Climate policy: ambitious further development and implementation of NDCs and LTSs

Prioritised field of action in the IKI funding area mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (as of June 2025)

One focus of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) is on providing support for the policymaking frameworks in its partner countries to promote the socio-ecological transformation towards climate-neutral societies.

A central aspect of this is providing support for the partner countries in the ambitious further development and implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS).

In 2015, the signatory states to the Paris Agreement committed to submitting their nationally determined contributions every five years (Art. 4 of the Paris Agreement). By having countries take individual responsibility in this way, the NDCs aim to generate greater acceptance for climate change mitigation measures.

The nationally determined contributions should be compatible with the 1.5-degree target, transparent, economy-wide, cover all sectors and greenhouse gases, and be formulated with an absolute, quantifiable target value for greenhouse gas emissions. Current analyses, such as the 2024 NDC Synthesis Report of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UNEP Emission Gap Report 2024 for example, still send a clear message: taken together, the climate change mitigation measures and targets of the countries are not yet ambitious enough to limit global warming to significantly below 2 degrees Celsius, ideally 1.5 degrees Celsius. With the NDCs submitted by mid-2024, the world is heading for a warming figure of 2.6 to 3.1 degrees by the end of the century, according to UNEP.

UNEP Emission Gap Report 2024

2024 NDC Synthesis Report
To ensure that the global community further strengthens its climate change mitigation efforts in the years to come, the Paris Agreement envisages regular ambition-raising activities. The signatory states have committed to submitting more ambitious NDCs, every five years from 2020 onwards. The current status is available in the NDC Register of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC Secretariat).

Two years before each scheduled update, a comprehensive review (Global Stocktake, GST) of global progress is made towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. This GTS is intended to help the member states identify whether they are generally on the right path in regard to climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change and the financing of climate mitigation measures. In this way, the results of this stocktake provide orientation for updating the NDCs.

NDC Register
The Paris Climate Agreement also calls on signatory states to formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS or LTS). These strategies are intended to ensure that the long-term climate goals of the UNFCCC can be met and that present-day action is aligned with those long-term objectives. Every quantity of greenhouse gases emitted leads to a specific increase in temperature. According to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2024, if all submitted NDCs and LTS were fully implemented, limiting global warming to below 2°C by 2100 would still be feasible. To prevent the global average temperature from rising any further in the long term, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions must be achieved globally by around the middle of the century—depending on how the remaining emissions budget is distributed. This is essential, as the warming of the Earth's atmosphere will only stop once net-zero emissions are reached.

UNEP Emission Gap Report 2024
The countries report regularly and transparently on the implementation and achievement of their national targets. The reporting offers a snapshot of the global progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and helps to facilitate a global evaluation of national and international progress.

By no later than 2024, all countries who have ratified the Paris Agreement will be required to adopt a single and universal transparency process as set out by the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). The information collected in the context of the ETF will provide a clear understanding of the measures and support in relation to climate change while also contributing to the Global Stocktake. The ETF conforms to all of the Paris Agreement provisions, which include tracking progress made in the implementation of the NDCs and identifying the achievement of climate change mitigation targets.

The rules for the operationalisation of the ETF, which are referred to as modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs), were codified by the signatory states in a ‘Rule Book’ at COP24, which was held in Katowice in 2018. The remaining details, which aim to help the countries to implement the ETF in full (including the development of common reporting tables and formats for reporting, the report format and the training programme for contributing experts) were finalised at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.

IKI approaches to the implementation of NDCs and LTS

Advanced economies and multilateral institutions are helping developing and emerging countries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt better to the impacts of climate change, with the aim of achieving their respective NDCs. To this end, they are providing financial and technical support while sharing knowledge and insights.

Germany is taking a leading role here. Supporting ambitious NDCs is at the key focus of the IKI. With the IKI Strategy 2030, the IKI has set itself the target of contributing to more ambitious NDCs in at least 30 partner countries.

In 2024, the IKI supported 74 countries in their work on ambitious NDCs (petrol coloured coutries).

The IKI is currently funding 18 projects with their primary focus on NDCs (9 bilateral, 1 regional, 8 global). The approved funding volume amounts to more than EUR 274 million. The NDC portfolio is supplemented by 69 projects (45 bilateral, 9 regional, 15 global), which also contribute to NDCs due to their outputs or outcomes, but without this being their primary focus.

An analysis of the semi-annual updates of the IKI projects performed by the IKI project management agency Zukunft - Umwelt - Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH for 2024 also established that 25 projects made a direct contribution to ambition raising and 20 projects made a direct contribution to the implementation of NDCs. 20 projects cooperated with the NDC partnership. A total of 74 countries were supported.

Selected projects

International cooperation

Topic page NDC Partnership

UNDP Climate Promise

Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA)

Tools

NDC 3.0 Navigator

Funding area

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions

The IKI Strategy

The IKI wants to maximise its impact on climate action and biodiversity conservation. To this end, it concentrates its funding activities on prioritised fields of action within the four funding areas. Another key element is the close cooperation with selected partner countries, especially with the IKI’s priority countries.

Click here for the IKI Strategy

IKI projects

are currently working on the topic of NDCs.

countries

were supported by the IKI on the topic of NDCs.

How IKI projects provide specific support

The IKI’s projects respond to partner enquiries by providing policy advice, technical expertise for calculating emissions and support for the overall NDC process, from the creation and updating of the NDCs to their actual implementation. These activities may include the development of scenarios, country-specific requirements analyses, cost estimates, or the formulation of specific mitigation or reduction targets in various sectors. Projects from the IKI also work to develop guidelines on individual aspects of NDC implementation, organise seminars and workshops, and provide advice to interministerial working groups on the identification and involvement of key actors in climate change mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Furthermore, the IKI supports the (further) development and implementation of LTS and the harmonisation of NDCs with LTS.

The IKI also promotes international networking, dialogue and knowledge sharing within and between ministries and between governments. Although typically working at a bilateral level, the IKI often joins multi-state projects with a largely global or regional focus. In addition, the IKI interface projects in the IKI priority countries also support the development and implementation of NDCs, depending on the political country context.

To the IKI priority countries

The following projects are a central aspect of the IKI portfolio:

The global UNDP Climate Promise initiative is currently supporting 140 countries in the development and implementation of NDCs. In 2024, the IKI increased its support by another EUR 20 million to a total of EUR 40 million. The IKI focuses its support on the priority areas of the decarbonisation of industry and NDC implementation with a focus on financing. The funds are intended for enquiries from the NDC Partnership and the Global Matchmaking Platform (GMP) of the Climate Club for NDC ambition raising and NDC implementation.
- UNDP Climate Promise
The global alliance supports developing and emerging countries in the development and implementation of NDCs. In 2024, the IKI made a further contribution of EUR 10 million into the multi-donor fund for technical support for countries as part of the Partnership Action Fund (PAF). The IKI-funding amounts to a total of EUR 20 million.

Topic page on the NDC Partnership
As the successor of the IKI project “NDC Action”, the new “NDC Act & Invest” fund aims to support five to ten countries in increasing the investment capability of their NDCs. The IKI funding volume amounts to EUR five million, of which EUR 750,000 are intended for enquiries from the NDC partnership.
- NDC Act & Invest
This project will provide governments and national research institutes and other relevant stakeholders with tools and analyses to strengthen long-term strategies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a strong focus on energy and land use systems in line with national development goals. Of the IKI funding volume of EUR 19.2 million, EUR 2.44 million are reserved for country enquiries from the NDC partnership.
- 2050 is now: Aligning climate action with long-term climate and development goals
The project equips the partner countries with tools to develop LTS or the foundations for them and to link them better with the NDCs. The IKI funding volume amounts to EUR 1.45 million.
- Laying the foundations for long-term low-emission development strategies (LTS)
The project strengthens several initiatives that were (co-)founded within the IKI setting, including the cooperation of the NDC Partnership. It advises partner countries on the implementation and updating of NDCs, long-term strategies (LTSs) and ETF implementation. It also offers platforms for political dialogue and shared learning between the countries. Of the total funding volume of EUR 47.25 million, EUR 5 million are reserved for NDC Partnership country enquiries focussing on NDCs and LTSs. The project also supports the knowledge transfer and exchange of experience on NDCs in the entire IKI portfolio.
- Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA)
The Clean Energy Transitions Programme (CETP) is the flagship programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to initiate worldwide measures for energy transition. By helping countries all over the world, particularly in emerging and developing countries, to make the right decisions for their energy future, it aims to ensure a secure, sustainable energy future for all. One third of the IKI funding volume of EUR 12 million is intended to support the NDC updates, implementation and adaptation to the COP28 Global Stocktake Decision.
- Clean Energy Transitions Programme (CETP)
The project supports twelve partner countries in conveying knowledge and establishing resources for adapting to the impacts of climate change, while at the same time introducing low-emission methods of agriculture and land use. The aim here is that the countries implement the agricultural policy priorities determined in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and in the NDCs. The project also takes on numerous country enquiries from the NDC partnership. The partnership increased its funding in 2024 to a total of EUR 26 million.
- Support Programme on Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA)

Global NDC Conference

The Global NDC Conference is an international forum to discuss about Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), inspiring practitioners and policymakers around the world to share, lead and contribute to their country’s NDC process. The Global NDC Conference is a space for strengthening networks, showcasing innovative ideas, building momentum, reflecting, and clarifying the NDC formulation and implementation processes.

Financed by the IKI, supported by the German Federal Government, and co-organized since 2017 by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, NDC Partnership and United Nations Development Progreamme (UNDP).

Looking back at the Global NDC Conference 2025