climate initiatives.

The event concluded with the Minister of Environment awarding Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reporting Certificates to the private, commercial, and industrial firms who have successfully reported their yearly GHG emissions as per Decision 99/1. This initiative, launched in 2013 under UNDP’s Low Emission Capacity Building project, incentivizes companies to report information related to their greenhouse gas emissions in a transparent, disaggregated, documented, and accredited manner. 

For more information, please contact

In UNDP – Lebanon    | Maryam Sweid‎ | maryam.sweid@undp.org  | +961 ‎(71) 366 212‎

For editor’s information:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is committed to supporting Lebanon’s climate ambitions through technical and financial assistance, fostering a whole-of-society approach to ensure no one is left behind. For more information on UNDP’s climate initiatives, please visit: https://www.undp.org/lebanon/projects/climate-promise-20-lebanon-project

About UNDP: 
UNDP is working in Lebanon since 1986 as a development partner supporting economic recovery, including working with municipalities to deliver basic services to host communities, promoting clean energy and solid waste management, strengthening governance and rule of law, providing support to elections, and working on empowering women and youth.