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This special edition of the NDC Update Report examines the integration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing the need for coherent design to maximize synergies between climate and development actions.

This policy brief argues for the integration of marine and coastal Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into national climate strategies, particularly for vulnerable island and coastal states. It highlights the protective value of ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs, the current gap in their inclusion in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the need for innovative financing models to scale up these nature-based solutions.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law describes the 2018 Talanoa Dialogue, a facilitative process designed to raise climate ambition and inform future Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The document provides a roadmap for civil society and indigenous peoples to integrate human rights, gender equality, and just transition principles into the dialogue's narrative through a specific, story-based methodology.

This report assesses progress toward Goal 5 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which aims to restore 150 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2020 and an additional 200 million hectares by 2030. The assessment focuses on pledges made under the Bonn Challenge and commitments within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC.

The 2018 Progress Assessment Goal 5 Update evaluates global efforts to restore degraded landscapes and forestlands under the Bonn Challenge and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement. It reports that Bonn Challenge pledges have reached 168.9 million hectares, surpassing the initial 2020 milestone of 150 million hectares, although measuring actual implementation remains a significant challenge.

This report by the NewClimate Institute analyzes the progress of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) implementation in emerging and developing countries. Based on expert surveys, it highlights a discrepancy between the optimism of national-level negotiators and the reservations of sector-level experts regarding policy alignment, funding, and technical capabilities. The report advocates for a new diagnostic tool to assess a sector's 'fitness' for decarbonization and suggests an 'enhanced benefits approach' to build political will by linking climate mitigation to broader development goals.

This working paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines how emerging and exponential technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) can accelerate the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement in developing countries.

This working paper by the World Resources Institute outlines a menu of options for countries to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020 to better align with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This World Resources Institute working paper outlines a 'menu of options' for countries to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020. It argues that current NDCs are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C and provides practical pathways to increase mitigation ambition, strengthen adaptation plans, improve implementation measures, and enhance transparency and communication.

This briefing paper introduces the Technology Needs Database (TND, Version 1.1, June 2017), which categorizes technology needs identified by developing countries in Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) and (intended) Nationally Determined Contributions ((i)NDCs) to support the National Designated Entity (NDE) of Germany.

This research paper examines whether climate change-related expenditures are appearing in the national budgets of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda to support the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The author finds that while some budget projections show increasing resources for key ministries, there is a significant discrepancy between these estimates and actual spending, and many NDC-related projects remain heavily dependent on international donor support.

This briefing from the World Resources Institute discusses the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue (FD 2018), a process designed to assess collective efforts toward the Paris Agreement's goals and inform the creation of more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020.

This research paper by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) explores the concept of 'bankability' in the context of climate finance to help developing countries create project proposals that can successfully attract international funding. It argues that climate bankability extends beyond traditional financial returns to include socioeconomic and environmental impacts, and provides a checklist of determinants to guide project developers in aligning proposals with the requirements of multilateral funds like the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The NDC Update Report: Ambition to Action serves as a prologue to a series of reports analyzing the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, focusing on the roles of governments, international donors, and non-state actors.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, submitted comments to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) regarding the Final Scope of Work Report (FSR) for the Thabametsi coal-fired power station. The CER argues that the FSR is inadequate, particularly concerning the Climate Change Impact Assessment (CCIA), and requests that the DEA either reject the report or require significant amendments to align it with the South African Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).

This briefing by the World Resources Institute argues that the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement represent a single project of systemic societal change. It contends that while climate and development agendas are conceptually fusing, national implementation remains fragmented by bureaucratic silos. The document outlines six key challenges—vision, integrated planning, institutional coherence, inclusive governance, finance, and monitoring—that countries must address to translate international commitments into integrated national action.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of several environmental justice organisations, submitted preliminary comments on South Africa's Draft National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reporting Regulations. The submission argues that the draft regulations place an inappropriate burden on data providers to calculate their own emissions and lacks sufficient transparency and public disclosure mechanisms, which are necessary to meet South Africa's commitments under the Paris Agreement and its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

The Stockholm Environment Institute argues that the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement should encourage countries to set separate emission reduction targets for different substances in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) rather than using a single CO2 equivalent (CO2e) pledge.

This report by the NewClimate Institute synthesizes the challenges and lessons learned by UNFCCC Parties during the preparation of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) leading up to the Paris Agreement. It aims to inform the implementation and ambition of subsequent nationally determined contributions (NDCs), drawing on NewClimate Institute research, surveys with developing country representatives, and GIZ's experience working with over 30 partner countries.

This briefing paper by the NewClimate Institute analyzes the conditionality of the 156 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC by the end of COP 21 in December 2015.