Recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Nationally Determined Contributions: An overview for the third cycle

Currently, Parties are in the third cycle of NDCs, offering a critical opportunity to assess whether Parties have translated growing international recognition, reinforced by several UNFCCC decisions and the work of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), into substantive national climate policy.

This updated analysis reviews active NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC by 195 Parties as of August 2025, applying our established five-category framework to assess recognition of:

1. Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders;
2. Indigenous jurisdiction;
3. Indigenous knowledge systems;
4. Full and effective participation; and
5. The legacy of colonialism.

We assessed both the scale of recognition and the depth of engagement.

The third NDC cycle provides a key opportunity to assess whether Parties are closing the implementation gap and moving from rhetoric to concrete action in a way that aligns with Indigenous Peoples’ priorities, knowledge systems, and self-determined decision-making.