Why NDCs Aren’t Working and How to Fix Them

Climate Risk Podcast

Hear from Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, as we explore the shortcomings of nationally determined contributions and how they might be improved.

Nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, are a bit like transition plans for countries, in that they set out what a country plans to do in order to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. However, NDCs are voluntary, and collectively they don’t currently have us on track to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees, let alone the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees.

Today’s guest believes that this is a problem, as NDCs are failing to provide a clear direction for action. The less clarity there is about policy direction and ambition, the less likely markets will respond to policy signals to deliver the investment required for the transition. That’s why in this episode, we examine:

• What are the shortcomings in countries’ NDCs and how they can be addressed?
• Why NDCs don’t currently reflect the rapid technological progress that is already being made across sectors; and
• How geopolitics is influencing the transition and the challenges facing climate finance.

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Links from today’s discussion:

• Energy Transitions Commission: https://www.energy-transitions.org/
• Credible Contributions: Bolder Plans for Higher Climate Ambition in the Next Round of NDCs: https://www.energy-transitions.org/publications/credible-contributions-bolder-plans-for-ndcs/
• Mission Possible: Reaching net-zero carbon emissions from harder-to-abate sectors: https://www.energy-transitions.org/publications/mission-possible/
• Climate Change Committee: https://www.theccc.org.uk/
• Just Capital: The Liberal Economy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5859117-just-capital
• The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/the-economics-of-climate-change-the-stern-review/
• Finance for climate action: scaling up investment for climate and development: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/finance-for-climate-action-scaling-up-investment-for-climate-and-development/

Speaker’s Bio(s)

Lord Adair Turner, Chair, Energy Transitions Commission

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major power and industrial companies, investors, environmental NGOs and experts working out achievable pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C while stimulating economic development and social progress.

Lord Turner has chaired several high-profile organizations, including at the Institute for New Economic Thinking, the UK’s Financial Services Authority, the Climate Change Committee, the Pensions Commission and the Low Pay Commission. He was also Director General of the Confederation of British Industry. He became a crossbench member of the House of Lords in 2006.

He is also a Trustee Emeritus of the British Museum, honorary fellow of The Royal Society, and received an Honorary Degree from Cambridge University in 2017.