As climate change accelerates, bringing record temperatures and unprecedented impacts to billions worldwide, the United Nations and its partners respond with heightened ambition. A series of regional meetings to enhance the next round of climate pledges under the Paris Agreement have been announced.
In 2025, countries are set to submit new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), dubbed NDCs 3.0. These contributions will outline ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets for 2035, in alignment with limiting global warming to 1.5°C and bolstering resilience against climate impacts.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), stated, “To provide climate justice for all and preserve a livable planet, greenhouse gas emissions must fall dramatically, and efforts to adapt to climate impacts must be stepped up. NDCs 3.0 must match the moment we face and be far more ambitious.”
To support countries in formulating these critical pledges, UNEP, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the NDC Partnership, in collaboration with the UNFCCC Secretariat (UN Climate Change), are organizing NDCs 3.0 Regional Fora.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, emphasized the importance of this initiative: “Submitting new Nationally Determined Contributions is not just a reporting requirement but a vital commitment to safeguarding our planet’s future for generations to come.”
The NDCs 3.0 Regional Fora are organized in partnership with the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the United Nations REDD programme, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), and regional entities like the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Nations Economic, Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) and the Asian Development Bank.
The NDCs 3.0 Regional Fora will convene in 2024 across various regions:
These closed-door events will focus on government officials responsible for NDC revisions, and representatives from youth and marginalized groups will be invited to ensure inclusivity.
UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2023 reveals that current NDCs place the world on a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise trajectory. Achieving the 1.5°C target necessitates a 42% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Concurrently, UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023 highlights a finance gap of $194-366 billion per year for adaptation efforts, stressing the need for urgent, country-driven actions backed by appropriate finance.
Drawing on insights from COP28 and the Global Stocktake, the Fora will address mitigation options, adaptation solutions, and the inclusion of super pollutants like methane and black carbon in the NDCs. Participants will engage in peer learning, explore innovative financing models, and develop policy roadmaps to facilitate implementation.
Climate change is a significant driver of nature and biodiversity loss, and these crises require integrated solutions. The Fora will encourage countries to consider the co-benefits of climate action and align climate targets with international commitments on nature, pollution, and sustainable development.
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, underscored the urgency: “2024 and 2025 represent our best chance as an international community to ensure that the global temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The United Nations is mobilizing our entire system and partners to help developing countries achieve this bold objective via UNDP’s Climate Promise initiative.”
Pablo Vieira, Global Director of the NDC Partnership, remarked, “The Regional NDC 3.0 Forums come at a critical time following the first Global Stocktake. Increased ambition, embedded across whole-of-government and inclusive of whole-of-society, will drive accelerated implementation of plans, policies, and strategies, and help unlock finance at scale.”
H.E. María Susana Muhamad González, Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, reflected on the broader impacts: “These events represent an invaluable opportunity to advance our efforts towards increasing ambition in climate action and the effective implementation of the NDCs, all under the overarching theme of ‘Peace with Nature.’”
