SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS

The document outlines a framework for G20 nations to align their near-term climate pledges (NDCs) with mid-century visions (LTSs) to achieve Paris Agreement goals. It emphasizes that such alignment avoids carbon lock-in, supports just transitions, and unlocks economic benefits, including a potential US$26 trillion in global benefits by 2030. The paper provides guidance on NDC implementation, the process for updating pledges by 2020, and the necessity of G20 support for developing countries to overcome capacity and financing gaps.

• G20 countries are not currently on track to meet their 2030 NDCs; they must implement additional policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 2.5 to 3.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to meet unconditional and conditional targets, respectively.
• Accelerating climate action through clean energy, sustainable land use, and smarter urban development could provide US$26 trillion in economic benefits, 65 million new jobs, and avoid 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution by 2030.
• Long-term strategies (LTSs) are essential for avoiding the 'lock-in' of carbon-intensive infrastructure and land use, providing a roadmap that informs near-term decisions and attracts private investment.
• LTSs are critical for planning 'just transitions' for workers in high-emissions sectors by anticipating professional transitions and creating new employment opportunities.
• Effective NDC implementation requires a stable governance framework, including a national oversight body, independent regulators, and a system for transparent integrated data management (MRV).
• Developing countries face three primary barriers to advancing NDCs and LTSs: capacity and coordination gaps (especially cross-ministry coordination), a critical need to prioritize adaptation for vulnerable populations, and significant difficulties in accessing climate finance.
• International public climate finance is often inaccessible to developing countries due to complex application processes, long review times, and high levels of scrutiny.

APA

VENER, J., FRANSEN, T., LEVIN, K., BAUMWOLL, J., ELLIOTT, C., & ROSS, K. (2019). SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/scaling-up-ambition.pdf

Chicago

VENER, JAMES, TARYN FRANSEN, KELLY LEVIN, JENNIFER BAUMWOLL, CYNTHIA ELLIOTT, and KATHERINE ROSS. SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS. World Resources Institute, 2019. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/scaling-up-ambition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=VENER |first1=JAMES |last2=FRANSEN |first2=TARYN |last3=LEVIN |first3=KELLY |last4=BAUMWOLL |first4=JENNIFER |last5=ELLIOTT |first5=CYNTHIA |last6=ROSS |first6=KATHERINE |title=SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=June 2019 |url=https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/scaling-up-ambition.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vener2019scaling, author = {VENER, JAMES and FRANSEN, TARYN and LEVIN, KELLY and BAUMWOLL, JENNIFER and ELLIOTT, CYNTHIA and ROSS, KATHERINE}, title = {{SCALING UP AMBITION: LEVERAGING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS AND LONG-TERM STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE PARIS AGREEMENT GOALS}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/scaling-up-ambition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }