Developing Financeable NAMAs

The document outlines a practitioner's approach to creating NAMAs that align with low-carbon, climate-resilient development (LCCRD) planning. It details a two-track methodology: the NAMA Quick Screen, which uses a five-step qualitative process to identify promising mitigation options and develop NAMA concepts for the UNFCCC registry; and the NAMA Deep Screen, a seven-step technical process that calculates GHG emission baselines, marginal abatement costs (MACs), and sustainable development co-benefits to produce detailed NAMA proposals. The guide emphasizes the necessity of local validation with government and private sector stakeholders to ensure actions are feasible and aligned with national priorities. It also provides a framework for linking identified mitigation options to specific implementation barriers and appropriate climate finance instruments, such as grants, concessional loans, and carbon market financing.

• Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are categorized into three types: unilateral NAMAs developed with domestic resources, supported NAMAs requesting international financing, technology transfer or capacity building, and credited NAMAs where emissions reductions below a baseline earn credits for the global carbon market.
• The NAMA Quick Screen is a qualitative five-step process designed to identify low-carbon interventions across six UNFCCC mitigation sectors: energy, transport, industry, waste, agriculture, and forestry.
• To be short-listed during the Quick Screen, a NAMA must meet four criteria: significant mitigation potential (defined as 0.1 percent of total 2010 emissions or a notable sector impact), alignment with government priorities, evidence of existing action to avoid duplication, and clear sustainable development or climate resilience co-benefits.
• The NAMA Deep Screen provides a quantitative analysis of priority opportunities, including the development of a reference case (baseline) of historical and projected GHG emissions, typically extending to 2030, using IPCC guidelines.
• The Deep Screen methodology utilizes Marginal Abatement Costs (MACs) to determine the cost-effectiveness of mitigation actions, calculating the cost of mitigating one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) relative to the reference case.
• The guide identifies five primary categories of barriers to low-carbon technology deployment: information and behavioural patterns, policy and regulation, technology and resources, financing (public and private), and institutional barriers.
• Climate finance for NAMAs is categorized by source as international, domestic, or hybrid, and delivered through instruments including policy incentives, carbon market financing, co-financing and loans, grants, and voluntary contributions.
• Local validation is critical to the process, requiring in-country stakeholder meetings with government, private sector, and civil society to ground-truth assumptions and ensure ownership of the NAMA proposals.

APA

Sawyer, D., Dion, J., Murphy, D., Harris, M., & Stiebert, S. (2013). Developing Financeable NAMAs. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_financeable_namas.pdf

Chicago

Sawyer, Dave, Jason Dion, Deborah Murphy, Melissa Harris, and Seton Stiebert. Developing Financeable NAMAs. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_financeable_namas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sawyer |first1=Dave |last2=Dion |first2=Jason |last3=Murphy |first3=Deborah |last4=Harris |first4=Melissa |last5=Stiebert |first5=Seton |title=Developing Financeable NAMAs |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_financeable_namas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sawyer2013developing, author = {Sawyer, Dave and Dion, Jason and Murphy, Deborah and Harris, Melissa and Stiebert, Seton}, title = {{Developing Financeable NAMAs}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/developing_financeable_namas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }