Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Urban Climate Action

This UN Habitat guide aims to support enhancing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) from the perspective of urban climate action. NDCs refer to the efforts of the Member states to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change as was laid out in the Paris Agreement.

Cities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and they hold significant potential for emission reduction. This guide aims to support integration of urban issues into the NDCs by:

• Enhancing the ambition of the NDCs through urban climate action
• Supporting a more integrated approach to NDC development and implementation nationally and locally
• Implementation of NDCs through alignment of the activities of urban stakeholders
• Embedding climate objectives into urban decision-making
• Creating enabling frameworks towards the implementation of NDCs at sub-national levels

While the guide is mainly targeted at national governments and NDC coordinators, it also provides insight for sub-national stakeholders aiming to engage with the NDC process. Urban climate action and subnational stakeholders can support enhancing the ambition and delivery of NDCs, which in turn can inform urban policies.