NDC in Benin: awareness raising, mobilization and climate action

26 March 2025

News

Find out how Benin has mobilized citizens, young people, the media and institutions around its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) through a vast awareness-raising campaign. Through workshops, flagship events and digital tools, the country is laying the foundations for inclusive and sustainable climate action.

 

Read on to find out more.

Climate: In Benin, the NDC in the spotlight

Over the past two years, the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has been at the heart of a series of activities coordinated by the Ministry of the Quality of Life and Transport, with the support of UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) through the UN CC:Learn program, as part of the Communicate and Monitor the NDC and the Partnership Plan Implementation project. This initiative, supported by the NDC Partnership, aimed to raise broad awareness among the Beninese population of the country’s climate commitments and to ensure rigorous monitoring of their implementation.

Decision-makers, civil society, young people and the private sector mobilized throughout Benin, creating an unprecedented dynamic around the updated NDC. Through innovative communication tools, media campaigns and participatory events, stakeholders made the NDC a living, understood and appropriated instrument.

“The dissemination of the NDC has been an absolute priority. We have deployed several tools to reach a wide audience: a summary note accessible in French, media campaigns, thematic events such as Tree Day and Environment Day, as well as a website and a dedicated platform,” explains Antoinette Sagbo, the project’s communications expert.

Actions on the ground to disseminate the NDC

The project kicked off with a workshop to launch and validate the NDC summary, held in Cotonou in November 2023. This event brought together some 40 participants from the government, civil society, the media and technical partners. It provided an opportunity to present the project, discuss the communication strategy and validate the content of the NDC summary intended for the general public. This moment of exchange laid the foundations for an inclusive and coordinated campaign.

Subsequently, several field actions were carried out. The 2024 National Tree Day, celebrated in Lokossa, mobilized young people trained by the CASAD NGO to plant more than 1,500 trees. As for World Environment Day, it gave rise to a high-level workshop in Cotonou, with presentations on land restoration, climate resilience and the environmental responsibilities of companies. These events have strengthened the visibility of the NDC and anchored its ownership at the local level.

In addition, a vast communication campaign was launched with the production and distribution of various materials: newsletters, fact sheets, banners, bags, mugs, pens, etc. Radio and television programs in French and local languages were broadcast on five media (including television and radio), reaching an estimated 40,000 people according to the project’s communications expert, appointed to carry out these activities. All of these actions have fostered a broad and participatory ownership of the NDC by citizens, communities and institutions.

Bag developed in the framework of the project.

Bag developed in the framework of the project.

Finally, the national digital platform for monitoring the NDC (www.cdn.bj) has been updated to provide simplified and secure access to all the country’s climate information. Training has been organized for sectoral focal points to enable them to enter data, monitor projects and increase transparency. This platform is now a central pillar for the collaborative monitoring of the NDC in Benin.

Examples of programs at the end of this article

A cross-disciplinary and sustainable mobilization

Benin has great ambitions in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The country has estimated its needs at around US$10,515.88 million, from public funds, the private sector and international support. The dissemination of the NDC aims to make this document a lever for national mobilization, ensuring better coordination between stakeholders and greater visibility of the efforts undertaken.

The engagement of young people has been a pillar of this strategy. Koto Daniel Dagnon, president of the Beninese Network of the World Youth Parliament for Water, emphasizes

“I want youth organizations to be actively involved in the next NDC review. I am proud to have been able to mobilize many young people during the training sessions. They are the future of the climate in Benin!”

For his part, Hermann Kouadio Kpokamè, an environmental journalist, points out that

“Through the activities carried out with UNITAR, I became aware of the importance of these documents as strategic compasses, translating international commitments into concrete policies. They make it possible to measure progress, adjust efforts and mobilize all actors, including the media, for rigorous monitoring and increased awareness. I still have a thousand and one programs to produce on the NDCs,” he says.

The Communicate and Monitor the NDC and the Partnership Plan Implementation project, launched in November 2023, marked a turning point in the dissemination of Benin’s climate commitments. Today, the NDC is better understood, better monitored and, above all, driven by a collective will that goes beyond government circles.

Examples of programs:

Examples of materials :