https://climatenetwork.org/2025/02/11/over-90-of-countries-fail-to-submi...
Under the Paris Agreement, every country must update its national climate action plan every five years. These NDC plans outline how nations intend to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This year’s submissions should extend their new NDCs to 2030 and outline new objectives for the period up to 2035, setting the tone for a decisive decade of climate action.
The countries that submitted their NDCs on time include Andorra, Brazil, Ecuador, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Singapore, St. Lucia, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, Uruguay, the USA, and Zimbabwe. Among the developed countries yet to submit their NDCs is the European Union, which has indicated it will not do so until September, just weeks before COP30 in Brazil.
Climate Action Network calls on developed and rich countries to urgently submit their NDCs in line with 1.5°C pathways and for them to be grounded in climate justice.
As CAN has previously outlined in its Guidelines and its letter to the Troika, for the NDCs to be truly transformative they must:
- Include ambitious commitments in the energy sector as part of countries’ plans to transition away from fossil fuels, halting the destruction of ecosystems, and other plans for vulnerable sectors.
- Enable a just transition for communities and workers, with robust social protections.
- Prioritise equity and transparency, ensuring climate plans are developed inclusively with civil society and local stakeholders.
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of CAN International, said: “It’s shocking that only 13 out of 195 countries have updated their NDCs, with the majority of rich nations not submitting on deadline, exposing the alarming lack of political will for ambition under the Paris Agreement. We recognise that developing countries would need robust, grants-based public funding to deliver real additional climate ambition. Bold targets alone won’t cut it; NDCs must be backed by the resources needed to make them a reality. For COP30 to be a true turning point in climate action, this new round of NDCs must restore confidence and drive a transformative and just transition – one that leaves no one behind.”
David Knecht, climate expert at Fastenaktion Switzerland, said: “The next Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) must catalyse community-driven development. At the same time, the NDCs 3.0 need to include concrete fossil fuel phaseout plans, as agreed upon in Dubai, and we expect developed countries to lead on this, as well as on providing direly needed grant-based finance for the global transition. To signal to the world what is needed, countries must speed-up and present soonest NDCs that set the highest expectations.”
Fernanda Carvalho, WWF Head of Policy for Climate and Energy, said: “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are more than just numbers on mitigation, although numbers are a crucial element. We expect countries to submit NDCs that will collectively deliver 1.5°C alignment and climate justice before COP 30. It’s now or never for the planet. ”
ENDS/
Notes to Editor
CAN NDC 3.0 Guidelines: https://climatenetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CAN-Guidelines-NDCs.pdf
For information and interviews, please contact Attila Kulcsár at CAN International akulcsar@climatenetwork.org (+44 7472 124872)
