11 December 2018: The Dominican Republic has approved a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Action Plan to advance its commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change, and operationalize its NDC, which was submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat in 2015.

The Plan, which was launched on the sidelines of the Katowice Climate Change Conference in December 2018, identifies the country’s priorities for the 2019-2021 period regarding legislation, finance and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building to strengthen climate action.

The NDC Action Plan prioritizes, inter alia:

• integrated and adaptive watershed management through local systems of sustainable production;
• initiatives to reduce climate vulnerability in agricultural, tourist and marine coastal areas;
• incentives to increase energy efficiency and participation of non-conventional renewable energies; and
• deployment of cleaner transportation alternatives.

The Plan was developed through a consultative process undertaken with support from the NDC Partnership, including an August 2018 national workshop, which brought together more than 100 representatives from 60 State and non-State institutions to discuss the Plan.

The Plan will provide for planning, coordination, mobilization of resources and transparency in NDC implementation to advance realization of the Dominican Republic’s development and climate objectives. It will be reviewed annually to ensure priorities are updated and included in the country’s development plans.

The NDC Partnership helps developing countries improve and apply their NDCs through technical assistance, with Partnership members providing support to: strengthen policy frameworks; integrate climate actions into national, sectoral and subnational plans; develop budget and investment plans; share knowledge and resources; and build stronger monitoring and information systems in line with country requests. [NDC Partnership News Story] [NDC Partnership Website] [Dominican Republic’s NDC]