Overcoming barriers to implementing NDCs: new approaches developed at adelphi workshops

The NDC Support Cluster, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), launches innovative NDC Implementation Approaches, developed over the course of a workshop series designed and facilitated by adelphi.

Many countries have started taking steps towards achieving the objectives of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, numerous obstructions significantly delay progress, especially in developing countries. Implementing NDCs on the ground requires a number of functions such as collaboration across different levels of governance, adequate financing and incentive structures for the involvement of key stakeholders.

At a recent workshop series organised by the NDC Support Cluster and designed and facilitated by adelphi, cluster members and selected experts from government, academia, international organisations and think tanks discussed options for building and strengthening climate transparency and governance frameworks at all levels to support NDC implementation.

Providing a holistic picture of the obstacles and potential solutions to NDC Implementation

The workshops took place in Berlin, Cape Town and Washington and focused on the four thematic work streams of the NDC Support Cluster – governance, transparency, sector approaches and financing. By using an innovative format they created a space to jointly come up with innovative approaches for overcoming persistent barriers to NDC Implementation. The outcomes of this process are summarised in 4 NDC Implementation Insights and 12 concept papers of NDC Implementation Approaches suggesting innovative ways to advance NDC implementation on the ground. These papers mainly target national policy makers from developing countries and emerging economies as well as other experts involved in NDC implementation, providing hands-on guidance and advice on specific challenges. While the approaches refer to lessons learned and best practice in selected country contexts, they aim to provide a holistic picture of the obstacles and potential solutions prevailing widely across countries and regions.

The co-creation process initiated during the workshop series also resulted in new collaborations between stakeholders engaged in NDC implementation. The concept paper “Build and Sustain Capacities Through Institutionalizing Data and Information Processes for NDC Implementation” for example, was co-authored by national government representatives from South Africa and Colombia together with a sub-national government expert from the Philippines as well as Carbon Trust Mexico, World Resource Institute (WRI) and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

adelphi designed the overall dialogue process and workshop methodology and was responsible for the facilitation and documentation of workshop sessions. In addition, adelphi coordinated and co-authored part of the NDC Implementation approaches developed as concept notes and is drafting a synthesis paper to summarise the results and formulate policy recommendations.

Publications of this workshop

• NDC Implementation Approaches
• NDC Implementation Insights