Beyond COP 21: What did Asian countries pledge in the Paris Agreement?

The report analyzes the climate pledges of 18 Asian countries, finding that while energy and transport are primary mitigation focuses, there are significant gaps in quantified climate finance requirements and the integration of gender and social inclusion. It highlights a regional disparity in disaster risk reduction planning, with South Asian countries generally showing higher levels of integration than their South-East Asian counterparts.

• Of the 18 reviewed INDCs, 12 provided quantified emission reduction commitments, while six countries did not specify any mitigation targets.
• The Philippines set the most ambitious conditional mitigation target, aiming for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, whereas Iran set the lowest conditional target at 8% below business-as-usual levels by 2030.
• Energy is the most prioritized sector for mitigation across all 18 INDCs, followed by transport (12) and forestry (11), while livestock was included in only one document.
• Climate finance requirements are often unquantified or incomplete; India requested the highest amount in South Asia, totaling US$1.04 trillion up to 2030, with 80% dedicated to mitigation.
• In South-East Asia, most countries did not specify international finance demands; only Laos (US$2.37 billion) and Cambodia (US$1.27 billion) provided exact requirements.
• South Asian countries generally integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) more extensively than South-East Asian countries, with Bhutan, India, and Nepal graded highest for nationwide implementation.
• Gender and social inclusion are largely neglected in the reviewed INDCs, particularly in South Asia where only India and Sri Lanka mentioned gender as a priority.
• South-East Asian countries showed more encouraging results regarding gender, with five countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Viet Nam) mentioning it as a priority.
• Resource allocation for gender and social inclusion is almost entirely absent across the region, with Indonesia being the only country to mention such allocations.

APA

Ahmad, N., Hamid, I., & Kazmi, S. T. H. (2017). Beyond COP 21: What did Asian countries pledge in the Paris Agreement? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDCs-in-Asia-WEB-final.pdf

Chicago

Ahmad, Nadeem, Irum Hamid, and Syed Twangar H. Kazmi. Beyond COP 21: What did Asian countries pledge in the Paris Agreement? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2017. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDCs-in-Asia-WEB-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ahmad |first1=Nadeem |last2=Hamid |first2=Irum |last3=Kazmi |first3=Syed Twangar H. |title=Beyond COP 21: What did Asian countries pledge in the Paris Agreement? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=February 2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDCs-in-Asia-WEB-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ahmad2017beyond, author = {Ahmad, Nadeem and Hamid, Irum and Kazmi, Syed Twangar H.}, title = {{Beyond COP 21: What did Asian countries pledge in the Paris Agreement?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDCs-in-Asia-WEB-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }