0.00%
Share of global GHG emissions
Extracted from the CAIT Climate Data Explorer (2022), developed and maintained by the World Resources Institute. #143
Climate Vulnerability Index ranking
A higher number means a higher vulnerability to climate change. Based on the ND-GAIN Index (2023), developed by the University of Notre Dame. #122
Human Development Index ranking
A lower number means a better human development score. Based on the Human Development Index (2023), developed by UNDP. NDC Status
Samoa submitted its third NDC in January 2026.
Key highlights from the NDC
- Samoa's third NDC explicitly frames Samoa's ambition around keeping the 1.5°C limit alive, and has moved to a single economy-wide, absolute emissions-reduction target for 2035 and added more specific sector/sub-sector targets and quantified adaptation outcomes.
- Quantifiable adaptation targets in the NDC focus on Marine and Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors, including expansion of mangrove forests by 2035, increasing total forest cover by 1.6 percent by 2035, expansion of the Central Savaii Rainforest protected area (from 13.3 to 50 percent) by 2035, development and distribution of at least three climate-resilient crop varieties, and scaling community-based aquaculture/fisheries management (from 39 to 60 percent of coastal villages) by 2035.
- Loss and damage is treated by Samoa as a core pillar, noting that climate impacts are increasingly beyond the limits of adaptation, driven by slow-onset processes (e.g., sea-level rise, coastal erosion, salinity intrusion, ocean acidification) and extreme events (e.g., cyclones, floods, landslides), resulting in both economic and non-economic losses. In response, Samoa highlights establishment of the Samoa Loss and Damage Fund (SLDF), designed to finance urgent recovery and longer-term needs (including wellbeing/mental health) and to be ready to channel resources from emerging global Loss and damage finance, alongside actions to strengthen Loss and damage data collection (including gender-differentiated where possible), research, institutional arrangements, policy integration and capacity-building.
- Samoa includes explicit Gender and Social Inclusion targets (e.g., participation and beneficiary shares for women and youth) and embeds strong nature/biodiversity actions through forests, protected areas and mangroves. The SDGs are referenced as an anchoring framework.
- The submission emphasizes that ambition is conditional on international finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, flags external support needs across key measures, and notes interest in Article 6 cooperation.
- Samoa’s NDC was developed with UNDP (Climate Promise) and the Regional Pacific NDC Hub support, alongside GGGI and the NDC Partnership.
How UNDP’s Climate Promise is helping Samoa
The Climate Promise is being delivered in collaboration with key partners.
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