ARGENTINA
EMISSIONS TARGET OF 2ND NDC (November 2021):
Absolute, economy-wide, unconditional target to limit emissions to 349 MtCO2e in 2030 (incl. LULUCF).
KEY MITIGATION SECTORS:
Energy
Agriculture
Transport
COMMITMENT UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT AND CURRENT SITUATION:
Argentina was the first country to submit a revised NDC to the UNFCCC in November 2016. Under the revised first NDC, Argentina had an absolute target to limit emissions to 483 MtCO2e by 2030 or 369 MtCO2e, conditional on international support. In December 2020, the government of Argentina submitted its second NDC which set an absolute, economy-wide and unconditional target of limiting GHG emissions to 359 MtCO2e in 2030. In April 2021, Argentina’s President announced at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate that they would further increase their climate action by 2% beyond what was submitted in December 2020. This announcement was followed by an official submission to the UNFCCC in November the same year, to formalise the new goal to not exceed 349 MtCO2e per annum nationally by 2030.
The diversification of the energy matrix and the promotion of efficient energy use are two central policy objectives to reduce emissions and capture associated benefits. A number of policies had been put in place by the government led by Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), aiming to reach the mandatory target of 20% of renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2025. Examples include the Biofuels Law, the Renewable Energy Law and the creation of the support scheme RenovAr.
Other sectors with significant mitigation potential are the agriculture, land use and transport sectors. In October 2019, a new government was elected in Argentina, led by President Alberto Fernández. In December 2019, the new government adopted the Climate Change Law which provides a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation action in the country.
Argentina’s second NDC includes a vision for the agriculture sector to sustain its significant contribution to the GDP. Cereal production is projected to increase based on yield improvements and using limited additional land. Meat production is also foreseen to grow by increasing productivity through genetic improvements and good practices, rather than expanding pastureland or livestock population. In the forest sector, the NDC highlights plans to substantially reduce deforestation through sustainable forest management, to be achieved through the implementation of the National Plan for Forest Management with Integrated Livestock Production (MBGI).
KEY POLICY DOCUMENTS:
- Argentina’s NDC (2021)
- National Plan for Forest Management with Integrated Livestock Production – MBGI (2020)
- National Plan for Agriculture and Climate Change (2019)
- Law on Minimum Budgets for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (2019)
- National Plan for Adaptation and Mitigation on Climate Change (2019)
- Sectoral climate change action plany (2017-2019)
ACTIVITIES UNDER A2A PHASE I (2016-2019):
In the first phase of the project, the A2A team collaborated closely with the Argentinian Energy Secretariat and the Climate Change Secretariat of the government on how to implement the country’s NDC in the energy sector. The first analysis dealt with the alignment of energy sector planning with the ambition laid out in Argentina’s revised NDC (“NDC Alignment Report”). In a joint effort with the initiative “Plataforma Escenarios Energéticos Argentina” the project provided evidence on the impacts of different energy sector pathways on employment, using the Economic Impact Model (EIM-ES). This analysis included an assessment of the Paris compatibility of the latest Plataforma scenarios (“Paris-compatibility of Argentina’s energy pathways”). Additional investigation requested by the Energy Secretariat looked at grid integration issues resulting from higher levels of variable renewables integration and general challenges and opportunities of a power system transformation (“Grid integration of variable renewables in Argentina“, “Transformation towards a decarbonised electricity sector – a framework of analysis for power system transformation“). The evidence collected during the first project phase was summarised in a sector report (“A roadmap for the power supply sector in Argentina”).
ACTIVITIES UNDER A2A PHASE II (2020-2022):
In the second phase of A2A, the project activities extended to the agriculture sector, given its importance to the national economy and its contribution to national emissions. The objective was to analyse and evaluate the risks, opportunities, and associated mitigation potentials for the agricultural sector. The work was divided into three components that were developed in parallel and in close collaboration with experts from the National Institute for Agricultural Technology (Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria – INTA). The final results include three reports that contain the findings of each of the components:
Transition risk assessment: Analysis that explores internal, external and exogenous transition risks for the Argentinian agricultural sector, including economic risks associated with domestic and international climate action, and with changes in consumer preferences.
Technical assessment: Quantitative assessment of the GHG emission reduction potential associated with a range of mitigation measures for the agricultural sector, as well as a qualitative assessment of their potential co-benefits.
Transformation strategies for Argentina’s livestock industry: Analysis that explores the risk to Argentina’s livestock sector in terms of potential changes in consumer preference and possible opportunities in the production of plant-based and cultured protein.
Argentina