NEW YORK: Highlighting that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) should be seen as an opportunity to deliver socioeconomic growth, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President, today called on Parties to issue a third round of NDCs that “meet the urgency of the moment” and represent a “comprehensive response plan” to the UAE Consensus.

Parties should view their NDCs “not as a burden but as platforms for new streams of growth, green jobs and a clean future,” the COP28 President said at a high-level COP Presidencies Troika event, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The UAE Consensus gave us a blueprint for transformation: we must now act on it,” Dr. Al Jaber said at the COP Presidencies Troika’s ‘Roadmap to Mission 1.5: NDC 3.0’ event. The COP Presidencies Troika, an unprecedented collaboration between the COP presidencies of the UAE, Azerbaijan, and Brazil, is primarily focused on stimulating the “highest level of ambition” in the next round of NDCs, Dr. Al Jaber said.

While Parties must submit their next round of NDCs by February 2025, submitting them earlier would help build momentum, Dr. Al Jaber said, announcing that the UAE will submit its third NDC ahead of COP29, due to be held in Azerbaijan from 11th-22nd November.

“Let me take this opportunity to call on all Parties to be early movers and to provide concrete signals on their NDCs by or before COP29 to build momentum during this critical decade of action,” the COP28 President said. “Let’s deliver transformational NDCs backed by serious investment to deliver on the mandate of the UAE Consensus, and let’s drive a new era of sustainable socioeconomic growth that keeps 1.5°C within reach, advances prosperity and leaves no one behind.”

The UAE’s NDC will “cover all greenhouse gases and every sector of the economy, including energy, industry, transportation, and waste,” he said. “It will leverage the latest technologies, including AI, to drive decarbonisation and enhance adaptive resilience by transforming food, health, and early warning systems. And it will back all efforts with a robust legal framework that holds every sector accountable to specific, timebound goals.”

In a call to all Parties, Dr. Al Jaber said that if the next round of NDCs is done right, they can “leverage” the three global megatrends of the energy transition, the rise of AI, and the expansion of emerging markets and the Global South.

Dr. Al Jaber said that the UAE has been a leader in diversifying its energy mix, having already more than doubled its renewable energy capacity since 2019 and being on track to more than triple it by 2030.

Dr. Al Jaber also highlighted the progress made by the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC) since COP28, which now has 54 members, covering 43 percent of global oil production. For nations looking to incentivise industry sectors in their NDCs, the OGDC demonstrates how “inclusive engagement” can lead to “meaningful results,” he said.

The COP28 President emphasised the importance of finding consensus on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on finance at COP29 to ensure that finance goes to where it is needed the most.

Financing is a critical enabler to delivering ambitious 1.5°C-aligned NDCs and to ensuring that adequate climate finance is available for adaptation and mitigation.

Dr. Al Jaber cited the Africa Green Investment Initiative, which is investing US$4.5 billion in renewable energy projects across Africa, and ALTÉRRA, the climate investment fund launched at COP28, which has already deployed $6.5 billion with investors, as models “that can and should be replicated to enable green industrialisation and clean growth at scale and pace.”

As part of the Troika’s mission to raise ambition for the next round of NDCs, the COP Presidencies Troika launched an Action and Ambition Majlis series, bringing countries together at events like the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Germany and the Ministerial on Climate Action in Wuhan, China.

In its latest Letter to Parties, the COP Presidencies Troika called upon Parties to step forward with greater ambition in the next generation of NDCs as the implementation vehicle for universally adopted climate commitments. The ambition of keeping 1.5°C and global resilience within reach will be determined by Parties’ and other stakeholders’ resolve to act at this critical moment and ensure the right enabling conditions are in place for implementation.