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NDC's and The Paris Agreement
An NDC is a country’s official climate pledge under the Paris Agreement. It represents each country’s self-defined contribution to the global effort to limit warming to well below 2°C and pursue 1.5°C, and sets out what that country plans to do to cut greenhouse gas emissions and, often, how it will adapt to climate impacts.
Every Party to the Paris Agreement must prepare, communicate, and maintain an NDC and update it regularly, but actually achieving the target itself is not strictly legally enforceable.
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A quantified mitigation target (e.g., reduce national emissions X% below year Y by year Z).
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Policies and measures the country plans to use to reach that target, and often information on sectors covered, timelines, and assumptions.
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Frequently, adaptation objectives and the support the country needs or will provide (finance, technology, capacity building), especially for developing countries.
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Countries first submitted “intended” NDCs (INDCs) before Paris in 2015, which became NDCs when they ratified the Agreement.
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NDCs must be updated every five years and are expected to “progress” over time and reflect each country’s “highest possible ambition.”
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All NDCs are recorded in a public registry managed by the UN climate secretariat and are tracked through regular reporting and a global stocktake process
TIMELINE
1992-2015
Origins & Adoption
Countries negotiate under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the Kyoto Protocol (1997) as an earlier treaty focusing mainly on developed countries.
DEC 12, 2015
Paris Agreement Signed
The Paris Agreement is adopted at COP21 in Paris, creating the first universal climate treaty covering all countries and aiming to keep warming well below 2°C and pursue 1.5°C.
Canada submits its first 2030 NDC (30% below 2005 levels by 2030) ahead of the Paris conference.
EVERY 5 YEARS
Ongoing “ratchet” cycle where countries update NDCs and collectively assess progress through a global stocktake (first stocktake concluded at COP28 in 2023).
2015–2016
Implementation cycles and NDC updates
Countries’ “intended” NDCs (INDCs) are converted into first NDCs when they ratify the Agreement.
After ratifying Paris in 2016, Canada “re‑communicates” its NDC in 2017, aligning it with a new domestic policy framework (the Pan‑Canadian Framework).
2020–2021
First major update cycle; Parties are expected to submit new or updated NDCs reflecting “highest possible ambition.”
DEC 2023 (COP28)
Milestones
Countries agree, for the first time in a UN climate decision, to “transition away from fossil fuels” and to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, as part of implementing Paris objectives.
JULY 2021
Canada files an enhanced NDC, strengthening its 2030 target to 40–45% below 2005 levels and committing to net‑zero by 2050.
FEB 2025
Canada submits its 2035 NDC, setting a 45–50% emissions reduction below 2005 levels by 2035, explicitly building on the 2030 target.
ON THE HOMEFRONT
DECEMBER 2016
Adoption of the Pan‑Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF), the first national plan to implement Canada’s Paris commitments; it outlines over 50 measures across carbon pricing, electricity, buildings, transport, industry, and adaptation.
2017 ONWARDS
Annual and periodic synthesis/“State of the Framework” reports track implementation progress on PCF measures such as carbon pricing, coal phase‑out, and efficiency standards.
MARCH 2022
Release of the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the first plan under the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act, detailing sectoral pathways and $9.1B in new investments to hit the 40–45% by 2030 target.
2023, 2025, 2027
Scheduled federal progress reports on the 2030 plan, required by the Accountability Act.
The Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act comes into force, legally binding the federal government to set five‑year national emissions reduction targets (2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, 2050) and to table plans and progress reports for each.
Target year for a 40–45% reduction below 2005; Canada currently projects being on track for about a 34% reduction under existing and planned measures.
New milestone target of 45–50% below 2005 levels; Canada’s 2035 NDC and a dedicated 2035 plan (to be developed under the Act) are meant to guide policy through the 2030s.
Net‑zero emissions goal, enshrined in the Accountability Act and referenced in both the 2030 and 2035 NDC submissions.
2021
2030
2035
2050
IMPLEMENTATION
Carbon pricing, clean fuel regulations, coal phase‑out, zero‑emission vehicle mandates, methane regulations, building codes, and other PCF/2030‑plan measures are the main implementation levers.
REPORTING TO UNFCCC
Canada submits NDCs, biennial transparency reports, and national GHG inventories to track progress against its Paris commitments.
