The mission of PlanºC is to implement concrete measures that contribute to a low carbon and resilient development and build capacity for the design of the associated policies, plans and projects in beneficiary countries.

Climate change is a major obstacle to the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals and their successors, the Sustainability Objectives, as it represents a serious threat to poverty reduction.

This is acknowledged by Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe which, on a daily basis, are confronted by both sides of the coin: in terms of vulnerability and adaptation, the countries face extreme climatic events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, but these are compounded by their economic dependence on highly exposed sectors such as agriculture and fishing; and on the other hand, in terms of mitigation, they face serious difficulties in attracting investment and in acquiring accessible and available technologies in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

These challenges in the fight against climate change are faced not only at the level of national governments and local authorities in each country but, above all, in their productive structure and by their citizens and communities in seeking to sustain their livelihoods.  PlanºC is the response of Cape Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe, in cooperation with Portugal, to the challenge of becoming more resilient to climate change and of taking quicker steps towards becoming low carbon economies, fundamentally dependent on renewable and endogenous energy with more efficient and rational uses.

PlanºC is therefore an integrated response to the two sides of the climate change coin, using sound and innovative methodologies, focused on building capacity in these countries and reaching tangible results aimed at achieving the defined goals.  It consists of three major projects in the areas of mitigation and adaptation to climate change: EBAC – with training to develop low-carbon strategies, IAC – through the integration of adaptation in planning and cooperation for development, and PACA – with the implementation of community adaptation action plans.