146 Countries Covering Almost 87% of Global Emissions Submit Plans to UN
Bonn (2 October, 2015) – A total of 146 countries, representing almost 87
percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, have submitted their intended
national climate action plans to the United Nations.
This means that so far over 75 percent of all member countries to the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have responded. This
includes all developed countries under the Convention and 104 developing
countries, or almost 70 percent of UNFCCC developing member states.
Over 80 percent of the plans include quantifiable objectives and also over
80 percent include intended actions to adapt to climate change.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said: “Over the past
few months, the number of countries submitting their climate action plans
to the Paris agreement has grown from a steady stream into a sweeping
flood. This unprecedented breadth and depth of response reflects the
increasing recognition that there is an unparalleled opportunity to achieve
resilient, low-emission, sustainable development at national level. ”
“The INDCs can be seen as an impressive portfolio of potential investment
opportunities that are good for each individual country and good for the
planet,” she said.
The UNFCCC secretariat, as requested by Parties to the Convention, will
provide a synthesis report of all these plans, known as Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions (INDCs), on November 1.
More countries will continue to submit their plans ahead of the Paris UN
climate change conference from 30 November to 11 December, 2015.
The European Union is also counted as a separate “Party” to the UNFCCC in
addition to all its members, which means that a total of 147 Parties to the
Convention have submitted plans.
National Level Planning Across Diverse National Circumstances
The Paris agreement is to be a turning point that puts the world on track
to the low-emission, climate resilient and sustainable future that is the
only way to keep global average temperatures from rising beyond 2 degrees
Celsius, the internationally-agreed defense line against the worst impacts
of climate change.
In a paradigm shift towards a truly national response to climate change,
countries facing many diverse circumstances, from poorest to richest, from
largest to smallest, have presented INDCs which are national in scope and
with the increased focus on quantifiable objectives.
Many INDCs also take a long term vision of climate action, underlining a
growing understanding that unlocking the opportunities from ambitious
climate action will require a transformation of how power is produced and
consumed and how environments are managed now and over decades to come.
In addition, many countries from all continents, including some of the
poorest and most vulnerable to climate change, have presented INDCs that
include necessary action to adapt to climate impacts to protect continued
sustainable development.
Cooperative Effort to Complete Climate Action Plans
Developed world governments, UN agencies and intergovernmental
organizations, have been providing assistance to developing countries to
prepare their plans.
“The impressive number of INDCs is only matched by the unique process that
has underpinned their submission, with many developing countries having
been assisted by developed country governments, the United Nations system
and others to prepare them in detail and on time,” said Ms Figueres.
“In addition, many countries have engaged in an unprecedented dialogue
across government ministries, sectors of their economy and often involving
other stakeholders in order to finalize their contributions. This intense
engagement and reflection within nations provides a good foundation for
current and future ambition,” she said.