Call for Nominations: Secretary-General of the CVF-V20
February 5, 2026
By Tarcizio Kalaundi, CVF Youth Fellows
Malawi, like many climate-vulnerable nations, has taken steady strides toward implementing its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. It has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing emissions, enhancing adaptation, and building climate resilience through its First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) and National Communication submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Despite the commitment, there are efficient gains to be made in its next round of NDC 3.0, as revealed by the NDC 2.0 stocktake.
Reflections on the existing gaps in NDC 2.0
The BTR1 highlights several challenges that affect Malawi’s ability to effectively track progress toward its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It notes limited historical data, particularly in the land use and forestry sectors, and the lack of country-specific emission factors, which undermines the robustness and accuracy of its tracking systems. Additionally, some indicators used to monitor progress are considered too broad and not disaggregated by youth, thereby reducing the visibility of youth participation in climate action.
The projections of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, and their comparison to national targets, have been relatively weak in some sectors, such as waste management, making it difficult to clearly determine whether Malawi is on track or needs additional measures. Furthermore, institutional capacity for regular data collection, processing, and quality assurance remains limited, so is the link between progress tracking and broader aspects such as climate finance flows, youth employment outcomes, and private sector participation, signaling the need for a more integrated and inclusive monitoring framework in NDC 3.0.
Toward NDC 3.0: Youth-Centric Climate Priorities
The next NDC cycle offers Malawi an opportunity to mainstream youth leadership into climate action. Based on youth-led policy statements such as those from the 2025 National Youth Conference on Climate Change and the Local Conference of Youth. Priorities have emerged on the need for a specialized Climate Youth Investment Fund, developing and supporting national youth incubation hubs that are rooted in promoting climate just transition, and integration of climate change and green technology skills in technical colleges and youth training programs, to necessitate the building of local patented innovation for community-based adaptation projects, supported by decentralized, robust climate financing.
Strengthening NDC Accountability and Monitoring
The Environmental Affairs Department (EAD), as Malawi’s UNFCCC focal point, plays a pivotal role in ensuring transparency through Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) frameworks. Citing the efficiency gains as highlighted by the NDC stock take, Malawi could establish a National NDC Accountability Portal backed by the EAD’s Information Management Systems for Climate Finance, drawing lessons from countries, like Rwanda and Ghana, that have adopted a national NDC implementation platform that is used to publish live dashboards on emissions data and climate project progress. This could be supported with periodic multi-stakeholder NDC reviews, linking district-level climate reports to the BTR cycle, and integrating M&E indicators into the Malawi 2063 development framework.
Expanding Climate Finance Opportunities for Malawi
Despite efforts to tap into the UNFCCC climate financial operating entities that are the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF), as well as the Adaptation Fund, Malawi’s access to climate finance remains low. Unlocking climate finance for a youth-centric implementation of the NDC requires rethinking debt and development strategies, as outlined in The Resilience Effect: 10 Super lever to catalyse finance in climate-vulnerable countries and Making Financial Flows Consistent with Climate-Resilient Development: The Role of International Financial Institutions and Standard Setters.
Key Opportunities for NDC 3.0
Malawi’s climate change planning for the next five years has the potential to leverage investment strategies that integrate development, climate, and nature through the development and implementation of its Climate Prosperity Plan. By collaborating with multilateral institutions, Malawi could negotiate debt-for-nature or debt-for-climate swaps to free fiscal space for NDC investments.
The next round of NDCs should not be seen as a standalone climate policy but as a core pillar of the Malawi Vision 2063. Embedding NDC actions into the national development agenda ensures coherence, sustained funding, and accountability.
Climate action is not just about emissions, it’s about jobs, innovation, and sustainable livelihoods. By placing youth at the center of NDC 3.0, Malawi can redefine its development trajectory toward a resilient, inclusive, low-carbon future.
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