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The Global NDC Conference 2017 brought together over 250 participants from 80 countries to exchange best practices on advancing low-carbon resilient development. The report identifies integrated governance, multi-dimensional financing strategies, and the Enhanced Transparency Framework as the three pillars necessary for the successful implementation of NDCs. Key recommendations include the need for high-level leadership to break down sectoral silos, the translation of NDCs into bankable project pipelines to attract private investment, and the institutionalization of data systems to build trust and accountability.

The document argues that climate action must be integrated into macroeconomic planning and sectoral policies to achieve 'triple wins' for mitigation, adaptation, and poverty eradication. It highlights the necessity of political leadership, cross-government coordination, and the use of 'knowledge brokers' to translate scientific data into actionable policy. The report emphasizes that while international finance is a catalyst, domestic resource mobilisation and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies are critical for long-term sustainability. Case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America illustrate the importance of gender-sensitive approaches, participatory planning, and the role of non-state actors in scaling up local innovations to national levels.

The document outlines five key strategies for building effective local climate partnerships: strategic partner selection, the inclusion of marginalised and opposing groups, leveraging local actors with clear spheres of influence, ensuring mutual benefit through co-design, and employing a trusted facilitator or knowledge broker.

The document outlines five primary strategies for integrating climate compatible development into local political agendas: establishing cross-party consensus, linking climate action to development goals, aligning climate measures with sectoral objectives, utilizing local and national 'champions', and designing initiatives to benefit marginalized groups. It emphasizes that finding innovative, non-climate-specific entry points—such as energy security or economic alternatives—can lead to more enduring policy success. Examples include Uruguay's cross-party agreement on renewable energy, the use of 'water walks' in Madurai, India, and the integration of low-emission strategies into Bogor's municipal development plan.

The document outlines five key strategies for local governments to build effective climate partnerships: choosing partners strategically beyond the environmental sector, involving marginalised and opposing groups, leveraging local actors while understanding their spheres of influence, ensuring mutual benefit through co-design, and employing a trusted facilitator or knowledge broker. It illustrates these points with examples such as solar energy initiatives in Pakistan and Indonesia, climate-smart agriculture in Nepal, and coastal management in Belize.

The project developed a 2012 base year emissions inventory and projections to 2030 for Pakistan, identifying that emissions are expected to grow significantly without additional intervention. It analyzed mitigation options across agriculture, forestry, energy, industry, transport, and waste, concluding that implementing these measures could reduce emissions by over 100 megatonnes. A sensitivity analysis highlighted that GDP growth is a primary driver of future emissions, with higher growth rates leading to substantially higher GHG levels.

The report examines Colombia's struggle to transition toward green growth while remaining heavily dependent on oil and coal exports. It highlights a fragmented state where ministries tied to extractive industries often oppose environmental regulations. While the country has a low-carbon electricity grid dominated by hydropower, it is vulnerable to climate-induced droughts, leading to a push for thermal power and fracking. The report suggests linking renewable energy incentives to post-conflict rural development and leveraging a vanguard of sustainable private sector companies to drive a national transition.

The document outlines Ethiopia's approach to establishing a climate-resilient green economy, emphasizing the role of political leadership, national ownership, and the integration of climate goals into development planning to attract international finance.

The document outlines a multi-level governance approach to urban climate action, emphasizing that while cities are primary sites of emissions and vulnerability, they require supportive national policy frameworks and international financing to achieve transformative change. It details local jurisdictional powers, national enabling environments, and specific access modalities for the Green Climate Fund.

The document establishes a business-as-usual (BAU) GHG emission reference case for Pakistan, projecting emissions from 2000 to 2030. It identifies agriculture as the largest emission source and analyzes how variations in GDP growth and autonomous energy efficiency improvements (AEEI) impact future emission levels. The reference case assumes an average annual GDP growth rate of 6% between 2015 and 2030.

The proposed programme aims to transition Rwanda's agriculture sector toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient model by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation into national policies and the Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture (PSTA-4). With a requested grant of 30 million USD, the initiative focuses on implementing climate-smart pilots, building institutional capacity, and creating an enabling environment to overcome economic and policy barriers. The programme targets the agriculture sector, which is responsible for 78% of Rwanda's total greenhouse gas emissions and is highly vulnerable to climate variability, including floods and droughts.

The briefing identifies six critical challenges to connecting climate action and sustainable development: creating a unified national narrative, developing integrated planning and policies, ensuring institutional coherence, adopting a whole-of-society approach, reforming finance, and aligning monitoring and reporting systems. It emphasizes that because climate change impacts development and the sectors driving development are the same as those critical for mitigation, treating these agendas as separate risks undermining both. The document highlights examples of integrated strategies in Ethiopia, Colombia, France, Gabon, and Bangladesh, while calling for a shift from fragmented bureaucratic silos toward systemic transformation and inclusive governance.

The report examines the Watershared model, which uses local negotiations and non-economic incentives to encourage upstream landowners to protect forests for the benefit of downstream water users. Unlike national PES schemes, Watershared relies on social norms and local consensus, allowing participation from those without formal land titles and reducing bureaucratic overhead. In Bolivia, the model expanded from six farmers in 2003 to 4,500 families conserving 210,000 hectares by 2016. The approach is presented as a tool for climate compatible development, integrating mitigation through forest protection and adaptation through secured water supplies.

The guide examines the politics of climate change in three Latin American mega-cities, finding that while political leadership and local framing drive policy adoption, implementation is often hindered by a lack of broad social coalitions and low electoral salience of climate issues.

The document outlines a project focused on integrating climate model rainfall projections into flood risk assessments for Jamaican communities. It emphasizes the necessity of flood hazard maps that account for future climate change to support disaster management and climate compatible development. Key recommendations include providing ongoing geospatial data training for local government and parish-level disaster coordinators, and improving cooperation between academia and government bodies to ensure high-quality data informs life-saving policies.

The document argues that private sector engagement is essential for scaling up climate compatible development in Bangladesh due to public budget constraints and the private sector's own exposure to climate risks. While the Green Climate Fund (GCF) provides financial opportunities, the private sector is hindered by information gaps, capacity constraints, and limited access to low-cost finance.

The document outlines the necessity of climate compatible development to align the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. It argues that while theoretical pathways to zero poverty and zero emissions exist, achieving them requires policy leadership, design, and implementation to overcome significant economic and social trade-offs.

The report investigates how gender relations influence vulnerability to climate risks and the ability to adapt in urban settings, specifically focusing on the People’s Plans into Practice (PPP) project in Kisumu, Kenya. It explores the meaning of gender-sensitive approaches in this context, their impact on empowerment, and the associated constraints and opportunities for achieving climate compatible development outcomes.

The document emphasizes that gender perspectives are often missing from climate change policies and that most existing research focuses on rural areas. It argues that urban settings in India require a distinct gender-sensitive approach due to complex social dimensions and specific vulnerabilities, such as weaker social cohesion and higher risks of flooding and food insecurity. To address this, the brief suggests adapting project activities and participatory methods, such as using Participatory Urban Appraisals, to better suit urban contexts and the availability of different genders.

The document argues that gender-sensitive approaches lead to more sustainable climate and development outcomes by recognizing different needs and addressing power imbalances. It notes that while international frameworks are improving, women's views and leadership are often excluded, and they are frequently viewed only as victims. Based on case studies from Peru, India, and Kenya, the guide emphasizes that gender inequalities exacerbate vulnerability to urban risks and that promoting gender equality must be an explicit goal from the start of any project.