The adoption of the Paris Agreement2 at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was an historic moment, providing a universal platform for all countries to take action towards a commonly agreed goal.
Central to the success of COP 21 were the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), 3 which were submitted by more than 190 countries during 2015.
16 LDCs have presented plans to increase the ambition of their NDCs & advance implementation. #ClimateActionSummit #Benin #BurkinaFaso #Ethiopia #LaoPDR #Liberia #Mali #Mozambique #Nepal #Niger #Rwanda #Somalia #SãoToméandPríncipe #Sudan #Uganda #Vanuatu #Zambia pic.twitter.com/8IIPrzpCIT
— Manjeet Dhakal (@manjeetdhakal) September 23, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: In the face of worsening climate crisis, UN #ClimateAction Summit delivers new pathways and practical actions to shift global response into higher gear. Read @UN press release > https://t.co/eorrL4pyEd #ParisAgreement #ClimateActionSummit pic.twitter.com/ip8QkWKfpn
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) September 23, 2019
At the 2019 United Nation Climate Action Summit in New York this week, 16 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Vanuatu have presented plans to increase the ambition of their NDCs & advance implementation.
The NDC sets out each country’s approach to reducing emissions and adapting to a changing climate.
What's an #NDC? #Learn more about the national #climate targets agreed at #COP21 with a new online tool⟶https://t.co/G98TsyWyp9 pic.twitter.com/D0VUcl6Jkh
— World Bank (@WorldBank) October 22, 2016
Since COP 21, countries have been invited to confirm these intentions by ratifying the Paris Agreement and submitting Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the UNFCCC.
In the future, countries will be required to submit updated and more ambitious NDCs every five years.
Beyond loss and damage as litigation strategies emerge we are going to see the carbon equivalent of “what did you know and when do you know it”. Vanuatu says it may sue fossil fuel companies + other countries over climate change | World news | The Guardian https://t.co/LpzOao6Azo
— Rachel Kyte (@rkyte365) November 23, 2018
The UN estimates that the world would need to increase its efforts between three- and five-fold to contain climate change to the levels dictated by science – a 1.5°C rise at most – and avoid escalating climate damage already taking place around the world.
