A worker checks a solar installation on a roof in Santiago de Chile.

NDC Partnership

In the Paris climate agreement, the international community has committed to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below two, and preferably 1.5, degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

A novel feature of the Paris Agreement is that industrialised countries, developing countries and emerging economies alike made a joint commitment for the first time to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). In them, countries set out their plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change.

The NDCs are at the very heart of the Paris Agreement. The aim is for them to be made increasingly ambitious over time and bring the international community closer to achieving the goals of the agreement. The parties to the agreement have therefore committed to submit new, improved NDCs every five years, starting in 2020. For the current NDCs still do not go far enough to allow the Paris climate goals to be reached. The current plans need to be implemented quickly but they also need to be made increasingly ambitious.

To help move forward implementation of the NDCs in line with the development goals of the 2030 Agenda, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) joined together in 2016 with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and other partners to establish the global NDC Partnership.


The NDC Partnership at a glance

Logo: NDC Partnership
Logo: NDC Partnership

The NDC Partnership (External link) has 205 members (as of August 2022). Of these, 120 are countries, 49 are international organisations or development banks, and 36 are associate members (such as research institutes, international partnerships and globally operating associations). The Partnership is supported by a secretariat known as the “Support Unit”, which is hosted by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington D.C., the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), again in Bonn.

The aim of the Partnership is to align the goals of the Paris Agreement with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and to work on achieving them in a coordinated way with the help of bilateral and multilateral donor programmes. Particular attention is paid to the issue of gender equity.

Still from the video "NDC Partnership"

Video NDC Partnership: A brief overview

When an emerging economy or developing country joins the NDC Partnership, it can notify the Support Unit of the type of support it desires and requires to implement and advance its NDC priorities. Based upon these notifications, the Partnership’s development partners and implementing organisations offer a tailor-made package of advisory instruments, technical assistance and financing. Non-state partners such as non-governmental organisations, research institutions and the private sector are involved in this process.

To facilitate NDC implementation, it is essential to “translate” the climate goals into concrete policies, budget items and investment plans – for individual sectors such as energy and water, and also for the regional and municipal levels. The decisive aspect here is not only that investments contribute to a country’s climate-neutral and climate-resilient transformation, but also that they promote sustainable development for local communities.

A continuous exchange of knowledge and experience takes place within all NDC Partnership processes. Thus all participants can share lessons learned and successful approaches.

Country activities within the NDC Partnership have commenced in more than 80 member countries and in three regional initiatives. Further countries have notified support requirements.

The Paris climate agreement set 2020 as the first deadline for submission of updated NDCs. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has taken many countries until 2021 or 2022. The NDC Partnership has supported developing countries and emerging economies with this process.

German activities

Solar park Soroti in Uganda

Solar park Soroti in Uganda

Solar park Soroti in Uganda

Germany supports the NDC Partnership both financially and politically. Since the Partnership’s launch, the German government has provided it with over 600 million euros in support. This sum includes approximately 15 million euros for the Partnership secretariat and 12 million for the Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP), a special programme to raise the ambition of NDCs.

CAEP supported countries specifically in revising their NDCs and formulating new, more ambitious climate action goals. Now, despite some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 63 countries have submitted new or updated NDCs thanks to the support they have received through CAEP.

Countries across the world have planned, or are already implementing, economic stimulus packages totalling around 10 trillion US dollars in response to the COVID-19 crisis. It is important to ensure that these packages contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement and that they make the world more resilient to future crises. This is another area in which the NDC Partnership is supporting its member countries. Through its Economic Advisory Initiative it has sent economic advisors to finance and planning ministries in a total of 34 member countries. The German government has provided direct support in 24 of these countries through its various implementing organisations.

Maintenance work on a wind turbine

Maintenance work on a wind turbine

Maintenance work on a wind turbine

The BMZ is also funding a number of projects and programmes being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and international organisations such as the World Bank Group, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this way, countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Honduras, Kenya, Namibia and Pakistan and also regional initiatives in the Pacific and Caribbean regions have been helped both to implement their NDCs and also, in some cases, to revise them and raise their ambition before the submission deadline for revised NDCs in 2020.

Stone catchment basin in northern Kenya

Kenya: Cooperation in action Tackling water shortages and droughts Internal link

Kenya has been severely affected by the impacts of climate change. Economic losses due to crop failure and dwindling herds have a devastating impact on communities that are already vulnerable. Under the NDC Partnership, the BMZ is supporting the implementation of Kenya's National Climate Change Action Plan.

View of the village of Rabaul in the Solomon Islands, on the right the newly rebuilt settlement, on the left the destroyed one

The Pacific and Caribbean regions: Cooperation in action Addressing climate change in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Internal link

Small Island Developing States are particularly vulnerable to climate change. With German support, initiatives in the Pacific and the Eastern Caribbean are assisting island states with the implementation and updating of their NDCs.

Transport vessels on a river in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Cooperation in action Reviving Bangladesh’s inland waterways Internal link

People in Bangladesh live on the front lines of climate change and the country is showing real leadership in developing a low-carbon and resilient economy, with a focus on the transport sector. That sector is crucial for the country’s export-led growth.

A man waits for a ferry at Ebrie Lagoon in Abidjan , Côte d'Ivoire.

Côte d’Ivoire: Cooperation in action Green Bonds – a possible contribution to NDC implementation Internal link

In view of the many climate challenges Côte d'Ivoire is facing, green bonds are emerging as an effective financial instrument for the implementation of its NDC.

BMZ videos

Still from the video "NDC Partnership Fiji"

NDP Partnership in action: Fiji

Fiji is one of the countries most severely affected by climate change. Through the Regional Pacific NDC Hub, the NDC Partnership is helping this small island in the Pacific to develop roadmaps for implementing and funding its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs).

Still from the video "NDC Partnership Uganda"

NDC Partnership in action: Uganda

In June 2018, Uganda became the first African country to submit an NDC Partnership Plan, outlining the country’s priorities with regard to implementing the Paris agreement. This helped to improve coordination and cooperation with Uganda’s national and international partners.

Still from the video "NDC knowledge portal"

NDC Partnership Knowledge Portal

The NDC Partnership Knowledge Portal helps countries achieve their climate goals by giving them quick and easy access to data, instruments, guidance, good practices and funding opportunities.

As at: 25/10/2022