A regional dialogue hosted by the Government of Costa Rica address the needs and opportunities in turning self-declared climate targets, the so-called ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs) into tangible results that lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate resilience both in the context of national development priorities and efforts to keep global warming below the 2 degree threshold established in Paris at the COP21 climate summit.
Supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Partnership for Mitigation & MRV, the Partnership for Market Readiness of the World Bank, and GIZ, the dialogue will help discuss country needs ahead of the next climate conference – COP22 – to be held in Marrakesh in November.
“Over the last year UNDP and partners have worked with governments to prepare their contributions, or targets, to the Paris Agreement,” notes Yamil Bonduki, UNDP’s Team Leader for the Low Emission Capacity Building (LECB) Programme. “In doing so, our goal was to assist countries make sure that these NDCs were realistic and achievable, as well as linked to development priorities. The next step, and what is likely to be the focus at COP22, is to help turn these targets into action on the ground.”
While the Paris Agreement has been lauded for putting countries on a long-term path to achieve a zero-carbon, sustainable future, the fine details and ‘rules of the game’ will be addressed at Marrakesh, which has been dubbed the ‘COP for Action’.
The regional dialogues are a successor to previous dialogues hosted in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement. Those discussions saw UNDP and partners work with governments to determine their own specific goals and ambitions. The upcoming dialogues will focus on NDC readiness, and the steps that need to happen – legally, fiscally, technically – that will enable momentum and results.
The Costa Rican dialogue will bring together government officials from 26 countries across the Latin American and the Caribbean region. Similar regional dialogues will be organized for countries in Africa (September), Asia & Eastern Europe (October), and the Pacific (December). The dialogues are made possible through the generous support of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
