Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are used as instruments in climate cooperation and negotiations. They were key in reaching the Paris Agreement and are instrumental in implementing it.
So far, UN climate negotiations have provided limited guidance on NDC formulation. They differ widely in terms of scope, detail of ambition, and content. Each country addresses different mitigation, adaptation and finance priorities in their NDCs under the Paris Agreement.
The NDC Explorer can be used to analyse and compare data from both Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The tool’s five main categories mitigation, adaptation, finance, planning and links to national and international policy, capture the diversity and weaknesses of current ambitions.
The NDC Explorer serves three main purposes:
- Identify missing links in terms of scope and content of NDCs, including the omission of important mitigation sectors and the limited focus on assessment and review.
- Support civil society to hold governments accountable for implementing NDCs.
- Increase transparency by for example helping development banks and climate funds to check whether their projects are in line with NDCs. This would allow them to mainstream climate change into their broader project portfolio.
When countries begin formulating their second round of NDCs in 2020, the NDC Explorer can be used to support the UN negotiations. Using data on common issues, methods, and metrics related to NDCs can be translated into tracking the countries’ progress in implementing them.