Technical Advice Helps Nations Set-Out Low Carbon Ambitions Ahead of Paris Conference

Ahead of the crucial 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to be held in Paris in December 2015, Ricardo Energy & Environment’s (UK) technical insight has helped more than 15 countries – with a combined population of more than 500 million – prepare their contributions to the global effort to restrict atmospheric temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial level.

More than 150 nations have now submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in response to the call to set out clear national strategies on how they will respond to the challenge of climate change. Ricardo Energy & Environment’s climate change team has supported policy makers in more than 15 of these countries by helping them to identify cost-effective emission reduction opportunities and quantify the greenhouse gas emissions which would be avoided.

Working closely with national governments, the team has advised on how to select fair and ambitious levels of climate change action that reflect the nations’ development goals. Ricardo’s specialists have also reviewed the risks facing climate vulnerable regions from increased global temperatures, and suggested practical adaptation actions to respond to the increasing impacts of climate change.  

In addition to advising individual governments, Ricardo Energy & Environment has worked with the Climate & Development Knowledge Network to produce “A Guide to INDCs” which provided practical guidance on preparing and drafting an INDC tailored to the specific needs of least developed countries and small island developing states.

After COP21 Ricardo Energy & Environment’s climate change team will be supporting countries to develop the policies, institutional capacity and reporting systems required to implement and deliver their INDC commitments.

Chris Dodwell, Ricardo Energy & Environment’s international director, said: “We are proud to have supported countries around the world – ranging from developed nations to least developing countries and small islands - in their efforts to develop fair and ambitious contributions to the global response to climate change. Every country faces its own unique challenges in determining how it will tackle climate change, and we have helped countries ensure their INDCs stimulate practical low carbon measures aligned with their national development goals. All countries now share the common challenge of putting their INDCs into action. We need to build on the momentum generated by the Paris COP21 to turn the potential identified in these INDCs into reality.”