Developing country Parties have been contributing to global mitigation efforts in several ways. The clean development mechanism has been an important avenue of action for these countries to implement project activities that reduce emissions and enhance sinks. More recently, developing countries have agreed to implement Nationally Appropriate Mitigation actions, or NAMAs, with support from developed countries.

Under the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13, Parties are discussing enhanced national/international action on mitigation of climate change, including, inter alia, consideration of nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner.

After three years of work, the COP, at its sixteenth session, agreed that developing country Parties will take NAMAs in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, aimed at achieving a deviation in emissions relative to 'business as usual' emissions in 2020

So far fifty-five developing countries as well as the African Group have communicated the NAMAs that they intend to implement to the UNFCCC secretariat. The NAMAs communicated after the COP in Copenhagen have been compiled into an information document. The original submission of these NAMAs can be found in this link. Since then, other developing countries have communicated their intention to implement NAMAs and they have been compiled into a miscellaneous document and one addendum. In addition, three countries have communicated NAMAs to the secretariat. These countries are Burkina Faso (354 kB) , Gambia (1033 kB) and Guinea (105 kB) .

NAMAs submitted to the secretariat are diverse and range from project based mitigation actions to economy-wide emission reduction objectives. The COP in Cancun launched a process to facilitate understanding the diversity of NAMAs. Four in-session workshops have been organized to that effect. Reports of these workshops and presentations made by Parties can be found in the following links:

First workshop | Second workshop | Third workshop | Fourth workshop

The COP in Cancun also established a Registry to record information on NAMAs and support; and to facilitate matching of NAMAs with support available. While the registry prototype is being developed, the secretariat has put in place a temporary website to allow Parties and entities to start submitting information to the registry. Two developing country Parties have submitted proposals seeking support for preparation of NAMAs and one country has submitted a NAMA for recognition.