Nationally determined contribution
A country's climate contribution communicated under the Paris Agreement.
Example
NDCs set out national mitigation intentions and may include adaptation information.
The catch
Ambition, coverage and implementation differ between countries.
Related terms
Paris Agreement, 1.5°C goal, Carbon pricing, Carbon tax, Climate justice, Conference of the Parties
In more depth
Nationally determined contribution, explained.
The target type tells you most about a nationally determined contribution. An absolute cut from a fixed base year is the easiest to check. A cut against a projected baseline scenario depends on how high that projection was set, and an intensity target can coexist with rising emissions. Many developing countries split their pledge into an unconditional part and an additional part that depends on international finance.
Under the Paris rules, each new contribution should go further than the last, informed by the global stocktake. Countries are obliged to prepare contributions and pursue domestic measures towards them. Meeting the target is a political commitment, with no legal penalty for missing it. UNEP's annual emissions gap assessments track the distance between combined pledges and the Paris temperature goals.