Panama
Panamá
Overall NDC Equity Score
Aspiring
Emissions Reductions
Aspiring
The NDC makes a strong effort to create ambitious emissions reduction goals.
Gender Justice
Aspiring
The NDC makes a strong effort to achieve gender mainstreaming, but lacks gender representation in the development of the NDC.
Youth Inclusion
Aspiring
The NDC makes a strong effort to achieve meaningful youth inclusion, but lacks national youth engagements and recognition, training for young people, and youth-focused data collection that highlights the communities’ vulnerabilities due to the climate crisis.
Summary
According to Panama’s updated NDC, the country contributes 0.036% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet it is one of three carbon negative countries in the world. In addition to maintaining emissions reductions, Panama commits to reducing deforestation, revitalizing watersheds, restoring biodiversity and coral reefs, restoring agricultural land to agroforestry, and strengthening human health, settlements, and the economy.
On gender mainstreaming and youth inclusion, “participatory and gender-sensitive planning and decision-making approach for resilient and inclusive development” is a listed core principle of the NDC.” Nine thematic workshops open to the public were held with more than 250 participants from the private sector, civil society, youth, local governments, the scientific community and the public sector. Further, Panama’s NDC references its National Gender and Climate Change Plan, which aims to strengthen national capacities to mainstream the gender approach in processes, policies, strategies, programs and tools for environmental management and climate action for upholding the negative carbon status by 2050.
Civil society inclusion was strong in Panama’s NDC thanks to Article No. 25 of Law 6 of 2002, which establishes the modalities for citizen participation. Public hearings resulted in representation from the 10 provinces and 9 structures of the native peoples of Panama.
Highlights
- Participatory and gender-sensitive planning and decision-making are core principles in the NDC.
- Thematic workshops and public hearings created an inclusive process.
- Includes two capacity building commitments for climate transparency on loss and damage, and the monitoring and assessment of climate data to strengthen decision making for climate action.
- Commitments to restoring ecosystems, including by farmers and creation of corridors, are a priority.
Lowlights
- Fails to provide a robust system for indicating how community participation influenced the NDC.
- There is not a roadmap for implementation, making it unclear how vulnerable communities will also be prioritized post-NDC development.
Key Recommendations
This analysis found that Panama’s NDC development process was very inclusive of community members perspectives, including indigenous communities, and policy priorities of each state. Despite having clear, inclusive processes, gender mainstreaming and youth development in the implementation phase remains unclear.
The following are key recommendations for the improvement of future NDCs and climate-related plans:
For Gender and Youth Inclusion
- Move beyond active listening sessions to co-creation workshops with vulnerable communities, particularly women, girls, indigenous peoples, and young people.
- Recognize women and young peoples' rights to equal voice, by increasing opportunities to contribute to the country's climate agenda.
Additional Recommendations
- Panama should publicly report on the progress and compliance of its NDCs, where each sector presents its indicators, compliance, and gaps, so country-level efforts are accelerated and ambition is increased.
- Strengthen transparency on the communication of information on climate change at all levels.
- As a climate-vulnerable country, Panama would benefit from outlining potential losses and damages into its NDC.
- Providing recommendations for implementing a just transition would benefit long-term economic development aligned with climate goals.
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