How can we accelerate NDC implementation? Three takeaways from Berlin

The world is currently off-track in its efforts to limit global temperature rise to within 1.5°C. The Global NDC Conference 2023 was a crucial space to bring together hundreds of actors to reaffirm our commitments to global climate action and take stock of collective progress.

As national climate pledges, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the main frameworks guiding countries to make systems-level changes, across their economies to lower emissions and adapt to climate change.

Global forums like the NDC Conference provide a space for country coordination, exchanging innovation and building momentum among the climate community.

As Conference co-organizers, UNDP played an active role as we were joined by expert colleagues from the Climate Promise and the SCALA programme in designing and leading sessions across the three-day event. After departing from Berlin, here are three main takeaways.

1. We need all stakeholders at the table to overcome the climate emergency

The international climate community has come a long way over the past five years to bring more voices and diverse actors into climate talks. This year we saw over 40 countries at the conference and government officials from national and sub-national Ministries (Environment, Finance and Energy).

Participants noted that the Global NDC Conference stood out because it brought together more than just the standard set of climate actors. Joining countries in discussions were not only private sector and financial actors such as Multi Development Banks and institutional investors, but also civil society, research institutes, and representatives from youth, Indigenous groups and local communities, truly highlighting the power of multi-stakeholder collaboration.

The Conference featured examples of multi-stakeholder approaches that promote inclusive participation. We heard from youth from Bangladesh, Costa Rica and Uganda on how youth groups were involved in the drafting and validation of the NDCs and National Adaptation Plans and consulted on their countries’ priorities as part of the Climate Change and NDC committees. Their perspectives proved crucial both to strengthen the solutions to be adopted and to implement them.

Tackling the climate crisis will requires extending beyond regular coordination mechanisms and galvanizing whole-of-society efforts. One thing underscored was the need for collaborative leadership skills and frameworks necessary to convene different actors – often with opposing viewpoints – which can define a common agenda and co-create solutions. For example, Cool Up, an initiative which aims to create catalytic change in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, brings together government, industry and finance sector actors to deploy and upscale sustainable cooling technologies. For industries that, on the surface, may seem as odds with the climate agenda, collaborations such as these showcase opportunities for alignment with a clean energy future.

Over the course of the Conference, we found discussions echoed the needs and priorities of stakeholder groups who are often on the margins of decision-making processes. These groups need to be considered more carefully and brought earlier into the processes that shape NDC implementation, particularly in the projects that support countries to reach their emission targets and adaptation objectives. Not only will this harness national, business, and community ownership towards climate initiatives, but it will also lead to more sustainable climate solutions.