UN Environment, UNEP DTU Parnership, the UNFCCC Secretariat, Unite Nations Development Programme, and the World Resources Institute are jointly developing a guidance document to be used by countries as they prepare for NDC implementation. This builds on the previously published joint guidance, Designing and Preparing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.
We invite you to share your feedback on the NDC implementation guidance outline with us which helps us to frame the guidance document as comprehensively as possible and in tune with countries’ need.
Please send feedback on the below sections to Fatemeh Bakhtiari, fatebak@dtu.dk. Click to download the guidance outline.
Section I: Understanding the NDC cycle and timeframes, considering long-term planning and linkages with SDGs
This section will provide an overview of NDC cycles/timeframe envisioned by Paris Agreement, as well as the invitation to Parties to communicate mid-century, long-term strategies by 2020. It will also address linkages between NDCs and sustainable development (including the global Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs), as well as links with long-term strategies and other national planning processes. The focus will be on the role of NDCs as a vehicle to achieve long-term transformation and on the benefits of ensuring coherence between processes.
Section II: Governance arrangements related to NDC implementation
This section will discuss institutional frameworks for NDC development and implementation, including institutional and technical capacity needs, as well as legal and regulatory requirements. It will also address stakeholder engagement/consultation in the NDC process, enhancing public awareness, identifying roles and responsibilities, and mainstreaming climate change in national processes. It will include a discussion on mechanisms for coordination between institutions or governmental bodies responsible for the implementation of NDCs and SDGs to ensure synergies and avoid parallel processes. Finally, this section will address how to secure active engagement and participation of the key stakeholders involved in the SDG process at different levels and/or sectors.
Section III: Preparing an NDC implementation plan
This section will provide guidance on preparing an NDC implementation plan that prioritizes mitigation and adaptation measures to achieve NDC goals, discusses implications of measures (e.g., impacts, feasibility, risks, etc.), outlines key details (e.g., work plans, timeframes, roles, etc.), and identifies resource and capacity needs. It will also discuss how NDC implementation plans can build on existing planning processes and tools and integrate with development strategies and SDG-related plans. The section will address the development of enabling conditions – including changes to the legal and regulatory framework – that may be required to implement mitigation and adaptation measures in the context of NDC goals. It will also discuss the incorporation of funding, monitoring, and reporting considerations (see respective sections). Finally, the section will touch on the need for stakeholder engagement, political endorsement, and building consensus around implementation plans.
Section IV: Funding NDCs and mobilizing resources
This section will address the estimation of NDC implementation costs, identification of potential funding sources (public, private, international), and assessments of current public expenditures and private investments related to climate change. It will also discuss future financial flows and opportunities for re-orienting or mainstreaming these in the context of achieving NDC goals. The section will provide guidance on developing NDC funding strategies to determine which components of NDCs would be funded by different sources (e.g., national budgets for unconditional components versus international support for conditional ones) – coordinated with SDG plans to ensure coherence. This will include a discussion of what needs to happen at the national level to secure funding from different sources (e.g., coordination with ministries of finance and national assemblies, creation of enabling environments for private investment, etc.). Finally, it will touch on opportunities for blending different finance sources and implications for estimated NDC implementation costs.
Section V: Monitoring and reporting NDC progress
This section will primarily discuss how countries can track and report on NDC implementation progress at the national level (toward GHG goals and non-GHG outcomes) in the context of the Paris Agreement. This includes information to be monitored, available methods, and the development of monitoring plans. It will address domestic benefits of tracking progress; capacity needs; the role of mandates; and opportunities for building on and strengthening existing systems and processes. The section will highlight, for example, linkages with existing MRV systems for NAMAs; existing reporting procedures in the context of the UNFCCC (e.g., national communications and biennial update reports); countries’ monitoring and reporting plans for SDGs; existing data systems and inventories; and adaptation monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Section VI: Reviewing progress and revising strategies
This section will look at the possible need for changes to NDC implementation plans based on observed impacts, as well as the revision of existing actions or design of new ones as needed. It will address the establishment of review mechanisms, participation in international peer-review processes, and how results can inform future NDC cycles. Finally, it will provide a discussion of progression and ambition in the context of future NDC cycles.