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Jenna Farineau/ActionAid

The Fair Shares NDC: setting a benchmark for ambitious climate action

April 21, 2021

In early April, ActionAid USA joined environmental, environmental justice, and development groups to release the “Fair Shares Nationally Determined Contribution” (“Fair Shares NDC”) – a new policy document that lays out the United States’ responsibility in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. These “fair shares” measures are based on the United States’ status as the world’s wealthiest country and largest historical carbon polluter. The document came in advance of the April 22-23 Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by President Biden, ahead of which the United States unveiled a new NDC as part of its reentry into the Paris Agreement. The Fair Shares NDC sets a benchmark for how our groups will evaluate Biden’s new climate commitments.

As the official NDC sets a target for a 50-52% reduction in emissions by 2030, our analysis shows clearly the inadequacy of this target. An NDC aligned with a fair shares analysis would be closer to 195% reductions by 2030 – achievable through 70% domestic reductions plus climate finance and other support to enable the remaining 125% internationally.

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