Clean Energy 101: Nationally Determined Contributions - RMI

This briefing explains the nature and function of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, detailing how these national climate plans serve as frameworks for emissions targets, financial needs, and the global energy transition.

• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are individual climate plans created by countries under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to help limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Rather than being top-down mandates, NDCs are commitments that countries determine themselves and then integrate into national laws and policies to meet overarching global temperature, adaptation, and financial goals.
• NDCs serve as critical signals for global markets and financiers. Because multilateral and regional development banks use these documents to set operational priorities, precise NDCs help countries communicate their specific needs for international support and provide certainty to investors regarding the energy transition.
• The process of formulating NDCs is technically and politically demanding, often posing a significant challenge for developing countries due to limited resources and difficulties in accessing the data required to set goals and estimate costs.
• For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries, NDCs are less about the volume of emissions reductions and more about leading by example and requesting 'means of implementation,' such as technology transfer, capacity building, and financing.
• NDCs in the Global South often distinguish between unconditional targets, which the country will implement using its own resources, and conditional targets, which require additional external support. While early NDCs focused primarily on mitigation, many now include sections on adaptation, resilience, and loss and damage.

APA

RMI (2025). Clean Energy 101: Nationally Determined Contributions - RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-nationally-determined-contributions/

Chicago

RMI. Clean Energy 101: Nationally Determined Contributions - RMI. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-nationally-determined-contributions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Clean Energy 101: Nationally Determined Contributions - RMI |date=13 February 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-nationally-determined-contributions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025clean, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Clean Energy 101: Nationally Determined Contributions - RMI}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-nationally-determined-contributions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }