Compare and contrast: INDC scorecard for major polluters published
September 29, 2015
Posted by: Frances Lawson
With so many INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) having been submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat, evaluating them all, or even just the key ones, has become a task too mighty for most. Fortunately, US NGO the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) has just published a handy ‘scorecard’ assessing the proposed contributions of the world’s major polluters.
The ‘Scorecard’ is available here
One country whose contribution was published too late for the scorecard is Brazil. Its INDC at first blush deserves to feature in the top half of the table. Although using a short timeframe of 2020 to 2025 for its commitment, rather than 2030 to fit with the 10-year initial period of the Paris Agreement, it contains a bold pledge to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2025 relative to 2005. For such a rapidly industrialising country, the depth of the proposed cut is encouraging. Equally positive is that this pledge is unconditional – unlike many developed countries, Brazil is not hinging its commitment on international support, although of course, it makes the point that such support is welcome. By 2030, the ‘indicative’ target is a 43% cut relative to 2005 levels. Quite why it is only ‘indicative’ rather than a firm commitment is, perhaps, the main question mark left by a reading of the Brazilian INDC.
The full text of Brazil’s INDC can be found here
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