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The study updates an earlier 2014 analyses and was conducted in cooperation with ALCOR and UNDP. Objective Developing countries often suffer from a high cost of capital. Because utility-scale wind and solar photovoltaic power plants require high upfront capital investments, the corresponding levelized cost of electricity (LCOEs) are very sensible to the cost of capital. States can respond to a high a cost of capital by introducing public derisking measures, that can be understood as interventions by the government and its partners to address specific investment risks, in the form of policies...

In this special edition of the NDC Update Report, we focus on the relationship between Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and explore how climate and development actions can support each other. Key messages: 2015 was a breakthrough year for climate action and development, with the signing of the Paris Agree­ment and a global commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These challenging and comprehensive global agendas require fundamental rethinking of the way our economies operate and have led to renewed calls for greater...

This report critically analyses perceptions on the NDC implementation progress among national and sector experts involved in NDC processes in emerging and developing countries. Questions addressed in the report include: How confident are we on progress towards NDC implementation?, How easy is it to mobilise the actions needed to achieve the NDC target?, What does it take to make a convincing case for the actions needed to achieve NDC targets?, What has been happening this year to support NDC implementation? and, Where do we go from here? This report is part of a series of biannual NDC Update...

NewClimate developed a series of NDC sectoral overviews for GIZ, which provide information about current sectoral contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions and prospects for implementing NDCs in these sectors. Each briefing paper presents concrete options for integrating sectoral measures in future NDCs, as well as more general cross-sectoral recommendations for moving forward with emissions-reductions measures. Written primarily from the perspective of climate change experts, with input and suggestions from sector colleagues, the briefing series’ intended target audience is twofold...

This report is the prologue to a series of update reports on NDC-related topics. The reports will be published twice a year, before international climate change meetings, to present analysis, opinion, and discussion pieces. Drawing on the Ambition to Action (A2A) project and input from a wide range of experts and practitioners, the reports aim to be a platform for learning, sharing insights, and discussing topics relevant to technical assistance for implementation of the Paris Agreement. The report critically looks at recent developments around NDC implementation across three actor groups...

In a consortium led by the Finnish consultancy GAIA and with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), NewClimate Institute carried out a study on behalf of the Nordic Working Group for Global Climate Negotiations (NOAK) to identify how Nordic finance institutions can best contribute to mobilising climate finance to developing countries in a way that supports the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The study mapped current financial support needs communicated through developing countries’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to identify potential support gaps where Nordic...

The adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 moved the world a step closer to avoiding dangerous climate change. The aggregated individual intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) are not yet sufficient to be consistent with the long-term goals of the agreement of ‘holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C’ and ‘pursuing efforts’ towards 1.5°C. However, the Paris Agreement gives hope that this inconsistency can be resolved. We find that many of the contributions are conservative and in some cases may be overachieved. We also find that the...

This guidance assists policymakers in designing national mitigation strategies for the refrigeration, air conditioning and foam (RAC&F) sector to meet the increasing ambition levels expected in revised NDCs. By aligning efforts taken under the two relevant international regimes, the UNFCCC and the Montreal Protocol, the RAC&F sector can make a significant contribution towards reaching the 2°C target, or even the 1.5°C target. Introduction: With the objective to hold the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C and the ambition to limit it to 1.5°C, parties to the United Nations...

With the historic Paris Agreement in place, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), together with the availability of new sources of climate finance, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), lay the groundwork for ambitious, country-driven climate action. Achieving NDC goals will require substantial investments in support of low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure and most of those investments will come from the private sector. The challenge going forward will be to turn NDCs into transformational action on the ground in ways that can catalyze private sector investments. Nationally...

Publication in Local Environment Assessing the concept's cultural legitimacy among stakeholders in the solar energy sector While energy-sector emissions remain the biggest source of climate change, many least-developed countries still invest in fossil-fuel development paths. These countries generally have high levels of fossil-fuel technology lock-in and low capacities to change, making the shift to sustainable energy difficult. Tanzania, a telling example, is projected to triple fossil-fuel power production in the next decade. This article assesses the potential to use internationally...

This paper outlines what the Paris Agreement means for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and what needs to happen at the country level now and in the longer term to implement the Agreement. The paper focuses explicitly on the mitigation part of national contributions and discusses specific steps in response to the relevant parts of the agreed framework including a view on how these may be supported internationally.

This document presents a synthesis of the main challenges and lessons learned from the preparation process of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) by Parties to the UNFCCC in the run up to Paris. The challenges and lessons learned from the INDC preparation process hold great relevance for the next steps regarding the implementation and further development of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs), in terms of both clarity and ambition. The report is based on the research NewClimate Institute (NCI) has conducted during the INDC preparation process, including two...

Of the 156 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC by the closure of COP 21 and the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, at least 78% of these INDCs included conditions. In most cases Parties submitted a conditional contribution alongside an unconditional contribution,but approximately one third of INDCs include only a conditional contribution. This briefing paper by NewClimate Institute concisely presents the key information and aspects on the conditionality of countries‘ mitigation contributions in their INDCs. It gives an overview of the...

The Global Good Practice Analysis is a joint initiative by the International Partnership on Mitigation and MRV and the UNDP Low Emission Capacity Building Programme and documents examples of mitigation-related good practice worldwide which demonstrate how INDCs, LEDS, NAMAs and MRV systems are being effectively designed and implemented across a range of national contexts. In the second edition of the Global Good Practice Analysis (GPA2.0) a new selection of cases was examined by a consortium led by NewClimate Institute and including the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), The...

This paper provides an overview of options to assess mitigation commitments before Paris and beyond. This includes a review of current activities to assess individual INDCs as well as a discussion of some of the attributes and requirements such assessment needs to fulfil. The paper goes on to explore options of how the assessment could be carried out and linked to the UNFCCC process, followed by a discussion of methodological approaches to assess the ambition of mitigation contributions. In conclusion, it provides some recommendations on a feasible and realistic way forward drawing out...