Preparation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) as a catalyst for national climate action
The preparation for the new international climate agreement has advanced national policy making even before the agreement is adopted. NewClimate Institute in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), assessed the extent to which the preparation of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) has catalysed enhanced national climate change mitigation capacity and action, beyond the preparation of the INDC itself. The evidence from 52 countries presented in this paper demonstrates that INDC processes have had largely positive impacts in most countries for kick-starting long term planning processes, advancing climate change mitigation on political agendas, integrating pre- and post-2020 approaches, enhancing facilitative institutional structures, broadening the base for participation in policy making processes, and developing in-country technical capacities.