Seizing opportunities through enhancing NDCs under the Paris Agreement | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Food
    • Habitat
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • TBS Graduates
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Tech
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
December 08, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Food
    • Habitat
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • TBS Graduates
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Tech
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2023
Seizing opportunities through enhancing NDCs under the Paris Agreement

Thoughts

A S M Marjan Nur
25 October, 2020, 11:10 am
Last modified: 25 October, 2020, 11:23 am

Related News

  • Haor Master Plan, tourism and the persistent housing crisis in the haors
  • RMG's net-zero problem: Why switching to renewables is easier said than done
  • Climate leaders call for 'Paris agreement' for nature
  • NCDs, precarious livelihoods among challenges in achieving nutrition target 
  • EU plans to upgrade its Paris Agreement climate target

Seizing opportunities through enhancing NDCs under the Paris Agreement

As Bangladesh is updating NDC, there is a scope to integrate the missed opportunities for enhancing mitigation ambitions, as well as strengthening adaptation plans and actions

A S M Marjan Nur
25 October, 2020, 11:10 am
Last modified: 25 October, 2020, 11:23 am
A S M Marjan Nur.
A S M Marjan Nur.

The adoption of Paris Agreement in 2015 is a momentous one in terms of climate negotiations where 196 counties pledged to embrace a paradigm shift to transform their development activities towards a sustainable practice, aiming at limiting the global warming to 1.5 to 2°C above the pre-industrial levels.

Nationally Determined Contributions, mostly knows as NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and reflects each country's pledged climate ambitions for reducing emission, as well as plans to foster climate resilience and low carbon development.

Attendees gather at the German pacillion during the United Nations COP21 climate conference in Paris, France, in December 3, 2015. Photo: Bloomberg.
Attendees gather at the German pacillion during the United Nations COP21 climate conference in Paris, France, in December 3, 2015. Photo: Bloomberg.

Although the development of NDCs brought about a much needed momentum, but often developed quickly with limited data, insufficient consultations and resources, NDCs missed the opportunity to link development and climate agendas to promote an enabling environment of ambition and inclusive climate action.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The Paris Agreement established probation for periodic review of NDCs in 5-year cycles to increase ambition in emission reductions, enhance climate resilience and make more communicating for effective implementation over time.

As many countries including Bangladesh have initiated the process of enhancing or updating climate ambitions or NDCs in 2020, there is a scope to integrate the missed opportunities for enhancing mitigation ambitions, as well as strengthening adaptation plans and actions, ensuring more clarity, transparency for the better implementation of the NDCs.

There are many reasons to enhance the NDCs, but for a developing country like Bangladesh these could be seizing opportunities for economic growth and development, attracting climate finance and investment, maximising synergies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taking advantage of major technological developments, and bolstering implementation.

It is important to ensure active participation by all the relevant government agencies, scientists, research institutes, non-governmental and international organisations, enterprises and development partners.

It is important that the developing countries should assess the development potentials of climate interventions and modify or integrate the NDC to maximise co-benefits. We need to be innovative as we are updating the NDCs of Bangladesh.

NDC enhancement process should recognise economy-wide mitigation measures that span all the relevant sectors. Bangladesh is considered as one of the leading countries in the world in terms of its knowledge and actions on adaptation to climate change, but in terms mitigation actions the country still lacks capacity mostly because of the lack of reliable data, actions from both private and public sectors, sector wide implementation etc.

Though many of us often consider NDC as a mitigation guideline only where countries pledge their climate ambition; adaptation is also a major component of NDC. Enhancing the adaptation measures in an NDC should be designed in a way so that it can increase the visibility and profile of adaptation to achieve balance with mitigation, promote learning and understanding of adaptation needs and actions, strengthen collaboration and support and provide inputs to the global stock-take.

Bangladesh is also developing National Adaptation Plan (NAP), so it is important to ensure harmonisation between these two documents to enable an inclusive climate action. The enhancement process should include loss and damage, gender equality, creation of social supports to help the millions of displaced people and health. 

In addition to the enhanced mitigation and adaptation measures, the revised NDC should feature new actions, like nature-based solutions, locally led adaptation, urban resilience, and significantly improve the implementation modality of the proposed actions.

Restoration of degraded ecosystems to healthy functioning may lead towards decarbonisation [MAH3] with multiple environmental, social, and economic benefits. It is also important to ensure that the enhanced NDC analysed relevant synergies, opportunities and trade-offs to rationalise with other international and national processes; for example, revised Bangladesh Climate Change Strategies and Action Plan (BCCSAP), national or sectoral development planning processes, 5-year plan, the 2030 Development Agenda (SDGs) of the government and all other relevant key documents including challenges and response measures for the harmonisation and better implementation.

Capacity building should be one of the core components and all the relevant institutions should assess their capacity for the implementation of NDCs to be clearer and more specific in terms of the need of capacity building and additional assistance.

Countries should consider this enhancement process as an opportunity to engage all the relevant stakeholders in support of the implementation and to attract finance, capacity building initiatives, technical advancements from the international community.

Covid-19 is posing challenges to the NDC update process, particularly in the consultation process, collecting and validating data, and engaging the relevant stakeholders. As a result, there is a chance that many countries may fail to meet the quality and ambition to enhance their NDCs by 2020.

It is important to maintain the momentum to enhance NDCs and bring climate into the heart of the Covid-19 recovery process. Bangladesh should prepare its enhanced NDC in a way that it can support as a catalyst to seize the wider social and economic benefits that a zero carbon future can offer.

A comprehensive climate plan that protects citizens, create green jobs and generate sustainable economic growth should be the core message of the enhanced NDC.


A S M Marjan Nur, Research Coordinator, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER), BRAC University.


 

NDCs / Paris Agreement / plan

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Govt plans to downsize FY25 budget, cut growth targets
    Govt plans to downsize FY25 budget, cut growth targets
  • The Indian court observed the government was not denying the gravity of the problem. HT, ANI
    Indian SC seeks info on inflow of undocumented immigrants after Bangladesh’s liberation
  • Bangladesh now has 19 GI-certified products. What changed?
    Bangladesh now has 19 GI-certified products. What changed?

MOST VIEWED

  • File photo of metro rail during its trial run. Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    Metro rail Dhaka University, Bijoy Sarani stations to start operations from 13 December
  • What is causing dollar crisis in Bangladesh
    What is causing dollar crisis in Bangladesh
  • Current account surplus drops by 80% in one month
    Current account surplus drops by 80% in one month
  • Sketch: TBS
    How Khan Farhana built a 300,000-strong LinkedIn community
  • Photo: UNB
    Unique Group MD Noor Ali's daughter Nahida dies in US road crash
  • Photo: Collected
    Dhaka expressway construction crane hits train; rail link with capital snapped

Related News

  • Haor Master Plan, tourism and the persistent housing crisis in the haors
  • RMG's net-zero problem: Why switching to renewables is easier said than done
  • Climate leaders call for 'Paris agreement' for nature
  • NCDs, precarious livelihoods among challenges in achieving nutrition target 
  • EU plans to upgrade its Paris Agreement climate target

Features

Bangladesh now has 19 GI-certified products. What changed?

Bangladesh now has 19 GI-certified products. What changed?

Now | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

How financial institutions can help transition to net zero

Now | Panorama
Sketch: TBS

The looming populist dystopia

Now | Panorama
Hamas-Israel war: What really happened on 7 October?

Hamas-Israel war: What really happened on 7 October?

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Israeli troops surround home of Hamas chief: Netanyahu

Israeli troops surround home of Hamas chief: Netanyahu

10h | TBS World
Santos relegated for first time in 111-year history

Santos relegated for first time in 111-year history

11h | TBS SPORTS
Deepening dollar crisis in Bangladesh: Unveiling causes

Deepening dollar crisis in Bangladesh: Unveiling causes

13h | TBS Round Table
Current account surplus drops by 80% in one month

Current account surplus drops by 80% in one month

15h | TBS Economy
EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]