What Are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Why Do They Matter?

From soaring temperatures to raging wildfires and catastrophic floods, the impacts of climate change have been impossible to ignore. The mounting toll of these disasters on communities, ecosystems and economies is evidence that the world has not yet done nearly enough to halt the climate crisis.

It's not that progress isn't happening. Electric vehicle sales continue to climb; renewables made up more than 90% of new energy additions in 2024; and innovative climate solutions are cropping up in communities around the globe. But keeping temperature rise below 1.5-2 degrees C (2.7-3.6 degrees F) — the thresholds set by the Paris Agreement — will require more and faster action on every front.

2025 offers a pivotal opportunity to achieve this goal. New national climate commitments, known as "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs), are due this year for the first time since 2020. The NDCs will detail countries' plans to slash emissions and build resilience to climate impacts over the next decade. If they are ambitious enough, they could chart a path toward a safer and more livable future for everyone.

But what exactly are NDCs? And why are they so critical to halting climate change?

1) What Are Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?

NDCs lay out how each country will contribute to the global temperature goals outlined under the Paris Agreement. They detail countries' plans to slash GHG emissions and help limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F). Many NDCs also include measures to build resilience to climate impacts, such as drought and sea-level rise, and provide information on the support needed to achieve their commitments.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to submit new NDCs every five years reflecting their "highest possible ambition." Each round of commitments should be strengthened based on the latest climate science and countries' own capabilities and resources.

Most countries submitted initial emissions targets prior to adopting the Paris Agreement in 2015. The second round of NDCs, which set targets through 2030, happened in 2020-2021. Now, countries are in the process of submitting new NDCs with targets that will extend through 2035.

2) Why Are NDCs Important for Fighting Climate Change?

Combating the climate crisis will require fundamental changes throughout society, from how we power homes and vehicles to how we produce food or design cities. At the same time, the world must scale up efforts to help communities — especially the most vulnerable — adapt to worsening storms, fires, floods and heat. While these actions may be driven by global goals like the Paris Agreement, they are usually planned and carried out at the local or national level.

That's where NDCs come in.

NDCs are the main vehicle for countries to collectively address climate change. They translate international climate agreements into concrete targets and measures that countries will work toward over the next 10 years. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to pursue domestic emissions reductions with the aim of meeting their NDC targets, and to report on their progress.

NDCs establish political support for specific climate actions, sending an important signal about the country's commitment to a zero-carbon future. This can help drive the social and economic changes needed to meet national climate goals, including spurring investment from a wide variety of sources (public, private, national and international).

In addition, NDCs can contribute to achieving countries' broader climate and development priorities. For example, near-term actions to reduce emissions laid out in a country's NDC should align with any mid-century net-zero targets in its long-term low-emissions development strategy. NDCs can also support the implementation of countries' National Adaptation Plans; for example, by outlining actions to make key areas, like infrastructure and agriculture, more resilient to climate shocks.

3) Are Current NDCs Enough to Tackle Climate Change?

Countries have made meaningful strides on climate action since 2015. But their current commitments still aren't nearly ambitious enough to match the scale of the climate crisis. Far from limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), actions outlined in the last round of NDCs, from 2020-2021, would put the world on track for a catastrophic 2.6-2.8 degrees C (4.7-5 degrees F) of warming by 2100.

Moreover, countries are not doing enough to meet even these commitments. Current policies could result in temperature rise as high as 3.1 degrees C (5.6 degrees F) by the end of the century, revealing a significant implementation gap that countries must work to close.

4) What Should Countries Include in Their 2025 NDCs?

The 2025 NDCs offer an important opportunity to level up both ambition and action on tackling climate change. Most countries are expected to submit their new NDCs by the UN General Assembly in September. (You can track these as they come in on WRI's Climate Watch.)

We broke down what truly ambitious climate commitments would look like from the world's biggest emitters. In general, all countries are encouraged to include five essential components in their NDCs:

1. Ambitious 2030 and 2035 emissions-reduction targets in line with net-zero goals and 1.5 C. All countries should do more on this front, but high-emitting nations in particular need to demonstrate much stronger leadership on rapidly reducing emissions by 2035. This marks the halfway point between when countries submitted their first NDCs in 2020 and when many have committed to reach net-zero emissions, around 2050. That means it's a key time to align near- and mid-term actions with long-term objectives. NDCs should also include specific targets for short-lived but highly potent greenhouse gases, such as methane.
2. Stronger targets and measures in key sectors, like energy and food systems. All countries should set ambitious, detailed and time-bound targets for carbon-intensive sectors. This includes commitments to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels, scale up renewable energy, adopt zero-emissions transport, reduce food waste, and invest in low-carbon, climate-resilient farming practices, among other measures. Sector-specific targets send a clearer signal to governments, companies and investors than economy-wide targets alone.
3. More robust measures to adapt to escalating climate impacts. Climate risks like storms, wildfires and extreme heat are escalating faster than expected. Forthcoming NDCs should enhance actions to make communities, economies and ecosystems more resilient to these impacts. They should also do more to address loss and damage from climate change that goes beyond what communities can realistically adapt to.
4. Policies to catalyze investment and spur implementation. Setting goals is just the first step; NDCs must also spell out how countries will implement their climate plans. This will take a whole-of-government approach involving a range of ministries and subnational governments. It will also require policies to stimulate investment in climate action and align finance from various sources and actors, including the private sector.
5. A stronger focus on people and communities. The shift to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient economy can create millions of jobs, reduce pollution, improve human health and generate myriad other benefits for people everywhere. But countries must carefully design their transition plans to fairly distribute benefits and avoid negative outcomes, like job losses or displacement. The next round of NDCs needs to see all countries embrace these "just transition" principles in all climate commitments.

5) What Support Do Developing Countries Need to Implement Their NDCs?

It's well established that developing countries require far more funding than current levels to meet their emissions-reduction targets and build resilience to the worsening climate crisis. Indeed, many developing nations' NDCs include "conditional" climate pledges, which can only be achieved with financial support from other countries.

Of the $4.5 trillion developing countries estimate they'll need, cumulatively, to achieve their current NDCs, $1.5 trillion represents conditional pledges.¹ And this is only a partial estimate; not all developing countries include finance requirements in their NDCs, nor a breakdown of which targets require international public climate finance.

At the 2024 UN climate summit (COP29), world leaders agreed to mobilize $300 billion per year for developing countries' climate action by 2035, with developed countries taking the lead and other developing countries encouraged to contribute. The NCQG, as the new goal is known, also set a higher target of delivering $1.3 trillion from all sources — both public and private — the same year.

In addition to more finance, developed countries have been providing technical assistance and technology transfer to support developing countries' climate action.

Technical assistance involves connecting developing countries with experts and resources to help them develop and implement their NDCs. Training programs can share knowledge and build capacity to help developing countries effectively advance climate solutions.

Technology transfer involves developed countries sharing clean technologies and relevant know-how with developing nations to support their low-carbon transitions; for example, by helping them obtain licenses to use patented technologies.

6) How Do NDCs Relate to the Broader UN Climate Negotiations?

Although NDCs are developed at the country level, they are closely linked to international climate talks. There are mechanisms within the UN climate negotiations that are meant to both inform countries' NDC development and transparently to track progress toward meeting the Paris Agreement's goals.

The Global Stocktake, for example, assesses the world's collective progress on climate change every five years and is specifically intended to inform countries' NDCs. The first Global Stocktake in 2023 called on countries to transition away from fossil fuels and scale up renewable energy, among other things. These goals are meant to inform the NDCs that countries submit in 2025.

Countries also submit biennial transparency reports that analyze how they are progressing on implementing their NDCs, including efforts to reduce emissions and ramp up adaptation action. These can communicate the level of financial, technical or technological support countries need or are providing.

In addition, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) routinely publishes NDC Synthesis Reports that combine information from all NDCs to assess progress and identify gaps in achieving the Paris Agreement's goals. The next installment is expected ahead of the UN climate summit in November 2025.

7) Are NDCs Mandatory and Legally Binding?

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are obligated to have an NDC and to pursue domestic mitigation measures with the aim of fulfilling their commitments. While they are not legally bound to achieve their NDCs, countries have various responsibilities under the Agreement that are meant to lay the groundwork for meeting their targets.

For example, each country must submit a new or updated NDC every five years that is more ambitious than its last. The agreement clearly states that developed countries should take the lead by pursuing economy-wide emissions reductions, while developing countries should "continue enhancing" their mitigation efforts to the extent that they are able. Countries are also asked to promote transparency around implementation efforts, with developed countries required to track and report on emissions reductions.

In addition, many countries — such as the United Kingdom and Chile — have enshrined their climate commitments in nationally binding laws and regulations.

Learn more about the Paris Agreement's legal structure here.

What's Next for NDCs?

The UNFCCC will release an NDC synthesis report ahead of this year's COP30 climate summit, assessing new pledges submitted to that point. All eyes will be on the countries that have yet to submit new NDCs — particularly the highest emitters — to see how their forthcoming commitments stack up against what the climate crisis demands. With the window to achieve the Paris Agreement's targets and secure a safer future rapidly closing, this is an opportunity the world can't afford to pass up.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in August 2024. It was updated in August 2025.

^{1 Numbers current as of July 11, 2025. Finance estimates subject to change as additional countries submit new NDCs in 2025.}