2050 is Now

Our decisions and actions today define where we end up tomorrow. In a rapidly changing world, countries are safeguarding their long-term security and resilience. But without long-term climate planning and coordinated policy and investment, people, livelihoods and communities will be left vulnerable.

Business-as-usual will lead to a world that is resource-depleted, more unforgiving and more unequal. Short-sighted investments and policies that don’t keep long-term goals and needs in mind — including escalating climate impacts — will lock in outdated strategies for everything from doing business to planning cities and make achieving sustainable and equitable low-carbon development more expensive, riskier and technologically challenging.

With the latest round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submissions coming to a close with a gap of 17 gigatonnes (Gt) to stay within 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) of warming (28 Gt for 1.5 degrees C, or 2.7 degrees F), the world is at a critical point to accelerate implementation and curb warming to benefit people and the planet.

Although voluntary, long-term low-GHG emission development strategies (also known as LT-LEDS or LTS) are central to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C and ensuring a safer future for people and the planet. A well-designed LTS — one that involves stakeholders across society, informs coherent and coordinated policymaking and aligns investment flows — is a powerful planning tool that can create jobs, improve human health, reduce hunger and uplift people in myriad other ways. In this way, far from being just a reporting requirement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), long-term strategies present countries with an opportunity to adapt to evolving circumstances (including escalating climate impacts) and safeguard future prosperity.

Established in 2019 with the support of Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), 2050 is Now is a global consortium promoting decision-making, policymaking and planning that safeguards the planet’s resources while enabling the people and communities of tomorrow to live better, more dignified lives. 

International partners bring local expertise and global reach, providing innovative research and capacity-building to help countries develop and update LTS, as well as to align short- and medium-term development plans with their long-term goals.

For more information on long-term climate strategies, visit WRI’s Long-Term Strategies hub.

Goals

Under the Paris Agreement, LT-LEDS lay out countries’ visions for achieving a low-carbon economy by 2050 while also pursuing sustainable and equitable development. Crucially, they set long-term benchmarks to guide countries’ short-term national climate plans, or NDCs.

Considering the long-term consequences of the current emissions trajectory is crucial: Shifting our energy, transport, agriculture and consumption systems to more sustainable pathways is the only way to ensure that our world is better for people, nature and the climate. And the work must start today. Pursuing investments, policies and actions that center LT-LEDS improves implementation by mapping out the steps needed to achieve the transition; building coalitions and uniting stakeholders around a common vision; engaging groups across society; and identifying needs and bottlenecks.

To this end, 2050 is Now works to catalyze effective policymaking to align short- and medium-term development plans with long-term climate strategies. Active at the sectoral, subnational and national levels, it aims to strengthen countries’ NDCs, support a just transition to net-zero and incorporate climate goals into planning processes.

A major aim of the project is to support countries in adopting or updating stronger LT-LEDS in line with national development goals, with an enhanced focus on energy, land use and food systems. 2050 is Now aims to improve governments’ readiness to implement actions aligned with the long-term transitions necessary to limit warming and achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Specifically, the project provides governments, national research institutes and other relevant stakeholders with tools to design or strengthen long-term strategies in line with national development objectives.

Working in four focus countries — Argentina, Brazil, India and Indonesia — the consortium helps build capacity for long-term planning through trainings, workshops, publications, engagement with government and the development of decision-making tools and models. In addition to this work, 2050 is Now also supports seven additional countries — Argentina (on NDC development), Benin, Colombia, Ethiopia, Mexico, São Tomé and Príncipe and South Africa — through the NDC Partnership.

Drawing on the research capabilities of its consortium, the project cultivates thought leadership on LT-LEDS by convening global knowledge-sharing opportunities, publishing a strong evidence base and hosting a platform to support enhanced climate-change action.

Partners

Led by World Resources Institute, 2050 is Now is a consortium that brings together core partners working globally and in-country to align development planning and decision-making with long-term goals: 

• 2050 Pathways Platform (2050PP)
• Fundación Bariloche (Argentina)
• Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)
• UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
• World Resources Institute (Brasil, India, Indonesia and Global)

_{Cover image by Katica Mustapić/World Meteorological Organization via Flickr}