This week, representatives from around the world are meeting in Ghana for Africa Climate Week 2019, where they are demonstrating that the international community is serious about meeting the climate action challenges before us. Although African countries have defined national climate goals, a lack of financing remains a major obstacle for their achievement, particularly for climate adaptation.

In terms of both gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon emissions, the city of Tokyo ranks alongside entire nations. The mass of carbon it releases every year falls somewhere between the mass emitted by all of Denmark and Sweden, and it has a GDP larger than that of Canada or Spain. Because of this global scale, Tokyo has the unique opportunity to highlight the role urban initiatives can play in supporting nationally determined contributions (NDCs) worldwide.

The worldwide increase in number and severity of disasters was one of the catalysts that led 175 Parties to sign the Paris Agreement in which Parties agreed to create Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), documenting pledged efforts by each Party to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to adapt to the effects of a changing climate. As frequency and severity of natural disasters continues to rise, countries are using their NDCs as an opportunity to work towards reducing the risk and impact of these disasters - 83 countries discuss disaster risks in their NDCs.

A 15 de Novembro de 2018, o Governo de Moçambique validou e lançou um Plano de Parceria abrangente para açcão climática que inclui 11 sectores. O Plano é um catalisador para apoiar a implementação do NDC 2020-2025 do país, actualmente apoiado por 18 parceiros de desenvolvimento.

Two years ago, over 40 countries and international institutions dedicated to tackling climate change came together to form the NDC Partnership. They hoped that by working together, the world could achieve the ambitious mitigation and adaptation goals in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. They committed to respond quickly to countries’ urgent needs for technical assistance, capacity-building, and financial support to empower countries to jointly meet their climate and sustainable development targets. 

On 15 November, the Government of Mozambique validated and launched a comprehensive Partnership Plan for climate action that includes 11 sectors. The Plan is a catalyzer for the country’s 2020-2025 NDC Road Map currently supported by 18 Development Partners.

As countries move from planning to implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) a common refrain heard is “Is there an example to use? Have others done this before? What are the lessons learned?”  

Quel est le rôle les régions et les municipalités dans le respect des engagements climatiques d'un pays ? Cette question a été posée lors d'une récente réunion sur l'action infranationale pour le climat en Côte d'Ivoire, organisée conjointement par le NDC Support Programme du Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD), le NDC Partnership et l'Assemblée des régions et districts de Côte d'Ivoire (ARDCI).

What role can regions and municipalities play in meeting a country’s climate commitments? This question was put on the table in a recent meeting on subnational climate action in Côte d’Ivoire, which was co-organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) NDC Support Programme, the NDC Partnership, and the Assembly of Regions and District of Cote d’Ivoire (ARDCI).