On Friday, June 20th, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, with support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH IKI-Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA), held a side event at the SB62 and launched a new publication, “Aligning NDCs and LT-LEDS: A step-by-step guide for practitioners”.

With this year’s new NDC submission round and the urgency of aligning short—and mid-term climate action with the long-term objectives under the Paris Agreement, it becomes imperative that countries develop and enhance their NDCs with a robust and clear long-term mid-century vision. Nevertheless, many countries face difficulties aligning the different goals and strategies, as LT-LEDS are not mandatory under the Paris Agreement. As a result, there is no concrete orientation for their design.

The event emphasised the significance of LT-LEDS and their alignment with NDCs—to inform and support the 2025 NDC Submission Cycle and to foster successful and credible climate action framed by the long-term national strategy and supported by specific short—and medium-term priorities and targets. During her introductory speech, the Deputy Head of the German delegation,  Dorothée Marquardt,, highlighted, “it is vital to ensure coherence and complementarity between these key planning documents to leverage the benefits and use resources efficiently“.

The event provided insights into the alignment process outlined in the guide “Aligning NDCs and LT-LEDS: A step-by-step guide for practitioners”, jointly developed by the GGGI and the GIZ SPA programme. The guide serves as a resource for countries aiming for ambitious NDCs informed by their existing or planned long-term strategy. During the presentation of the guide, Dr Stelios Grafakos from GGGI stressed that “there are many benefits and a good rationale to align NDCs and LT-LEDS, such as ensuring more coherent planning processes, more efficient allocation of resources, strong and consistent policy signal to leverage climate finance and attract private sector finance, while avoiding carbon lock-in investments, to name a few”. In addition, Roza Wloch from GIZ highlighted that “Aligning NDCs and LT-LEDS is crucial as the NDCs need to translate the long-term vision outlined in LT-LEDS into actionable short- and medium-term goals in NDCs”.

Government representatives from Pakistan, Ethiopia, Laos PDR, and the executive director of the 2050 Pathways Platform shared their experiences, including challenges and opportunities on how they leverage their long-term visions and strategies to formulate their new and ambitious NDCs. The representative from the Government of Ethiopia highlighted “the importance of aligning NDCs not only with LT-LEDS but also with other relevant strategies, such as the NAPs”. In addition, the representative from the Government of Pakistan also highlighted “the importance of long-term visions to engage with financial stakeholders and develop suitable financial instruments, such as green bonds, to ensure transformation”.

The newly published guide targets all countries working on their new NDCs and aiming to align them with their existing or planned LT-LEDS. In addition, institutions supporting countries in NDC or LT-LEDS development could also use this guide.

The guide is available at the following link: Aligning NDCs and LT-LEDS: A step-by-step guide for practitioners.

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