With a population of around 3 million (2020), Armenia contributes as little as 0.02 percent to total global GHG emissions and is in the lower range of per capita footprint with 3.31 tonnes CO_2e. In its First Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Armenia committed to achieve ecosystem neutral GHG emissions in 2050, with an ambition of only 2.07 tonnes annual CO_2e per capita, conditional on the support of adequate international financial, technological and capacity building assistance. Energy and agriculture are the two sectors with the largest GHG emission shares, 70 and 22 per cent respectively, and therefore this is where the majority of the mitigation potential lies. Climate change is already affecting Armenia, with an annual temperature increase higher than the global average and a significant decrease in precipitation. Climate change is increasing the vulnerability of Armenia, with an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, worsening desertification and land degradation. The most vulnerable sectors are agriculture, human health, water resources, forestry, transport and energy infrastructure.

The Strategic Program of Prospective Development 2014-2025 – the overarching development strategy of the country- mentions climate change, which needs to be addressed in order to improve rates of economic growth. A strong focus is given to mitigation and emissions reduction. The country has a set of climate-relevant environmental laws (e.g. Water Code, 2002, and Law on Energy Saving and Renewable Energy, 2004) and policies (e.g. National Forest Policy, 2004, and Strategy on Sustainable Development of Agriculture, 2004). However, these existing laws and policies do not have a specific focus on climate change. To address this, the government decided to develop national action plans for all climate sensitive sectors. The National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management (2017) integrates climate change and incorporates SDGs. The National Adaptation Plan is under development with support from the Green Climate Fund. The designated authority for climate change in Armenia is the Ministry of Environment, and an Inter-Agency Coordination Council for the Implementation of the Requirements and Provisions of the UNFCCC was established in 2012.

Climate policy development and advancing cooperation with the EU in Armenia 

EU4Climate key policy interventions and expected impact

Armenia is a country with an ambitious climate change agenda, which makes significant efforts towards low carbon development through increasing the share of renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency, preserving and enhancing forest covered areas and reporting regularly to the UNFCCC. However, as a developing country, Armenia needs international financial, technological and capacity building support. EU4Climate programme, funded by the European Union, aims to support the development and implementation of climate-related policies in Armenia.

EU4Climate supports Armenia’s commitment to update and enhance the country’s NDC in 2020, with an ultimate goal to identify a realistic implementation strategy for the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions and prioritization of adaptation measures for coping with risks to the country’s sustainable development. The main tool for the successful implementation of the Armenian NDC, as well as the Climate Action SDG, is a long-term Low-emission Development Strategy (LEDS), including development of energy and agriculture sectoral strategies.  A robust domestic emissions monitoring, reporting and verification system will be established, to inform the government and the international community of the progress of its NDC implementation. Throughout the project best international and EU practices will be applied, including some alignment with EU acquis. EU4Climate substantial activities started in Armenia in the second half of 2019, and laid the footing for assisting the country in the  implementation of Armenia’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.

EU4Climate Armenia: key results achieved in 2019