FCCC/CP/2015/7

FCCC/CP/2015/7
the importance of a shared global effort undertaken in a fair and equitable manner; the
principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities; the need for taking into account Parties’ national circumstances; the
recognition that all countries need to act to address climate change; the application of the
same legal form and rules to all Parties; and the recognition that fairness considerations
include various aspects and national circumstances, as no single indicator can accurately
reflect fairness or a globally equitable distribution of Parties’ efforts.
166. Most of the INDCs refer to specific national circumstances when outlining why they
are fair and ambitious. National circumstances relevant to determining the fairness and
ambition of the INDCs communicated by Parties include, inter alia, considerations related
to: the size and geography of the country; its population and urban density; its climatic
conditions; its natural resource endowment; its energy mix (abundance/lack of natural and
renewable energy resources, dependence on fossil fuels, already having a low-carbon
energy system, and limits on the use of nuclear energy due to public concerns); and its
vulnerability to climate change impacts.
167. Several Parties highlighted the link between the actions to address climate change
implied by their INDCs and their development priorities, including social and economic
development as well as poverty eradication. Some Parties highlighted synergies between
their development and climate priorities and a few further noted specific co-benefits of
action to address climate change, including improvements in air quality, human health, job
creation and others, as well as synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions, in
particular in agriculture and forestry.
168. Many Parties linked the discussion on the fairness and ambition of their INDCs to
national circumstances, in particular to economic and social trends, such as: high economic
growth; high population growth; being in the process of rapid industrialization and
urbanization; facing challenges of economic development; aspirations for growth and
poverty eradication; the need for the improvement of living standards; dependence on the
global supply chain for food and energy security; sensitivity to the volatility of regional and
global developments; high dependency on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture,
tourism, water and health; as well as the specifics of the respective industrial structure (e.g.
large share of manufacturing and high energy efficiency of major industries, and large share
of emissions originating from agriculture).
169. In providing information on how they consider their INDCs to be fair and ambitious,
many Parties further provided information on specific criteria for evaluating fairness and
ambition, including criteria relating to the Party’s responsibility and capability, mitigation
potential, cost of mitigation actions, the degree of progression/stretching beyond the current
level of effort, and the link to objectives and global goals. Most of those Parties in their
INDCs viewed responsibility directly or indirectly in the context of their past, current and
future share in the global emissions and per capita emissions in comparison with global
averages, as well as the trends in one or several of those indicators.
170. Regarding the capacity to contribute, considerations include level of development,
GDP per capita, ability to invest in mitigation, and international support received. Some
Parties listed the potential for cost-efficient mitigation and past efforts among the fairness
criteria.
Ambition
171. For many Parties, ambition corresponds to the size of their efforts to address climate
change in relation to their national circumstances, capacity and responsibility. The
interpretation of ambition varies from country to country and is manifested in narratives
that explain Parties’ level of efforts. For example, many Parties referred in their INDCs to
progression beyond current undertakings, either in terms of the size of the effort or its type,
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