This report is based on the strict analysis of content of the NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) submitted by the Mediterranean countries Parties to the Barcelona Convention to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It documents the policies and measures foreseen to achieve the national objectives set under the Paris Agreement, per sector for each country and at the global level for all countries around the Mediterranean. This analysis builds on and complete the previous editions of the reports on the Mediterranean facing climate change, realized by ENERGIES 2050 and its partners, for which a succinct analysis of Mediterranean’s NDC was already carried out.

The NDCs are documents that are sovereignly established. They enter within the frame of the new international climate regime and the innovative bottom-up approach established by the Paris Agreement. Their nationally determined nature and the lack of drafting guidance applicable to all during their elaboration have resulted in a wide diversity of content, which can be very brief (example of the European Union) or very detailed (example of Morocco). This diversity of content can be seen at the international level but also at the Mediterranean level, with countries facing very specific climate challenges and having diverse national circumstances. Given the political nature of the NDCs, as well as their free format, which makes it sometimes difficult to make a “comparison” between the Parties, this study does not intend to provide a comprehensive view of countries’ efforts regarding climate change.

However, it allows to better identify the substantial content and the interpretation made by the Parties to the Barcelona Convention of this new political instrument constituted by the NDCs. The Parties to the UNFCCC are expected to adopt further guidance on NDCs at COP 24 (Katowice, December 2018). The next communication/revision cycle of NDCs will be in 2020.

This study provide a basis for further analysis to assess the climate ambition of the Parties to the Barcelona Convention in this first phase of engagement (2015-2020) under the aegis of the Paris Agreement, whether at international, regional (in the Mediterranean basin) or national (per country) level.