South Africa Low Emissions Development (SA LED)

South Africa Low Emissions Development (SA LED) is a $1.26 million contract that was awarded to IDG via USAID/Southern Africa as an institutional support contract. SA LED is part of USAID’s Low Emissions Development (LED) initiative.

The project embeds South African professionals with expertise in climate change monitoring and evaluation into South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE). This project is a prominent example of USAID’s Localization Initiative, by sourcing local experts who are intimately familiar with a particular country’s development needs.

LED is part of a broader US Government initiative called Enhanced Capacity for Low Emissions Development which supports developing countries’ efforts to pursue long-term, transformative development and accelerate sustainable, climate-resilient economic growth while slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. LED was one of the key strategies produced as a result of the Paris Climate Agreement, and is also being utilized by other donor groups such as the United Nations.