Climate mitigation policy

Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA)

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Definition

Nationally appropriate mitigation actions are measures that reduce emissions in developing countries, prepared under the umbrella of a national governmental initiative in the context of sustainable development — ranging from single projects to sector-wide policies. Originating in the 2007 Bali Action Plan, NAMAs were to be supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, aiming at deviation from business-as-usual emissions by 2020.

References

UNFCCCNationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions

definition, two levels, registry, support basis

Overview

What it means

NAMAs functioned at two levels: formal national submissions of intent (communicated under decision 1/CP. 16) and individual registered actions seeking support through the UNFCCC NAMA Registry. They were the pre-Paris vehicle for developing-country mitigation engagement.

How it is used

Dozens of countries submitted NAMAs; the concept's legacy lives on in NDCs, which absorbed its nationally determined logic, and in support-matching platforms for sectoral mitigation programmes.

Why it matters

NAMAs pioneered the idea that developing-country mitigation would be nationally defined but internationally supported — the template for the NDC-and-finance architecture of the Paris Agreement. **Note:** In-batch merges: 1799 "NAMA" and 1800 "NAMAs" (abbreviation and plural) → this entry.

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Meaning status
Established
Verification date
Not recorded
Last updated
18 Aug 2026
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Meaning status: Established

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