Only 29 countries have submitted updated climate plans under Paris Agreement.
UN expects India, China, EU, and others to submit by September.
COP30 summit set for November; timely NDCs critical for climate action.
As of September 2025, only 29 countries out of the 196 parties have updated their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. However, the COP30 Presidency is expecting the European Union, China, India and Latin American countries among others to announce their NDCs by the end of this month, HT reported citing Ana Toni, the CEO of COP30.
On September 5, the United Nations climate chief has invited heads of states and governments to showcase their NDCs — climate action plans created by countries under the Paris Agreement — at the UN Secretary General’s high-level special event on climate action, in New York on September 24. In a letter to 196 parties to the Paris Agreement and observer organisations and states, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called on all parties to announce their NDCs by the end of September, reported HT.
“We only have 29 NDCs at the moment and we would hope to have many more by COP. So, we are expecting them at the General Assembly — either before, during or after the General Assembly. From now to COP30, we are expecting many announcements on NDCs from the European Union, China, India, Latin American countries, Mexico, and several other countries. We are discussing with many of these countries and we feel that they are all very engaged and working hard to deliver the NDCs. So, yes, we are expecting to see announcements very soon,” Ana Toni told HT.
"These national climate plans are much more than words on paper; they are among this century’s most powerful engines of economic growth and rising living standards, and the cornerstone of humanity's fight against the global climate crisis," Stiell wrote in a letter, as cited by Euronews.
With the COP30 being just one month away, the pace of submissions must be increased to have a meaningful discussion. Most countries missed the deadline in February this year and six months later, major polluters, still have not submitted their updates.
What is NDC?
Countries prepare national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, called the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). These are plans that aim to limit global temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial level.
Parties to the Paris Agreement had to submit their updated NDCs for 2035 by February 10, 2025. However, only 29 of the 195 countries met the deadline.
In May 2025, the number of countries submitting updated NDCs stood at 21. These included Zambia, Cuba, Maldives, Montenegro, Japan, Canada, Marshall Islands, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Ecuador, Saint Lucia, Andorra, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Uruguay, the United States of America, Brazil, Kenya, Moldova and the United Arab Emirates.
At that time, the US had also announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year, inducing fears of a “crippled” Paris agreement as reported by The Guardian.
