What’s In
All signatory countries (‘Parties’) to the Paris Agreement are required to submit an ‘nationally determined contribution’ (NDC) to address climate change. Your country has already made an initial NDC submission to the UNFCCC, and is now in the process of updating that submission.
What’s in your country’s initial NDC submission? What more can be included in a future NDC?
The Paris Agreement calls on all countries to update their NDCs every five years, and to increase ‘ambition’ in the NDC each time. Globally, countries will take part in a ‘Global Stocktake’ in 2023. Countries will ‘take stock’ of progress toward meeting the goal of lowering emissions and limiting warming.
In many cases, the NDC submitted to the UNFCCC mirrors the goals and content of existing national Climate Action plans. A high-quality national climate action plan should include inputs from indigenous peoples, local communities, and civil society groups. More public involvement will lead to greater scope (more actions), and greater ‘ambition’ (more willingness to act).
For this reason, it’s important that peoples’ organizations get involved in developing and reviewing national climate action plans. The NDC acts as a kind of accountability mechanism, since it describes government intentions, and identifies goals and actions to be taken.
This page includes a ‘checklist’ of questions that can be answered at each stage of climate planning, or in the NDC review process.
Linked from here are six pages that provide a basic overview of elements from the Paris Agreement that should be reflected in an NDC:
- rights, public participation, and access to information;
- land-based climate actions;
- credible baselines and sources of finance.
Publications from CLARA member are linked throughout these six pages.
Continue To What’s In Pages
Public Participation
Countries signing the Paris Agreement agree to a transparent and inclusive process for developing the NDC climate action. Indigenous peoples, civil society organizations, farmers, forest user groups, and others should get involved to ensure attention to land-use issues.
Land Sector Climate Action?
What’s in the NDC for forests, agriculture, and coastal protection? What role for local communities? What mitigation and adaptation programs are proposed?
REDD+?
Many countries will define their NDC forest actions in terms of REDD+. REDD+ is an ‘avoided deforestation’ program involving tropical forest countries.
Basic Rights
Women’s rights, rights to land, cultural rights, right to food, and the right of participation – all these are necessary to ensure that climate ambition is matched with social justice.
Adaptation?
Adapting to climate change will be most important in the land sector, so NDCs should address this challenge. Will farmers have the tools they need to respond to climate change, while meeting national food needs?
Climate Finance
Does the government plan (if any) to use MARKET MECHANISMS to reach greater ambition in the NDC?