Introduction
As countries mark 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the third generation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are advancing ambition and showing a decisive shift in quality. New NDCs incorporate broader sectoral action and outline more rigorous and concrete implementation pathways. Overall, the new generation of NDCs are reinforcing a commitment for multilateralism and international cooperation.
By the end of 2025, 128 Parties representing about 78 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions had submitted new NDCs for the 2025 cycle. Of these, 61 countries were supported by the United Nations (UN) system under the Climate Promise 2025, representing 71 percent of all developing country submissions. The support from the UN system is evident in many new NDCs. Countries have strengthened their economy-wide emphasis on climate action, demonstrated country ownership and social inclusion, included comprehensive co-benefits for economic and social development, and reflected a higher-level of credibility that encourages investment.
This final issue of the NDC Insights Series is the culmination of the insights published throughout 2025, which captured trends emerging from the third generation NDCs. It provides evidence to highlight how countries are presenting stronger climate commitments while clearly articulating the support needed to deliver them. This final issue explores insights across 10 key thematic areas, including new themes that have not been captured in past series, such as cities and climate and peace and security. It also showcases the results of the UN system’s support to countries, under the Climate Promise 2025, in preparing their new pledges and charting the next phase of support to help countries accelerate implementation and deliver more ambition climate action.
Overview of NDC submission
As of 31 December 2025, a total of 128 parties,1 representing around 78 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,2 have submitted new NDCs for the 2025 cycle. These include submissions from 21 Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), 19 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and 18 G20 members. Two remaining G20 members that have yet to submit a new climate pledge are Argentina and India.
During November, there was a surge in NDC submissions from 53 Parties as political momentum was building in the lead up to COP30. However, over 50 Parties which initially were expected to communicate their new pledges at COP30 postponed submissions to 2026 due to both political and operational reasons. As a result, over 60 Parties are now expected to communicate their new NDCs in 2026.
Figure 1: Number of NDC submissions for the 2025 cycle, by month (November 2024 to December 2025)
At COP30, NDCs were at the heart of many discussions, including how to respond to recent submissions. Despite challenging circumstances, COP30 concluded with the “Belém Package,” which aimed to address this question. It includes reference to two new presidential initiatives: 1) The Global Implementation Accelerator focused on supporting countries to implement their NDCs and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and 2) the Belém Mission to 1.5°C, to foster ambition and international cooperation on mitigation, adaptation and investment. There was also acknowledgement of support from UN organizations and other development partners to help countries implement their new NDCs. Overall, the Belém Package was a hard-fought compromise that reinforced the Paris Agreement, the 1.5°C limit and the importance of adaptation, including the adoption of a set of indicators for the Global Goal on Adaptation and the commitment to triple adaptation finance by 2035. Heading into 2026, and on the road to COP31, countries will continue to prioritize accelerating NDC implementation. Insights on both the process and outcomes of preparing the latest NDCs can help to guide and strengthen these efforts.
Explore Insights
This section explores insights on NDCs across 10 key areas illustrated below. Key mitigation and adaptation sectors are further explored under the 'sectoral measures and thematic approaches' area. These include energy, transportation, industry, forests and land use, agriculture and food systems, water resources and oceans, health, circular economy, resilient and green cities, climate, peace and security, and disaster risk management. Click on the cards to explore more.
Delivering on the Promise – UN system support
In April 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mobilized the UN system to assist developing countries in preparing and submitting economy-wide and ambitious NDCs. This system-wide effort was organized by leveraging the Climate Promise, UNDP’s flagship programme which has supported 90 percent of all developing countries in preparing and implementing previous rounds of NDCs. For this third generation of NDCs, Climate Promise 2025 sought to harness the full breadth of UN expertise, anchored in UNDP’s existing Climate Promise architecture. To do so, Climate Promise 2025 employed existing coordination mechanisms across the UN, including the UN Resident Coordinator system, UN Country Teams (UNCT) and the UN system’s regional and global platforms and technical expertise.
Key achievements to date
Overall, the UN supported 107 countries (5 G20, 32 LDC, 23 SIDS) in the formulation effort of new NDCs. With the convening leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator and the technical leadership of UNDP, UNCTs worked with governments to define integrated policies for climate mitigation and adaptation spanning key sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture, waste management, buildings and others. Under this arrangement, 30 UN entities combined forces at all levels, and most countries benefitted from the expertise of multiple agencies. In many cases, UN entities that did not have in-country presence were able to bring specific expertise to governments in support of more ambitious NDCs. Building on the existing UN cooperation with the government, as well as the efforts of the wider ecosystem of non-UN actors, UNCTs supported governments to establish more ambitious, higher quality and investment-ready NDCs. This included advocating for leaving no one behind and advancing gender equality and social inclusion.
Of the new NDC submissions as of 31 December 2025, 61 were supported by the UN system under the Climate Promise 2025. This represents 71 percent of all developing country submissions to date. The contribution of the UN system is evident in many new NDCs, with their sector-wide emphasis, high level of stakeholder inclusion, co-benefits for economic and social development, and greater credibility and investibility.
The map below illustrates the breadth of UN system support across the globe. It also spotlights examples of how UN system coordination effectively supported countries in the preparation of their new NDCs. Click on each country name to read more.
107 countries supported by the UN system
32 LDCs
23 SIDS
5 G20
From ambition to action
The trends are clear. The latest round of NDCs are stronger than ever – advancing on ambition and of much higher quality, more robust and more investment-ready. Countries are demonstrating their readiness to take forward ambitious climate action and have put in place the strong foundations to do so. In addition, the countries that have advanced NDCs the furthest have shown direct relevance to national and local development priorities, embedding NDC targets into national and sectoral planning and budgeting. The implementation of NDCs is an opportunity for SDG acceleration.
The extensive data analytics and experiences on NDC design and implementation generated by UNDP’s Climate Promise, as presented throughout this NDC insights series provides intelligence on priorities, trends and needs. Based on this, four evidence-based levers have been identified for accelerating NDC implementation and strengthening national NDC infrastructures to ensure sustained, empowered and resourced on efforts climate action across government and society. These levers are:
- Policy – strengthening coherence and institutional frameworks;
- Finance – mobilizing and attracting investment in NDC targets;
- Solutions – accelerating delivery and scaling up proven action across sectors; and
- Engagement – whole-of-society and country ownership.
Two key cross-cutting accelerators have also proven to help deliver impact: the principle of leaving no-one behind, and leveraging new digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can be a key accelerator for implementation.
At the opening of the Leaders’s Summit at COP30, the UN Secretary-General reiterated the steadfast commitment of the UN system to support countries advance their NDCs and deliver the Paris Agreement goals. He also directed UNDP to continue to work across the UN system to support developing countries to accelerate implementation of the NDCs, leveraging the architecture of the Climate Promise.
To fulfill this directive, UNDP, in close collaboration with the COP30 Presidency and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, has developed the “Climate Promise: Forward”. It responds to the overwhelming demand from developing countries for support on NDC implementation and provides a framework for continued UN cooperation based on the four evidence-based levers outlined above. Climate Promise: Forward will be rolled out in 2026 and support the COP30 Presidency’s Global Implementation Accelerator and Belem Mission to 1.5°C.
Supporting countries to shift from ambition to action, the Climate Promise: Forward will continue to leverage the convening leadership of the Resident Coordinator and the technical leadership of UNDP, and will be embedded into existing UN coordination mechanisms under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks and Country Programmes. It will bring together the ecosystem of UN support on NDCs in-country, alongside other partners – from multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and bilateral donors to civil society and private actors, in close coordination with the NDC Partnership and its members.
Climate Promise: Forward
Accelerating climate policy, finance and solutions to build the economies and societies of the future
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Footnotes
1 The 128 Parties are: Andorra, Angola, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea (Republic of), Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Türkiye
Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. The UNFCCC tracks new NDC submissions in the 2025 cycle on a dedicated NDC 3.0 page (updated as of 12 January 2026)
2 World Resource Institute’s Climate Watch Historical GHG Emissions 2021.
The NDC Insights series has been developed under the leadership of Cassie Flynn, Global Director of Climate Hub, Bureau of Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), UNDP. The overall production and content has been coordinated by Kalyan Keo, with guidance from Jennifer Baumwoll, Kimberly Todd and Rebecca Carman.
The insightful content of this Issue was made possible thanks to contributions, inputs and reviews from many UNDP colleagues across BPPS and the Crisis Bureau (CB). Contributions by section include: Mitigation ambition (Kimberly Todd, Rebecca Carman, Yoona Jo); Adaptation ambition (Rohini Kohli, Julie Teng, Liam Fee, Laura Hammett, Marie Raison); Energy and transport (Chibulu Luo, Lisa Baumgartner); Industry (Chibulu Luo); Agriculture and food systems (Julie Teng, Marie Raison, Alana Craigen); Forests and land use (Kimberly Todd, Fatoumatta Sanyang, Simone Souza Santos, Brian Zutta); Water resources and oceans (Julie Teng, Laura Hammett); Health (Natalia Linou, Suvi Huikuri, Elisa Puzzolo and Arthur Wyns); Circular Economy (Alana Craigen); Resilient and green cities (Omar Zemrag); Climate, peace and security (Catherine Wong, Eri Yamasumi, Iina Pyykko); Disaster risk management (Julie Teng, Laura Hammett, Rajeev Issar); Rio Convention synergies (Nataliya Vasylyeva, Claudia Ortiz); Loss and damage (Sameera Savarala); Country ownership and inclusivity (Verania Chao, Giulia Jacovella, Gabriela Torres Morales); SDG alignment (Babatunde Abidoye, Andrey Krachkov, Deanna Kidd), Just transition (Sangji Lee); Transparency (Zeynep Bakir); and Investibility (Susanne Olbrisch, Snezana Marstijepovic, Yoona Jo, Simone Souza Santos). We also extend our appreciation to the following partners who shared their data and insights: Energy data and analysis from E3G (Dido Gompertz, Suzie Marshall, Oyku Senlen Gundogan); urban data and insights from UN-Habitat (Patrick Geoghegan, Lea Ranalder); and early warning systems and climate information services data from WMO (Roseline Devillier, Ilaria Gallo, Jochen Luther, Laura Paterson, Nakiete Msemo, Muhibuddin Usamah).
Special appreciation goes to colleagues, many of whom serve as Climate Promise regional focal points or country coordinators, who contributed to the NDC Series throughout 2025 with insights regarding country experiences and emerging trends at national and regional level: Abdullah Zahiruddin Ahmad, Annlyn Mc Phie, Benjamin Basmaci, Bertrand Tessa, Catherine Diam-Valla, Christopher Marc Lilyblad, Daisy Mukarakate, Excellent Hachileka, Fernando Raul Andrade Henao, Gianluca Merlo, Iryna Sakalouskaya, Jay Malette, Kin Yii Yong, Krib Sitathani, Lorenzo Eguren, Montserrat Xilotl, Muyeye Chambwera, Nuri Ozbagdatli, Phearanich Hing, Richemond Assie, Tiangoua Kone, Viktoriia Yashkina and Wahida Shah.
In addition, special thanks go to: Ankit Khanal and Yoona Jo who supported analyses of NDCs throughout the series; Rebecca Carman and Lisa Baumgartner providing editorial support; Mehmet Erdogan, Malcolm Leeman, Florin Marin, Joe Lovstrom and Daniela Peris handling communications and dissemination; and Omer Kavuk, Marcela Espinoza and Robson Duarte Moreira supporting the design. Maja Bialon is the designer of the print version of this issue and Mustafa Saifee, Anastasiia Balagurova and Adedapo Aderemi from the UNDP’s Digital and Artificial and Innovation team created the digital interactive platform for this issue hosted on the UNDP’s Data Futures Exchange (https://data.undp.org/insights/ndc-insights-series).
We acknowledge with appreciation the substantive inputs from UN Country Teams, Resident Coordinator Offices and UNDP Country Offices who informed the evidence and examples featured throughout the series. We appreciate the efforts of colleagues in the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO), notably Helena Fraser, Gonzalo Pizarro and Poorti Sapatnekar, as well as colleagues in the DCO regional offices, for coordinating the inputs of insights from the UN Country Teams and for the tireless support to ensure the success of the roll-out of the Climate Promise 2025.
We extend our special appreciation to the following UN entities whose expertise and collaboration supported countries in preparing and enhancing their third generation NDCs under Climate Promise 2025: United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Trade Centre (ITC), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), United Nations Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO).