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The ACT 2015 Consortium proposes a legal framework for the 2015 Paris Agreement that integrates mitigation, adaptation, and support through five-year cycles of continuous improvement. Key recommendations include phasing out greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in the second half of the century, establishing a long-term adaptation goal, and ensuring equity for least developed countries and small island developing States through flexible commitments and targeted financial support.

The document argues that current NDCs insufficiently address transport emissions, with only 29 countries specifying quantitative targets. It proposes three primary areas for enhancement: accelerating electrification and fuel economy, amplifying 'avoid and shift' measures like public transport and urban planning, and addressing freight emissions through clean fuels and information technology.

The paper evaluates two policy packages for India: the NDC-SDG scenario, aligning with 2030 goals, and the LTD scenario, targeting 2050. The LTD scenario offers higher emission reductions and health co-benefits but relies more on nascent technologies. Both scenarios demonstrate that deep decarbonization can coexist with GDP growth and employment increases, with a carbon tax identified as a critical policy lever.

The document addresses the complexity of aligning NDCs with long-term mitigation objectives, noting that countries have not yet committed to the emissions reductions required to limit warming to 1.5°C. It aims to provide guidance for the 2025 next-generation NDCs to ensure they reflect the highest possible ambition and align with net-zero targets and LT-LEDS.

The paper examines the operationalization of the Paris Agreement by exploring options for aligning the duration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into a common time frame. It argues that a five-year time frame, with the option to indicate a ten-year time frame, would best enhance climate ambition and predictability.

The document details mechanisms for raising public finance for climate action, focusing on the roles of international funding, debt instruments, and national vehicles. It examines the benefits and challenges of international public finance, the growth of the climate bond market, the utility of debt-for-climate swaps in reducing debt burdens, and the operational structure of national climate funds. The guide provides specific examples of these instruments in practice across various developing and middle-income countries.

The paper examines how multilateral development banks (MDBs) can align their policy-based operations (PBOs)—which provide unearmarked budget support in exchange for policy reforms—with the Paris Agreement. It finds that current risk screening and diagnostics are insufficient to prevent policy actions from creating path dependence in climate-vulnerable sectors or undermining long-term climate neutrality. While PBOs offer opportunities for domestic policy coordination and ambitious climate action, MDBs currently neglect to mainstream Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into the development plans that inform their activities.

The document examines the critical issues surrounding the finalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which governs international cooperation through carbon markets. It argues that strong rules are essential to prevent double counting and ensure additionality, as failures in these areas could increase global emissions and weaken Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Furthermore, the paper highlights that the design of Article 6 will influence the cost-effectiveness of emissions reductions, the flow of finance for climate activities, and the funding available for the adaptation fund through a share of proceeds.

The document argues that green economic recovery packages can simultaneously address the climate crisis and food insecurity by investing in nature-based solutions and sustainable agriculture. It highlights the role of natural capital spending, payment for ecosystem services, and remote monitoring technology in protecting forests. Furthermore, it emphasizes that securing indigenous land rights is a critical strategy for supporting vulnerable populations and slowing forest loss.

The document argues that national governments can increase the ambition and credibility of their NDCs by integrating subnational data, targets, and policies. It emphasizes that since cities are responsible for over 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, multilevel partnerships are essential for achieving net zero emissions and climate resilience. The guide offers eight recommendations across three stages to facilitate subnational participation in the NDC development process, specifically targeting the 2025 deadline set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The document outlines the urgent need for increased financial flows to meet Paris Agreement goals, noting that global mitigation investments must increase by a factor of 36 by 2030 to limit warming to 2°C. It identifies a three-stage process for financing NDCs—planning, implementation, and monitoring—and suggests that governments utilize a mix of financial, fiscal, and policy instruments to mobilize both public and private finance. The report highlights that developing countries face significant gaps, with reported financial needs reaching $4.3 trillion, far exceeding existing pledges.

The document advocates for a shift in how Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) approach climate action, moving beyond simply maximizing climate finance volumes to ensuring their entire investment portfolios align with the Paris Agreement. It emphasizes the need for MDBs to stop supporting CO2-emitting energy sources, mainstream climate risks for a world 3-4°C warmer, and support the strengthening of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The document details the 'who, what, when, and where' of the Paris Agreement's enhanced transparency framework, focusing on Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), technical expert reviews, and the facilitative, multilateral consideration of progress. It outlines specific reporting obligations for different Party types, the timeline for BTR submissions starting December 31, 2024, and the self-determined flexibility available to developing countries regarding GHG inventory data and review formats. Additionally, it maps the framework's linkages to NDCs, the Global Stocktake, and compliance mechanisms.

The research identifies a systemic 'siloed approach' where Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are managed by separate institutions, typically environment ministries for NDCs and central cabinet-level offices for SDGs. To overcome this, the paper proposes five core elements for joined-up implementation: coordinating institutions, aligning targets, joint mainstreaming into policy planning, optimizing financial resources, and creating mutually reinforcing monitoring frameworks. The study argues that integrating these agendas reduces transaction costs, fosters 'win-win solutions', and helps ensure a just transition by applying the 'leaving no one behind' principle to climate action. It highlights that while some countries have begun linking these frameworks, a fully integrated approach requires significant shifts in institutional and financial structures to avoid the 'cherry-picking' of targets by line ministries.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) has developed the Climate Finance Calculator to help users determine indicative minimum climate finance contributions for countries based on their historical emissions and economic status. The tool is intended to inform UNFCCC negotiations, including the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the loss and damage fund. This comes amid a widening global finance gap; Climate Policy Initiative data indicates annual climate finance needs will rise from $8.1 trillion to $9 trillion by 2030, and exceed $10 trillion annually between 2031 and 2050, significantly surpassing the $1.3 trillion annual flows recorded between 2021 and 2022.

The document argues that COVID-19 recovery plans provide a unique opportunity to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure and low-carbon power sector transitions to prevent an emissions rebound and meet 2030 targets.

The analysis finds that pursuing a net zero emissions pathway by 2050 in Ethiopia would increase the average real annual GDP growth rate by 1.4 percent relative to a business-as-usual scenario. While the NZE pathway requires an additional US$66.98 billion in cumulative investment costs by 2050, it is projected to generate $111 billion in cumulative co-benefits through increased real GDP and avoid $89 billion in costs, primarily in energy. Social co-benefits include an average of 672,000 additional green jobs and significant increases in disposable incomes (10.5 percent by 2030 and 53.1 percent by 2050). The benefit-cost ratio for investments in mitigation and adaptation is estimated to rise from 1.04 in 2030 to 2.99 by 2050.

The document examines the development processes of adaptation components within the updated NDCs of Cambodia, Rwanda, Colombia, and Fiji. Using a framework of seven qualitative factors, stakeholder interviews, and document reviews, the research aims to identify good practices to help countries strengthen their adaptation commitments in subsequent update cycles, noting that the lack of standard templates and indicators currently makes assessing the quality and ambition of these voluntary components challenging.

The document details the operational framework of the global stocktake, including the roles of the UNFCCC Secretariat and subsidiary bodies, the three-phase process, and how the stocktake integrates data from NDCs, adaptation communications, and the enhanced transparency framework to assess collective progress.

The document argues that ocean-based climate actions are high-impact, underutilized solutions essential for meeting the 1.5C warming limit. It positions the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue, established at COP25, as a critical venue for integrating ocean priorities into the international climate regime and UNFCCC workstreams to inform the development of new and updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for 2025 and COP30.