MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, URY

This award is bestowed upon Uruguay, recognising its Outstanding NDC by Region: South America. Uruguay's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC3) demonstrates an exceptional effort, encompassing ambitious, quantifiable targets and a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change, firmly positioning it as a leading exemplar in the region.

The NDC3 exhibits progressive and quantifiable ambition across both mitigation and adaptation. Its mitigation goals for up to 2035 set an extraordinary early emission cap for a developing country, aiming to not exceed specific absolute emission levels for major greenhouse gases, including CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O, thus covering an impressive 99.2% of the nation's gross emissions. This ambition extends to specific emission intensity reduction targets for CH₄ and N₂O in beef production, alongside conservation and stock increase targets for carbon in forest and grassland. In parallel, the NDC3's Third Adaptation Communication (ComAd3) highlights numerous national adaptation objectives and measures (MACC) across critical sectors such as risk management, water resources, agriculture, coastal zones, cities, and energy, fundamentally aiming to bolster adaptive capacity and strengthen resilience.

Uruguay’s NDC3 unequivocally exemplifies alignment with the Paris Agreement objectives, directly referencing key articles such as Article 2 on the Convention’s objective and Article 7 on the global adaptation goal. It rigorously demonstrates how its actions and objectives contribute to the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and how establishing an early emissions cap facilitates the global goal of emissions peaking as soon as practicable. The methodology for estimating and reporting emissions strictly adheres to IPCC Guidelines, ensuring consistency with international frameworks. This commitment is deeply integrated with national and sectoral plans, framed within the National Climate Change Policy (PNCC) and building upon comprehensive National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for sectors like Agriculture, Cities, Coastal Zone, and Energy. Further integration with the Long-Term Climate Strategy (ECLP) and the National Strategy for Action for Climate Empowerment (ENACE) underscores a holistic policy approach.

A notable innovation is the strategic incorporation of the climate dimension into economic policy and public finances, uniquely materialised in the issuance of sovereign financing instruments indexed to climate and biodiversity indicators (BIICC, PIICC). Uruguay stands as the first country globally to integrate a bidirectional interest rate structure in a climate-linked sovereign bond, actively exploring tools to involve the financial and private sector in climate action. This is complemented by the promotion of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), advanced monitoring and early warning systems, and a robust institutional framework with strong emphasis on participatory processes, including gender and youth perspectives. The tangible progress achieved is remarkable, particularly the advanced transformation of its electricity matrix, reaching an average of 94% renewable generation between 2017-2023. These achievements, coupled with pioneering financial instruments and active regional engagement, solidify Uruguay's position as a pivotal regional reference for comprehensive, equitable, and resilient climate action within a developing country context.