- At the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties in Warsaw in 2013, the UNFCCC created a mechanism for Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to be submitted in the run up to the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties in Paris (COP21) in 2015.
- Countries were given freedom and flexibility to ensure these climate change mitigation and adaptation plans were nationally appropriate; this flexibility, especially regarding the types of actions to be undertook, allowed for developing countries to tailor their plans to their specific adaptation and mitigation needs, as well as towards other needs.
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A “family photo” organized by Greenpeace, at the entrance to the United Nations, with a banner reading “We Will Move Ahead”
- In the aftermath of COP21, these INDCs became Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) when a country ratified the Paris Agreement, unless a new NDC was submitted to the UNFCCC at the same time.
- The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh focused on these Nationally Determined Contributions and their implementation, after the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016.
- India, with 4.1% of emissions, ratified the Paris Agreement on October 2, 2016 by depositing the instrument of ratification with the United Nations.