An increasing number of regions, cities, businesses, investors, and civil society organizations are taking voluntary climate action to help realize the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, while this growing landscape of commitments holds great promise, questions remain about their collective impact, implementation, and credibility. Reliable data and transparent tracking are therefore essential to understand the real contribution of these actors to global climate goals. CAMDA is a global research and data community dedicated to providing credible information on the ambition and progress of subnational and non-state climate actors. It was initiated in 2017 in response to a call by Patricia Espinosa and Christiana Figueres, then Executive Secretaries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to establish a collaborative network for assessing and communicating the impact of climate action beyond national governments.
Since 2018, the CAMDA consortium – led by the NewClimate Institute and bringing together partners from universities and research institutes around the world – has produced a series of Global Aggregation Reports presented at major climate summits. These reports offer evidence of how the combined efforts of cities, regions, and businesses can significantly strengthen global climate ambition and help deliver on the Paris Agreement. The current phase of the project (2021–2027) seeks to deepen the understanding of the scope and impact of subnational and non-state climate action.
Specifically, the project will:
- Aggregate emission-reduction targets to assess how the ambition of cities, regions and businesses compares with and complements national climate plans and actions;
- Track implementation to evaluate whether announced measures by sub/non-state actors are being put into practice and aligned with Paris-consistent pathways;
- Assess the integrity of emerging supply-chain and net-zero targets, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors;
- Examine the role of financial institutions, such as investors and asset managers, in driving real-world emissions reductions.