Opportunities for increasing ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions through integrated air pollution and climate change planning: A practical guidance document

The approach described in this report is based on knowledge gained through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition SNAP initiative and builds on previous guidance on NDC enhancement, the inclusion of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), and analytical work by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s Scientific Advisory Panel to formalise the “Multiple Benefits Pathway Framework”.

Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) pledge greenhouse gas emission reductions that will not keep global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, but are estimated to lead to between 2.3 and 3.7°C of warming by 2100.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C’ concluded that to limit warming to 1.5°C, a rapid reduction in global net emission of CO₂ is needed. In addition to large-scale CO₂ reductions, substantial reductions in short-lived climate pollutants (methane, black carbon and HFC emissions) are also needed to achieve this goal.

This framework emphasises that the path taken to achieving the Paris temperature targets matters because:

i) reducing temperature increases in the near-term (e.g. next 25 years) can reduce climate impacts and feedbacks such as snow and ice melt, sea-level rise and biodiversity loss;

ii) reduce the cost of meeting long-term temperature targets; and

iii) contribute to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals through implementation of key SLCP mitigation measures.

It has been developed to highlight that action needs to be taken immediately and that there are strategies that can significantly reduce climate change and air pollution impacts in the near term which are synergistic with strategies to safeguard the climate over the longer term (end of century).