When: 16 July | 1315-1430 hrs EDT
Duration: 75 minutes
Where: UNHQ Conference Room 12
Organizers: UNEP, EOSG Climate Action Team, UNDP, UNFCCC secretariat
This is a side event during the 2024 High-Level Political Forum.
With climate impacts becoming more widespread and devastating, the window of opportunity to address the climate crisis is quickly closing. As countries embark on the next cycle of NDC enhancement ahead of COP30, the next two years stand as one of the best chances we have as an international community to ensure warming stays under 1.5°.
The Emissions Gap Report 2023 highlights record-breaking temperatures and finds that current pledges under the Paris Agreement put the world on track for a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels this century, pointing to the urgent need for increased climate action. According to the 2023 NDC Synthesis Report, while emissions stabilize after 2030, they still don't decline rapidly enough to meet scientific targets as indicated by the IPCC in its sixth Assessment Report.
Moreover, the first Global Stocktake (GST), agreed as part of the UAE consensus, has highlighted that, despite overall progress on mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation and support, Parties are not yet collectively on track towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals.
The next generation of NDCs, or NDCs 3.0, are an opportunity to set the world back on track for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This is a make it or break it moment for the global community.
This coming round of NDCs, which are to be communicated in early 2025, are an opportunity to ensure that we collectively determine whether the world can get back on a global emissions trajectory in line with science and the temperature goals under the Paris Agreement, whilst also building the resilience for such a scenario.
As included in the GST outcome, Parties are encouraged to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, as informed by the latest science, in the light of different national circumstances. New NDCs need to be driven by the outcomes of the GST and demonstrate a progression beyond current NDCs. They must collectively reduce global greenhouse gas emissions 43% by 2030 and 60% by 2035 relative to 2019 levels to align with pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Enhanced ambition in and implementability of NDCs 3.0 is thus crucial to meet global climate goals. In response, the UN Secretary General has called on the UN System to scale up a coordinated, UN System-wide support effort on NDCs. As a result, Climate Promise 2025 was launched, which leverages the infrastructure of UNDP’s Climate Promise as well as the UN’s expertise to respond to the demand and capitalize on this moment. There is already extensive ongoing UN System support to developing countries on climate actions and their NDCs, which will be brought together and mobilized for this coordinated effort.
This high-level event will explore the ways and means to facilitate and provide coordinated support to countries in their climate action efforts while showcasing the wide ecosystem of organizations channeling support towards various aspects of developing and implementing NDCs, including specifically UN-system wide support to NDCs 3.0.
Objectives:
- Re-affirm the importance and urgency that NDCs 3.0 need to be progressive and more ambitious than current NDCs
- Convey the coordinated UN support to developing countries on preparation of next NDCs, leveraging the UNDP’s Climate Promise infrastructure
- Explore how aligning NDC commitments with broader development pathways and other policy instruments can drive transformational implementation to both achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Boost international and regional cooperation on NDC ambition and implementation and shed light on various enablers and initiatives that can effectively contribute to bridging emissions and implementation gaps.
