Designing National Commitments to Drive Measurable Emissions Reductions After 2020

This World Resources Institute working paper provides guidance for Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on designing national mitigation commitments for the post-2020 period. The document focuses on maximizing the 'measurability' of emissions reductions to enhance transparency, accountability, and the tracking of global progress toward limiting warming to 2°C.

• To maximize the measurability of emissions reductions, countries are encouraged to adopt economy-wide goals. Specifically, countries that had economy-wide goals for the pre-2020 period—which include all Annex I Parties and major emitters such as Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea—should maintain this approach for the post-2020 period. If a country opts for a sectoral goal, it should target the sector with the highest emissions and aim for meaningful reductions.
• The paper recommends that goals be framed as reductions from a base year or to a fixed level. For major emerging economies that may experience short-term emissions increases, base year or fixed level goals are still recommended, even if framed as an increase. While intensity goals are preferred over baseline scenario goals due to measurability challenges, the paper suggests that Parties with relative goals should transition to absolute goals (base year or fixed level) from 2030 onward.
• Multi-year goals are preferred over single-year goals for both economy-wide and sectoral commitments. In cases where short-term emissions growth is necessary, peak-and-decline pathways are recommended over single-year goals to increase transparency regarding the emissions trajectory and cumulative emissions. To maintain a likely chance of limiting warming to 2°C, these pathways should ensure global emissions peak by 2020 and fall below 1990 levels by 2030.
• Because policies and projects present measurability challenges, the paper suggests that Parties adopt standardized methods for attributing and reporting emissions changes to specific projects and policies, assess and report leakage, and prioritize policies that drive long-term transformation in the most carbon-intensive sectors.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Designing National Commitments to Drive Measurable Emissions Reductions After 2020. https://www.wri.org/research/designing-national-commitments-drive-measurable-emissions-reductions-after-2020

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Designing National Commitments to Drive Measurable Emissions Reductions After 2020. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/designing-national-commitments-drive-measurable-emissions-reductions-after-2020.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Designing National Commitments to Drive Measurable Emissions Reductions After 2020 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/designing-national-commitments-drive-measurable-emissions-reductions-after-2020 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutenddesigning, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Designing National Commitments to Drive Measurable Emissions Reductions After 2020}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/designing-national-commitments-drive-measurable-emissions-reductions-after-2020}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }