Raising Ambition on SDG7: Leveraging Energy Compacts for Updated NDCs

As the member states prepare to submit the 3rd generation of NDCs, ensuring more ambitious energy commitments in alignment with SDG7 is critical. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement, outlining each country's plan to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Sustainable Energy for All and UNDP co-hosted a webinar as part of the series organized by the NDC Partnership, to showcase innovative strategies for enhancing energy commitments within NDCs and provide practical solutions for achieving SDG7 and a net-zero energy transition. The webinar provided an overview of the Energy Compact process and alignment with UNDP’s Climate Promise to highlight how these efforts can bolster overall climate ambition by integrating energy commitments into revised NDCs.

During the High-Level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), led by the Secretary-General, global leaders and governments gathered to set ambitious goals for universal energy access and a net-zero energy transition. The critical need to close the energy access gap was underscored then and continues to be imperative now, even as 685 million people still lack electricity and 2.1 billion do not have clean cooking facilities. The dialogue further emphasized the economic benefits of renewable energy investments and the importance of affordable energy in mitigating climate change. The Energy Compacts were launched at HLDE, positioned as voluntary commitments designed to encourage countries to set and achieve bold energy targets. 

Since 2021, the Energy Compacts have mobilized ambitious commitments towards SDG7, including USD 1.3 trillion in finance, 697 million people with enhanced electricity access and 1,185 GW in clean energy deployment. Ensuring these commitments are reflected in countries’ NDCs would enable the much-needed cohesiveness between the energy and climate agendas, resulting in amplified action towards achieving our global goals. 

“Energy Compacts offer a starting framework for countries to consider when updating their energy targets as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” 

 

Ms. Chibulu Luo, Global Energy and Climate Change Advisor, Sustainable Energy Hub, UNDP

In support of these efforts, UNDP is leveraging its Climate Promise to coordinate a UN-wide initiative, helping developing countries enhance their NDCs with ambitious energy goals. The Climate Promise 2025 framework is structured around three key pillars: ambition, acceleration, and inclusivity. It focuses on enhancing NDCs with bolder targets, scaling up climate actions through public and private finance, and ensuring inclusive engagement with underrepresented groups, including women and indigenous communities. 

Ms. Guly Sabahi, Senior Advisor, Climate Finance, NDC Partnership Support Unit, emphasized the importance of ambitious NDCs for attracting investments and noted that private sector engagement is key at both the country and global levels: "The interlinking and alignment between national priorities and private sector plans can enable greater flows of direct investments, technology, knowledge, and good practices."  Guly also introduced the NDC 3.0 Navigator tool, highlighting key opportunities such as adopting ambitious targets, setting clear expectations for private sector contributions, collaborating with industry to raise ambition, and leveraging businesses for innovation and technology transfer.

The panel discussion, moderated by Ms. Divya Kottadiel, Senior Specialist, Sustainable Energy for All; included government representatives and development partners from Asia, Africa and Latin America, who offered insights on strengthening the climate action agenda by leveraging Energy Compacts. The panelists spoke from their experience and context of aligning Energy Compact commitments within the revised NDCs.

Mr. Yoshua Christofel, Special Advisor on Energy Affairs to the Deputy Minister for Maritime and Natural Resources, Government of Indonesia shared, “The synchronization of energy and climate goals is crucial for our nation. We are currently revising our national energy plan and incorporating it in the NDC as a primary consideration to achieve our net-zero mission by 2060. We hope to enact the new energy plan this year, with the law on renewable energy, which we hope will create a conducive environment for new energy to grow and attract renewable energy investment into Indonesia.”

Republic of Indonesia's Energy Compact is centered on four main objectives. The first is to increase the share of new and renewable energy in Indonesia's Total Primary Energy Supply. The second is to improve the energy intensity of Indonesia's economy, as part of the country's broader agenda to transform its economy from a natural resource extraction-based model to a green and blue economy. This transformation aims to reduce energy consumption and, consequently, energy intensity. The third objective is to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. Finally, the fourth goal is to increase the current installed capacity of solar and wind power up until 2030.

In the LAC region, energy transition encompasses a broad range of strategies. Some countries are shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy, while others focus on electromobility, public transportation, or private vehicles. Bolivia combines basic electricity access with green hydrogen, and both Bolivia and Chile are researching green hydrogen for export. Additionally, private sector entities like Electras and Brazilian Development Bank are exploring decarbonizing the Amazon by transitioning diesel systems to renewable energy. 

Ms. Debora Ley, Chief, Energy and Natural Resources, ECLAC shared, “The LAC region has different multi-stakeholder Energy Compacts, some with broader initiatives like the 24/7 Carbon Free Energy Compact, which includes countries like Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico to accelerate decarbonization and improve electricity systems. The No New Coal compact, joined by Panama and Chile, aims to eliminate coal power projects. Finally, the Renewable Energies in Latin America and the Caribbean (RELAC) compact, seeks to achieve a 70% generation of renewable energy in approximately 14 countries of the region”.

For Nigeria, the challenge of energy access is significant. As per International Energy Agency, Nigeria has approximately 140 million people without access to energy, which is nearly 71% of the country’s population. Addressing energy challenges in Nigeria can make a substantial impact on energy poverty both within Africa and globally. Additionally, Nigeria is facing significant energy shortages and a large gap between energy demand and supply. However, there is hope for Nigeria's energy future. The recent energy act aims to decentralize and deregulate the energy sector, giving state governments and federal cities more power to establish markets for generation, transmission, and operation of systems. This could enable private sector players to construct, own, and operate mini-grids, which is a positive step towards energy transition.

“In the African context, the biggest challenge is access to energy. Governments often emphasize the need to address energy access before transitioning to green energy. Despite these challenges, there is significant interest in green energy. For example, Nigeria has a transition plan targeting net-zero emissions by 2060, focusing on key sectors like power, transport, industry, oil and gas, and cooking. Achieving this goal will require substantial financing, estimated at $1.9 trillion over the next few decades, with the private sector playing a crucial role” 

 

Mr. Tony Muhumuza, Deputy Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme

In an interactive section of the webinar, the audience was asked a series of questions where 42% of the respondents said finance was the most important SDG7-aligned area that should be prominently included in the revised NDCs. In addition, support on transport, coal phase out, policy and regulation, and subsidy reform featured prominently on areas where countries needed towards advancing their NDC revision efforts. 

Ensuring policy coherence across NDCs, Energy Compacts, and national development plans is crucial, as energy is a key enabler of other SDGs, including health, food systems, education, and sustainable cities. Recognizing these interconnections is essential, along with aligning with cross-cutting issues such as gender, human rights, and social inclusion, to effectively accelerate the clean energy transition.  

You can access the webinar recording here.

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