Role of NMHSs to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0)
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2) requires each Party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive NDCs that it intends to achieve.
The 2025 NDCs, or NDC 3.0, are to be prepared with a timeframe for implementation till 2035. All Parties are required to submit their NDC 3.0, latest by February 2025, in order to allow for sufficient time for the preparation of the compilation and synthesis report in advance of CMA7 (November 2025). NDC 3.0 is expected to be a progression beyond previous NDCs and should reflect the highest possible ambition. All Parties submit their 2025 NDCs in a timely manner that is more informative and instructive to drive action.
WMO analysis of NDCs shows that the great majority of NDCs highlighted the role of climate services (108) and early warnings (103) to deliver against the Parties’ commitments laid out in NDCs (as highlighted in the WMO State of Climate Services reports). In Parties’ NDCs, climate services are recognized as a priority for supporting adaptation in agriculture and food security (85%), disaster risk reduction (88%), water resource management (78%) and health (60%).
Overall, NMHSs are key players in the NDCs arena as they provide sound climate science information to define adaptation and mitigation efforts, but so far have not always been involved in the NDCs' development and implementation. The level of involvement varies between sectors, for example, climate information services are regularly recognized for supporting agriculture and food security.
In the meantime, WMO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are collaborating through Climate Promise to assist NMHSs to connect with the UN Resident Coordinators in their country to build relations between NMHSs and the UN Development System on the NDC 3.0 compilation.
The WMO Secretariat has established a Helpdesk to respond to questions and queries by NMHSs on NDC 3.0, through the following e-mail: climatescience@wmo.int