Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Climate Agreement.
In line with scientists’ recommendations, the Paris Agreement is an international treaty agreeing to keep global temperature rises to no more than 2 degrees celsius (ideally 1.5) above pre industrial levels.
Each country is required to prepare, communicate and maintain their own emissions reduction targets – known as nationally determined contributions NDCs), as part of their contribution to the global fight against climate change.
Developed economies have contributed more to the climate crisis. they have higher carbon emissions, and more resources available to tackle them. it wouldn’t be fair for everyone to have the same target.
The Paris Agreement says that developed countries should undertake economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets, while developing countries “are encouraged to move over time towards economy-wide emission reduction or limitation targets in the light of different national circumstances.”
Therefore, targets are self-defined by each country. Each government decides for themselves how ambitious they will be (or not!)
All the NDCs are recorded in an NDC registry, which is maintained by the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty adopted and implemented in 1994 to address climate change. It meets yearly to discuss progress and take action at a conference of the parties (COP).
The Paris Agreement emerged from one of these annual meetings (cop21).
Every 5 years, progress towards the Paris Agreement’s goals are assessed, and all countries are required to update their NDCs to be more ambitious through a process called the ‘ratchet mechanism’.
These NDCs will then be reviewed to assess their overall impact on stemming the rise of global temperatures.
It is a legal requirement under the Paris Agreement to have an NDC in place, and to pursue measures with the aim of achieving it – but actual achievement of the NDC is not a legally binding or enforceable commitment.
Countries must regularly report on their emissions and progress. These reports are independently reviewed by technical experts and fellow governments.
Failure to comply with these commitments can trigger review by the agreement’s implementation and compliance committee. This committee of experts is “facilitative” and “non punitive” – it will help countries improve their performance but will not impose penalties for noncompliance.
2021 analysis showed that the first round of NDCs was not enough to meet the Paris Agreement climate targets. If every country fully implements the commitments set out in their first round, global temperatures are estimated to rise to 2.7 degrees this century.
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