A Primer on Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement. As the self-determined climate plans of the signatory countries, NDCs lay out how each country intends to meet the Agreement's goals. Every five years, they need to be updated, adding more ambition to reduce emissions with each new generation of NDCs. The deadline for the next round of NDCs is 10 February 2025.

In this briefing paper, we explain the basic function of NDCs, give an overview of the current, second generation, NDCs and outline how the rules for NDCs have changed since the Paris Agreement entered into force. 

We then move to the upcoming, third, generation of NDCs, which benefits from the outcomes of the Global Stock Take (GST), representing a full cycle of the Paris Agreement's 'ratcheting mechanism'. The GST has made clear that parties must urgently close the current emissions gap to 1.5°C warming within this decade. According to the GST, this entails 'transitioning away from fossil fuels'. 

The paper concludes with four essentials of a good third generation NDC:

1. Responsivity and comprehensiveness;
2. Equity, financing, and support;
3. Inclusivity and fairness;
4. Formal standards, transparency, monitoring.