Libya

Libya’s arid to hyper-arid climate leaves it highly exposed to rising temperatures, extreme heat, drought, desertification, increasingly erratic rainfall, flash floods and more frequent sand and dust storms. Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are placing further pressure on scarce water resources, agriculture, food security, ecosystems and public health; Libya has no perennial rivers and depends almost entirely on non-renewable fossil aquifers for its freshwater supply.

Along the densely populated Mediterranean coast, sea-level rise, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion, storm surges and urban flooding threaten communities, infrastructure, groundwater and marine ecosystems. Adaptation is complicated by conflict and institutional fragility, uneven local capacity and access to services, ageing infrastructure, gaps in climate data and early warning coverage, and substantial reliance on international finance to implement planned measures.

Drawing on its National Adaptation Plan, Libya’s first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) prioritizes water security; climate-resilient agriculture and food systems; the restoration of degraded land, oases and biodiversity corridors; coastal and urban resilience; climate-resilient health services; and stronger climate information and coordination systems. By 2035, the country aims to reduce the population exposed to recurrent drought and water scarcity by 30 percent, protect 70 percent of priority coastal and urban areas from flooding and sea-level rise, achieve 40 percent adoption of drought-resilient crops and climate-smart agricultural practices, restore 150,000 hectares of degraded land and ensure that at least half of health facilities meet climate-resilience standards. The NDC also emphasizes locally tailored planning, early warning systems and inclusive approaches that address the different risks facing coastal cities, oasis communities, the hyper-arid south, women, young people, displaced people and low-income communities.