Conceptual framework

Since its launch, the objective of the LEDSenLAC report has been to provide a systematic review of the progress and challenges faced by the countries of the region in the design and development of strategies that will enable them to pursue resilient, low-emission development. In this edition, analysis focuses on progress in implementing the NDCs, which are not only a commitment to the UNFCCC, but are also important tools in promoting climate compatible development.

In order to include every objective of the LEDSenLAC 2019 report, a conceptual framework was established to identify or illustrate each country’s level of progress in the implementation of their current NDCs. This process is based on the methodological guidelines for the implementation of the NDCs prepared by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) among others. 

The four-stage implementation process proposed by UNDP and WRI were adopted to determine each country’s level of progress.

The first stage, preparation for planning, focuses on the efforts made by countries to inform and raise public awareness, develop institutional arrangements, and build technical capacity and baseline information used to plan NDC implementation. 

The second stage, involving NDC implementation planning and the mobilization of resources, assesses the progress made by countries in developing both an NDC implementation plan and a financial strategy to mobilize the resources needed to implement this plan. 

The third stage, involving NDC implementation and progress monitoring, assesses the progress made by countries in building enabling conditions and implementation measures aimed at meeting the goals set out in their NDCs. This stage also evaluates the progress made by countries in establishing a monitoring, reporting and verification system that gauges progress in NDC implementation. 

Finally, the fourth stage, involving the review and enhancement of NDC ambitions and future cycles, assesses whether the countries have reviewed and adjusted their implementation plans to results and have a long-term development instrument that consolidates and institutionalizes the process of updating and raising the ambition of future NDCs.

Not all countries follow the four stages of the NDC implementation process consecutively; the different planning and implementation measures are often applied at the same time. Nevertheless, this comprehensive and integrated sequence of stages facilitates the process of collating evidence of progress in Latin American countries. 

Each stage has different sub-stages, for which various components or criteria have been defined to enable an objective analysis of the model followed by each country. To identify the latter, criteria were established based on the aforementioned Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) publication, the management guidelines proposed by the UNFCCC, and the EUROCLIMA+ Thematic Studies series 13 Progress on Climate Action in Latin America: Nationally Determined Contributions as of 2019.