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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pledge and review | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_and_review | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:18:57.646150+00:00 | kb-cron |
Pledge and review is a method for facilitating international action against climate change. It involves nations each making a self-determined pledge relating to actions they expect to take in response to global warming, which they submit to the United Nations. Some time after the pledges have been submitted, there is a review process where nations assess each other's progress towards meeting the pledges. Then a further round of enhanced pledges can be made, and the process can further iterate. Pledge and review is sometimes referred to as a bargaining approach; when nations first announce their pledges they may not be set in stone. A nation might strengthen its pledge in response to pledges by its competitors, which can encourage it to increase its climate ambition if it feels it can do so without losing ground to trading rivals. Additionally, sometimes a nation that feels especially threatened by climate change can make non-climate related concessions to a trading partner, in return for them making a stronger pledge. The main way to increase pledges, however, is when the process iterates after the review phase. Each subsequent round of pledges is supposed to involve an increased level of commitment to combat climate change. Hence the ratcheting up metaphor is often used, as the strengthening of pledges is supposed to be a one-way process. Pledge-and-review was introduced as a possible way to facilitate global action on climate change in 1991, yet it was little used in the early 1990s. In 1995, it was rejected by the international community, who instead favoured aiming for legally binding emission reduction targets. Due to challenges in securing international agreement to strengthen the only partially successful Kyoto Protocol, pledge-and-review was re-introduced as part of the 2009 Copenhagen Accord. Initially seen as an interim measure, by 2015 it had become the central approach of international efforts to encourage climate mitigation. Though in negotiations leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement, the name pledge-and-review was dropped; pledges are now formally called Nationally Determined Contributions.
== Mechanism ==
=== Pledges === The expected content for pledges depends on the specific implementation of pledge-and-review. Commitments to GHG emissions reduction targets are generally a core feature, though states have full freedom to set where that target lies. States can choose to express their reductions target in different ways. For example, in terms of absolute reductions in the volume of GHG emitted; for the Paris implementation, most developed nations included such a pledge. Yet states can instead commit to reducing GHG emissions in other ways, such as a percentage of GDP growth. As well as emissions reductions targets, the pledges can include intentions to implement climate adaptation measures, as well as specific industry level climate friendly policy, like support for various types of sustainable energy production. States are never legally required to meet the commitments in their pledges, but their progress is subject to review.
=== Reviews === The exact mechanism for reviews also varies depending on the specific implementation, and the review concept applies at several levels. Nations periodically review their own pledges, with a view to a one way increase in ambition. Pledges, both the level of commitment they contain, and actual progress in achieving the same, are also reviewed internationally, under the auspices of the UNFCCC. While the formal review processes run by the United Nations aim to be non adversarial, states can also be subject to informal reviews from NGOs, which can take a name and shame approach, though may also choose to "praise and encourage" nations that are doing more than comparable peers to limit climate change. In the implementation of pledge-and-review agreed at Paris in 2015, another level of review is the Global stocktake, where the pledges made by the world's nations are evaluated collectively.