Nationally Determined Contributions - adaptation costing for Columbia

Challenge

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) represent the contribution of individual countries towards achieving the global targets set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. They specify the commitments, policies and measures each nation has undertaken to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. 

In 2020, Colombia’s national and regional governments requested support with the costing of adaptation measures included in their NDC, as well as any further measures to be included in the future updates.

The project was funded by World Bank, the international financial institution that provides support to low- and middle-income countries looking to initiate major capital projects.

Approach

With no existing guidance or internationally recognised methodology, Ricardo’s experts developed an original approach to measure NDC adaptation costings, accompanied by guidance for local policy makers to ensure the process is consistently followed in future adaptation-related policy development.

The project required Ricardo’s experts to develop clear and flexible methodology, one that could account for a wide range of metrics, accommodate varied access to precise information, and manage differing assumptions on the timescales for policy implementation. 

The approach was also required to allow government decision makers to classify adaptation measures in an appropriate manner, not only to support the costing exercise but also inform analysis and comparisons for future policy development.

Outcomes

The project developed a novel approach to measure costing and provided sufficient guidance and tools to enable local decision makers to apply it across a range of scenarios. The supporting materials also support the national government’s future steps related to adaptation measure costing.

Outputs:

• Guia-Metodologica-para-el-costeo-de-medidas-de-adaptación-del-NDC-de-Colombia.pdf (dnp.gov.co) (Spanish language)
• Generalidades Guía metodológica para el costeo de las medidas de adaptación de las NDC de Colombia (dnp.gov.co) – web-based explanation of the guide (Spanish language)