Algeria offers 31% emissions cut by 2035 if aided, PM says

Algeria could cut its emissions by 31% by 2035 if it receives international support, the prime minister said.

Sifi Ghrieb, Algeria's prime minister, delivered the speech on Thursday on behalf of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Anadolu Ajansı reported the speech, which was given at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye.

President Tebboune's speech set out Algeria's unconditional target, a 14% cut in emissions by 2035, funded fully from national resources. Algeria has already submitted this target to the United Nations.

The speech said climate change is already affecting Algeria through desertification, recurring droughts and expanding forest fires. These threaten the country's water and food security.

Algeria has begun the first phase of a national programme to generate 15,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2035, with national funding. It has also adopted a national hydrogen strategy.

The speech also listed energy efficiency, public transport, and cuts to gas flaring and methane emissions. To protect its water, Algeria is using seawater desalination and the reuse of treated wastewater.

The speech said the scale of Algeria's needs exceeded its national resources. It said meeting finance commitments, including for adaptation, technology transfer and capacity-building, is a condition for raising its climate ambition.

"There is no contradiction between development and climate action, provided the transition is smooth and gradual and receives the necessary support," Ghrieb said.

The speech also said the first global assessment showed that collective efforts remain short of the agreed goal, and that the funding gap is as wide as the emissions gap. The conference runs from 9 to 20 November, with delegations from around the world discussing climate finance.