Credibility of Nationally Determined Contributions: The Role of Transparency and Progress Reporting

This expert note examines the factors that make Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) credible and explores how biennial transparency reports (BTRs) under the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework (ETF) provide the necessary information to assess and inform the credibility of these national climate plans.

• The credibility of mitigation targets within NDCs is determined by several factors: the clarity of the targets, the existence of institutional arrangements and capacity for implementation, the presence of policies to reach the target, and the ability of those policies to achieve the expected emission reductions.
• Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit new and enhanced NDCs in 2025 to outline their responses to the climate crisis.
• Biennial transparency reports (BTRs), which are a core part of the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework (ETF), offer critical information that shapes the credibility of NDCs and can influence the credibility of future NDCs.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Credibility of Nationally Determined Contributions: The Role of Transparency and Progress Reporting. https://www.wri.org/research/credibility-nationally-determined-contributions-role-transparency-and-progress-reporting

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Credibility of Nationally Determined Contributions: The Role of Transparency and Progress Reporting. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/credibility-nationally-determined-contributions-role-transparency-and-progress-reporting.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Credibility of Nationally Determined Contributions: The Role of Transparency and Progress Reporting |url=https://www.wri.org/research/credibility-nationally-determined-contributions-role-transparency-and-progress-reporting |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcredibility, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Credibility of Nationally Determined Contributions: The Role of Transparency and Progress Reporting}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/credibility-nationally-determined-contributions-role-transparency-and-progress-reporting}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }