The Global NDC Conference 2017 was held from 3-5 May 2017 in Berlin. At the 3-day conference, more than 250 participants from 80 countries shared their perspectives and experiences in the fields of integrated governance, financing, and transparency for achieving climate goals. Among the participants were government representatives from environmental, planning, financial, and line ministries as well as representatives from the sub-national level, research institutions, think tanks, and international and bilateral executing organisations.
On the eve of the event, a reception for the participants was held at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), with speeches given by the former German Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Barbara Hendricks; the Chair of the African Group of Negotiators, Ambassador Seyni Nafo; as well as the Argentine Undersecretary of Climate Change, Carlos Gentile. Minister Hendricks kicked off the conference on May 3rd with a presentation about the German Climate Action Plan 2050, highlighting the importance of NDCs:
“The Nationally Determined Contributions are at the heart of the Paris Agreement. It is crucial that the contributions are made more and more ambitious over time. To this end, we intend to exchange opinions and experiences, learn from one another, and, above all, support the countries of the South as we pledged in Paris. We will not leave our partners alone to face this major challenge.”
Key aims of the conference were enabling dialogue on practical experience and networking between government representatives. Participants identified gaps and opportunities for support, explored concrete opportunities for countries to progress low carbon resilient development through implementation of NDCs, built peer-networks, and engaged with the private sector to explore further action.
