Stepping Up 2020 NDCs

• 29.05.2020
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Resources for Countries to Enhance National Climate Plans (NDCs) Under the Paris Agreement

Download an overview of WRI's resources on NDC enhancement

To set the course for a net-zero emissions future, the historic 2015 Paris Agreement established a goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees C, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C. However, the initial national commitments that countries put forward in Paris are not enough to avoid these temperature thresholds. The IPCC found that large-scale, immediate transformation is needed. Greenhouse gas emissions must be slashed by almost half from recent levels by 2030 to avoid the most dangerous and costly consequences of climate change.

Every country agreed to prepare and communicate an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) every five years to reflect progress toward its highest possible ambition. Five years after the Paris Agreement was adopted, countries are now preparing to submit new NDCs by 2020.

To assist with this critical process, UNDP and WRI have developed guidance to help countries think through how to structure their enhanced NDCs across three dimensions: how to strengthen targets to reduce emissions (mitigation), how to enhance climate resilience (adaptation) and how to clearly communicate their actions to build trust and facilitate effective implementation.

Enhancing NDCs: A Guide to Strengthening National Climate Plans by 2020
Taryn Fransen, Ichiro Sato, Kelly Levin, David Waskow, David Rich, Sadya Ndoko, and Julie Teng

Sectoral Opportunities to Step Up NDCs

Countries can incorporate or strengthen targets and policies in their NDCs across a wide range of sectors which can curb emissions while delivering substantial economic and development benefits.  In December 2019, WRI and UNDP published a series of papers on how to take advantage of these opportunities: