Publications & Tools

In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions will need to be “converted” into policies, measures, and finance-ready investment strategies. This conversion process can promote ambition, encourage efficient use of resources, support synergies between mitigation and development goals, enhance coordination between sectoral ministries, spur policy development, make proposals more attractive to funders, attract private sector investment, and support long-term planning. 

The Paris Agreement and accompanying decisions tasked various UNFCCC bodies with developing rules and guidance to implement the Agreement. These provisions will have implications for countries’ efforts to convert their NDCs, particularly those on guidance for features and information in NDCs, the enhanced transparency framework, mid-century low greenhouse gas development strategies, and provisions on international cooperation and transfer of mitigation outcomes.

Guidance on NDC information and features will impact countries NDC preparation processes, and can promote the development of NDCs that are closer to implementation-ready. The enhanced transparency framework could lead countries to share plans on NDC implementation in a way that facilitates comparison, provides clarity on needs, demonstrates an anticipated “direction of travel” for investors, and enables peer-to-peer learning. Clarity on the use of transfers and cooperative approaches will allow Parties to make implementation plans with better understanding of the tools available. Lastly, effective development and communication of Mid-Century Strategies can provide longer-term signals to interested stakeholders, and can provide a basis for efficient domestic policymaking.

CCAP’s paper analyzes how the outcomes of UNFCCC negotiations can help or hinder countries’ efforts to convert their NDCs into action.