Technical Guidance For The Nationally Determined Contribution Expert Tool Next

The Nationally Determined Contribution Expert Tool (NEXT) is a greenhouse gas accounting tool developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support annual environmental impact assessment for the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use sector (AFOLU). It provides a 30-year time series of annual and cumulated estimates of carbon removal and greenhouse gas emission reductions from actions determined by Parties in their climate policies. NEXT was developed using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies, and estimates can be made using either the IPCC 2006 guidelines or the IPCC 2019 refinement to the IPCC 2006 which are both complemented with the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement. The tool was designed to provide results that directly respond to the provisions of the Enhanced Transparency Framework and support the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) development as required by the modalities, procedures and guidelines. NEXT provides a detailed temporal series of results and a wide set of indicators, including the social value of carbon, enabling a comprehensive environmental and economic overview of climate actions in achieving mitigation targets. The tool helps countries to interpret, track and scale up ambition of their NDCs which could ultimately inform the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement in a harmonized way.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

ABC-Map was designed with the specific objective of holistically assessing the environmental impacts of national policies, plans and investments in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector through Google Earth-based satellite imagery. ABC-Map helps to develop synergies and trade-offs between climate, biodiversity and land restoration actions. The Adaptation section helps to understand exposure to climate change risks and to assess climate change over time in a given area. It includes a climate and geophysical profile with, for example, information on temperature and precipitation trends over the past 40 years. The Biodiversity section covers a series of indicators that are intended to complement each other and provide a more comprehensive view of pressures and impacts on biodiversity. These indicators are average species abundance, land use change in protected areas and key biodiversity areas, and natural capital. The Carbon section aims to account for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the AFOLU sector and work towards their reduction. The Carbon section is similar to the Nationally Determined Contributions Expert Tool (NEXT), it takes into account the evolution of the carbon stock, the carbon balance and the social value of carbon. The overall objective of this technical manual is to provide users with (i) the detailed structure of ABC-Map, (ii) its methodological background, and (iii) the different data and factors used such as emission factors and default carbon stock values, reference values from ESVD, GLOBIO, climate and geophysical datasets among others.

Due to the urgent need to protect communities, ecosystems, and economies from the impacts of a changing climate, adaptation is becoming increasingly relevant. Climate change is already a significant stressor on most global and local value chains and threatens food security. This makes timely implementation of sustainable adaptation actions that catalyse agrifood system resilience indispensable for working towards better nutrition, better environments and better production, leaving no one behind. Recognizing the important role adaptation plays for agrifood systems, and its prominence in the Paris Agreement, the paper presents and reflects on FAO’s repertoire of different adaptation actions and solutions. Complementing the conclusion of the Global Stocktake at COP28, it comprehensively summarizes FAO’s efforts to boost progress in global adaptation actions. The paper (a) emphasizes the importance of bringing agrifood systems into the global adaptation agenda and policy landscape; (b) creates a cross-sectoral portfolio of FAO adaptation solutions covering multiple scales and approaches; (c) gives an insight into FAO's work with partners and Members and presents relevant networks and collaborations. Laying out FAO’s guiding principles according to the FAO Strategy on Climate Change 2022–2031, it underscores FAO’s efforts for transformative action in agrifood systems and demonstrates FAO's people-centered approach to climate change adaptation.

This paper is an accompaniment to the FAO study, The Agricultural Sectors in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs): Analysis. Building on the results of that study, this paper outlines key types of support developing countries will require to effectively implement and report on their agricultural sector commitments, and ultimately scale up ambition in the coming years.

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

Key messagesThis infobrief discusses the status, opportunities and challenges of incorporating blue carbon into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 13 Asia-Pacific countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam). While the role of mangroves is fully recognized in all countries' climate-change and environmental policies, only three (Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines) explicitly referred to blue carbon terminology in their policies and established a national agency responsible for the development of a blue carbon strategy.The challenges associated with incorporating and implementing blue carbon into the NDCs of these 13 countries include a lack of data and standard methodology; weak technical capacity; a lack of coordination between government agencies and sectors; overlapping mandates and inconsistent policies; the increasing degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems; as well as funding constraints for developing and implementing policies and practices in programs focusing on the conservation of blue carbon ecosystems.Nevertheless, opportunities exist as stakeholders increase their understanding and awareness of blue carbon's role and importance at an international, national and sub-national level.The factors that can help stakeholders to seize these opportunities and contribute to the restoration of blue ecosystems include more policy and technical guidance for blue carbon management and reporting; further capacity enhancement; and improved coordination and information sharing among the relevant actors.

The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law offers a unique and unparalleled treatment and presentation in the field of Transnational Law that has become one of the most intriguing and innovative developments in legal doctrine, scholarship, theory, and practice today. This in itself constitutes an ambitious editorial project, not only within law and legal doctrine, but also with regard to an increasing interest in an interdisciplinary engagement of law with social sciences - including sociology, anthropology, political science, geography, and political theory. Closely tied into the substantive transformation that many legal fields are undergoing is the observation that many of these developments are driven by changes in an increasingly global legal practice today. The concept then, of 'transnational law' aims at capturing the distinctly border- crossing nature even of those legal fields which had for the longest been time been seen as having merely 'domestic' relevance. This shift also requires a conscious effort among law school classroom instructors, casebook authors, and curriculum reformers to adapt their teaching content to these circumstances. As the authors of this Handbook make clear, this adaptation requires a close dialogue between a scholarly investigation into the transnational 'concept of law' and the challenges faced by practicing lawyers, be that as solicitor, in-house counsel, as judges, or as bureaucrats in a globalized regulatory and socio-economic environment. While the main thrust is on the transnationalization of legal doctrine and legal theory, with a considerable contribution from and engagement with social sciences, the Handbook features numerous reflections on the relationship between transnational law and legal practice.