About Blue Nationally Determined Contributions Challenge:
- It is a landmark international initiative launched by France and Brazil.
- It urges countries to incorporate ocean-focused climate measures into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belem, Brazil.
- Six other countries: Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico, Palau, and the Republic of Seychelles have joined this initiative.
- It is supported by Ocean Conservancy, the Ocean and Climate Platform and the World Resources Institute through the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) and has been endorsed by WWF-Brazil.
What are NDCs?
- NDCs are national climate plans that outline a country’s efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change under the Paris Agreement adopted by 195 Parties at UNFCCC COP21 in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015,
- To hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
