A GUIDE TO INDCS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS

The document offers a comprehensive framework for LDCs and SIDS to develop INDCs, emphasizing that these countries may communicate strategies and plans for low greenhouse gas emission development reflecting their special circumstances. It provides detailed templates for national context, mitigation contributions (both action-based and outcome-based), adaptation plans, planning processes, and means of implementation. The guide highlights the importance of identifying conditional contributions dependent on international finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building, while encouraging the capture of synergies between mitigation and adaptation to build political momentum and attract international support.

• LDCs and SIDS are permitted under the Lima Call for Climate Action to communicate information on strategies, plans, and actions for low greenhouse gas emission development that reflect their "special circumstances", allowing them to use specific projects rather than the absolute or economy-wide emission reduction commitments expected of developed countries.
• The guide identifies five primary challenges faced by LDCs and SIDS in INDC preparation: low global emissions relative to development needs, the priority of poverty reduction and energy access, limited analytical capacity, dependence on international funding for ambition, and high climate vulnerability making adaptation a major focus.
• Mitigation contributions can be structured as action-based (listing specific activities, objectives, and anticipated reductions), outcome-based (setting targets relative to a base year, fixed level, or baseline scenario), or a combination of both.
• Outcome-based contributions may take four specific forms: reductions relative to a historical base year, reductions to a fixed absolute level, reductions in greenhouse gas intensity (e.g., per unit of GDP), or reductions relative to a projected business-as-usual (BAU) baseline scenario.
• To ensure clarity, transparency, and understanding, INDCs should include quantifiable information on reference points, timeframes for implementation, the scope of gases and sectors covered, and the methodological approaches used for emissions accounting, such as the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.
• The guide suggests that 'fairness' in a contribution can be demonstrated using metrics such as historical responsibility, mitigation potential, per capita emissions, and capability (e.g., GDP per capita), while 'ambition' relates to the gap between a country's potential and its proposed action.
• Adaptation components in INDCs should highlight the role of climate-resilient development in national planning, existing strategies like National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) or National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), and the financial gaps required to scale up interventions.
• There are critical synergies between mitigation and adaptation; some adaptation activities provide mitigation co-benefits (e.g., afforestation), while some mitigation activities offer adaptation co-benefits (e.g., ecosystem-based adaptation), though the guide warns that mitigation benefits from adaptation activities must be listed in the mitigation section to avoid double-counting.
• The 'Means of Implementation' section is designed to help international partners target support by detailing specific needs for finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building, distinguishing between unconditional (unilateral) and conditional contributions.

APA

Holdaway, E., Dodwell, C., Sura, K., & Picot, H. (2015). A GUIDE TO INDCS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CDKN-Guide-to-INDCs-Revised-May2015.pdf

Chicago

Holdaway, Emelia, Chris Dodwell, Kiran Sura, and Helen Picot. A GUIDE TO INDCS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CDKN-Guide-to-INDCs-Revised-May2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Holdaway |first1=Emelia |last2=Dodwell |first2=Chris |last3=Sura |first3=Kiran |last4=Picot |first4=Helen |title=A GUIDE TO INDCS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2015 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CDKN-Guide-to-INDCs-Revised-May2015.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{holdaway2015guide, author = {Holdaway, Emelia and Dodwell, Chris and Sura, Kiran and Picot, Helen}, title = {{A GUIDE TO INDCS INTENDED NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = may, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CDKN-Guide-to-INDCs-Revised-May2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }