Lessons from the GIZ NDC Partnership Readiness Project
Updating an NDC can be a demanding process, and many countries struggle to know where to start. This publication provides clear and practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners preparing to review their NDCs. It draws on the experience of the GIZ NDC Partnership Readiness Project (NRP), which supports NDC Partnership member countries with low institutional and technical capacities in planning, implementing and enhancing their national climate action. The guidance is based on the NRP’s country engagement in Bhutan, Moldova, Mauritius, Seychelles and Dominica.
The publication presents a two-part process:
1. NDC Stocktake. The Stocktake evaluates progress, gaps and challenges in implementing the current NDC and helps confirm priorities for the next update. It follows four steps: a desk review of current circumstances and forward-looking elements (such as GHG projections, climate hazard projections and long-term objectives), a rapid assessment under the ICTU framework (Information to facilitate Clarity, Transparency and Understanding), documentation of findings, and stakeholder engagement and validation.
2. NDC Update Roadmap. Building on the Stocktake, the Roadmap sets out a recommended process for developing the NDC 3.0. It helps countries to:
- identify thematic and sectoral priorities and the gaps and challenges to address;
- define the technical activities (e.g. data collection, modelling and scenario development, target setting, MRV and NDC indicators) and engagement activities needed;
- establish or strengthen coordination structures that support a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach;
- validate priorities with stakeholders and consolidate everything into a time-bound Roadmap with clear roles and responsibilities.
The guide also provides orientation on setting ambitious, 1.5°C-compatible targets. It covers the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake, global emission reduction benchmarks, ways of downscaling them to the national level, and fairness considerations. The annexes contain a ready-to-use ICTU assessment template and a template for planning the timeline of activities.
NDC Stocktakes and Roadmaps have proven to be effective tools for strengthening national understanding and ownership of the NDC process. They also help to align short- and medium-term targets with long-term climate strategies and to identify specific support needs, for example in Requests for Support to the NDC Partnership.
