In a critical moment for climate politics, Berlin is taking the lead in increasing ambition in climate action. Ahead of the Bonn Climate Change Conference 2025, practitioners and policymakers from more than 50 countries have come together at the Global NDC Conference to accelerate NDC implementation, turn commitment into action, and shift into sprint mode for the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The “NDCs 3.0”, that are expected to be submitted in 2025, represent a critical opportunity for countries to strengthen global climate action and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Turning climate pledges into measurable progress
The first day of the three-day conference focused on ramping up ambition, accelerating NDC implementation, and turning policy into action. It offered the participants a wide range of learning and knowledge exchange opportunities. Participatory sessions in the afternoon explored ways to successfully translate mitigation and adaptation goals into high-impact national and sectoral implementation plans, long term strategies, and measurable outcomes, while ensuring alignment, inclusion, and transparency.
“We all need to do more, on the way of transforming our economies and societies towards climate neutrality,” said Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), opening the conference. “It is crucial to counteract the narrative that climate change is a burden, instead it is a positive opportunity for economies, preventing significant economic losses.” Additionally, Flasbarth underlined that limited public funds must be used efficiently to unlock private sector investments through catalytic, blended finance mechanisms that support the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for international climate finance.
Keynote speaker Dessima Williams, President of the Senate of Grenada, pointed to the fact that NDC 3.0 must be ambitious and should be grounded in strong strategies for practical implementation and Just Transition, addressing poverty as well as industrial growth. “Global Stocktake reveals that current pledges are insufficient and we are on track for a 2.8°C rise in temperature,” Williams said. “We must push for stronger ambition to end the climate crisis.”
In a moving talk, Sara Omi, of the Emberá People of Panama, President of the Coordination of Territorial Women Leaders of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests, gave a cultural blessing to the audience – referring to the sacredness of Mother Earth and calling for an attitude of gratitude for this conference and beyond.
What makes a good NDC?
The first panel gave insights on the central question “What makes a good NDC?”. Stakeholders from international organisations, national politics, science, finance, and civil society discussed good practices on how to improve NDCs, raise ambition, and implement NDCs effectively.
Daniele Violetti, Senior Director for Programmes Coordination at UNFCCC, stated that a good and ambitious NDC can best be understood through a triple-a-lens – being Ambitious, Actionable and Anchored. Ambitious aligning with the 1.5°C goal–covering all sectors, integrating adaptation goals, and reflecting guidance from the Global Stocktake (GST). Actionable in clearly defining pathways, policies, and strategies as well as being supported through robust institutional arrangements. Anchored in being firmly embedded in national development priorities and reflecting a whole-of-society approach and national ownership.
Åsa Persson, Research Director at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), called for the robustness of NDCs through highest level buy-in of governments, stakeholder inclusion on all levels of society as well as de-risking of climate investments. “We need more capacity for NDC planning and implementation, especially in developing countries, and more climate finance and accountability mechanisms,” also pointing to the importance of the alignment of NDCs with other national development plans.
Dessima Williams, President of the Senate of Granada, highlighted that NDCs should add value, not merely repeat existing development plans. “They bring an additional element for transition for a low-carbon, climate-resilient society”.
According to Harjeet Singh, the Founding Director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation in India, much of the limited progress is explained by the lack of equity and equality at the core of climate action. “The comprehensiveness of NDCs is extremely important, for instance energy transition cannot be separated from addressing people’s needs”. Singh also pointed to the historical responsibility of developed countries to provide adequate finance and support to developing countries.
Nicolas Picchiottino, Secretary General of International Development Finance Club (IDFC) and Head of Public Development Banks at the French Development Agency (AFD), highlighted that NDCs need to be financially sustainable and based on a broad consensus of society, ensuring alignment with national priorities and stakeholder interests. He highlighted mentioned that it is important to get national and sub-national development banks on board, as they are key for greening finances and can be a strong implementation vehicle for NDCs.
Cassie Flynn, Global Director of Climate Change at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presented NDCs as an immense opportunity across all sectors. “Integrating climate action with development is an engine for progress – it is just a smart thing to do.”
Technical input for innovations, peer learning, and context-specific solutions
The afternoon was marked by two rounds of interactive thematic sessions dealing with five different topics. In the sessions, climate leaders from government, private sector, international institutions, and civil society shared good practice case studies from the national, sectoral, and subnational level. They delivered technical input for the most pressing issues of NDC implementation. All sessions were designed to enable peer learning, generate innovations and elaborate context-specific solutions for participants.
For more details read our insights from the parallel sessions.
Collective reflections: The power of meaningful participation in NDC updates
During the closing plenary, participants had the opportunity to share collective reflections of the first day of the conference. In particular, it stood out that meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and youth in the design and update of NDC is of utmost importance.
After a first full day of experience sharing, the day ended with a reception for networking at the GIZ Berlin Representation, with inspiring keynotes from Andrea von Rauch, Director General at International Services GIZ and Jochen Flasbarth.
