Prime Minister Jotham Napat has announced the completion and submission of Vanuatu’s new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), outlining the country’s climate action targets from 2025 to 2035 under the Paris Agreement.
Speaking to the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Mr. Napat said the plan is built on 66 existing sector policies and contains 219 measurable targets , including 35 mitigation goals, 132 adaptation actions, and 52 loss and damage measures.
He stressed that Vanuatu will require over USD 3 billion in climate finance over the next decade, with most resources expected from international partners.
The Prime Minister also renewed Vanuatu’s call for countries to uphold the 1.5°C global warming limit, warning of the existential threat climate change poses to small island states.
“We chose this moment to send a clear signal. The world must raise its ambition to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees,” he told world leaders.
“For Vanuatu, that threshold is not abstract , it is the line of survival determining whether our island villages will thrive or be devastated by the climate crisis.”
The NDC is Vanuatu’s updated climate action plan, a requirement under the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 at the COP21 climate summit in France.