The latest insights from the We Mean Business coalition

From targets to delivery: Why business engaged with national climate plans in 2025

With signatories to the Paris Agreement having to submit updated national climate plans in 2025, the past two years have seen an important stepping up of business engagement with the NDC process. WMBC helped to coordinate this, with leading companies insisting on the importance of clear plans and implementation as a driver of investment. 

As of December 2025, 123 parties had submitted their 2035 NDCs, including all G20 economies except India and Saudi Arabia. To unlock business investment at the scale needed, ambition must be matched with credible implementation plans and continued public-private collaboration. 

Businesses are already acting on climate change, but the pace and scale of their investment into the transition over the next decade will depend on whether governments can turn their own climate ambition into delivery.  

The direction of travel is clear. Clean energy is expanding rapidly, costs continue to fall, and business expectations have shifted decisively. 97% of business leaders want governments to rapidly shift from fossil fuels to renewables-based electricity systems. What they are looking for next is clarity. 

That is why this round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) matters. These national climate plans set out how countries intend to reduce emissions by 2035 and, in doing so, shape the investment landscape for energy, industry, transport and land use. As of December 15, 123 Parties had submitted their 2035 NDCs, including all G20 economies except India and Saudi Arabia.  

Taken together, the NDCs send a mixed signal. A UNFCCC synthesis of the NDCs submitted by September concluded that countries are “bending the global emissions curve further downwards, but still not quickly enough.” The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 found that even if the latest NDCs were fully implemented, the world would be on track for 2.3 to 2.5°C of warming – significantly above the 1.5°C goal. For business, this reinforces twin realities. First, the transition will accelerate. Second, policy ambition without credible implementation plans will not unlock investment at the speed required. 

Businesses play a pivotal role in closing that gap. As COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago has argued, the global transition is “one of the greatest engines for innovation and growth in history”. But for it to become exponential rather than incremental, governments must provide the signals that allow capital and supply chains to move with confidence. 

In 2024, We Mean Business Coalition began rallying businesses on the importance of NDCs and delivered clear messages to governments via the Business Call to Action for Ambitious and Investible NDCs. This called for action from governments across three pillars:  

• Pillar 1: Put forward ambitious NDCs containing economy-wide emissions reduction targets as well as sector-specific targets and policy commitments. 

• Pillar 2: Develop clear and consistent policy frameworks to implement NDCs by unlocking private investment. 

• Pillar 3: Undertake transparent and inclusive dialogue with businesses 

Over the past year, the We Mean Business Coalition built on this work to go national, partnering with local organizations to mobilize business voices calling for ambitious and investible NDCs across nine key geographies: Brazil, the EU, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea, the UK, Indonesia and Japan.¹ Several common themes emerged from this international work. 

Robust NDCs drive growth 

There is growing recognition that strong climate action is not a cost to be managed but a source of economic advantage. The UK’s green economy grew three times faster than the rest of the economy in 2024, reaching GBP 83 billion (USD 110 billion). Australia’s Climate Change Authority estimates that investment in new green industries could add more than AUD 300 billion (USD 200 billion) annually to the economy in the coming decades. Indonesia’s clean energy transition represents a USD 3.8 trillion investment opportunity, while expanded wind and solar deployment has enabled the EU to avoid EUR 59 billion (USD 69 billion) in fossil fuel imports since 2019. 

Several major economies, including Brazil, Australia, the EU, South Africa, Indonesia and Canada, have submitted ranges for their 2035 emissions reductions targets. Often representing political compromises, these ranges reduce certainty for investors. Businesses and investors will respond most strongly where governments aim for the upper end of ambition and back it with clear delivery pathways. That is where economic gains, energy security benefits, and job creation will be greatest. 

Implementation is where confidence is built 

Ambition alone does not mobilize capital. What turns NDCs into investible propositions are clear, consistent, and credible implementation plans and policies. 

Some governments are beginning to show what this looks like in practice. Brazil’s Plano Clima sets out a national mitigation strategy alongside seven detailed sectoral plans for mitigation and 15 plans for adaptation. Australia’s Net Zero Plan identifies five decarbonization priorities, including electrification, and is complemented by an NDC Investment Blueprint that summarizes 13 key investment opportunities arising from Australia’s transition. In the UK, the updated Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan sets out how the government will meet its fourth, fifth and sixth carbon budgets and includes an Investor Prospectus for the UK’s net zero transition. 

These economy-wide plans need to be underpinned by sector-specific policies that address real-world barriers to investment. In South Africa, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has demonstrated how competitive auctions can rapidly deploy large volumes of wind and solar at low cost, leveraging ZAR 234 billion (USD 13 billion) in private investment. India’s target of reaching 500 GW non-fossil electricity generation capacity by 2030, backed by policies such as the Green Energy Open Access Rules, has encouraged companies like Unilever and Ashok Leyland to procure more renewable energy for their operations. In Indonesia, MRT Jakarta is showing how electrification and modal shift in urban transport can align climate targets with improved public services. 

Across sectors and geographies, the lesson is consistent. Where governments provide policy certainty, infrastructure planning, and credible timelines, business investment follows. 

Collaboration accelerates delivery 

Effective implementation also depends on strong public-private collaboration. Encouragingly, the UNFCCC NDC synthesis report notes deeper and more structured engagement with non-state actors in the development of recent NDCs. That momentum now needs to carry through into delivery. 

Brazil offers a leading example through its Business Sectoral Coalitions, which bring together government, business, and civil society to co-develop implementation roadmaps. The first to be launched was the Transportation Coalition, led by our Brazilian partner CEBDS, which brought together more than 50 organizations to develop a roadmap to reduce emissions from the sector by 70% and attract over BRL 600 billion (USD 100 billion) in investment. 

International collaboration platforms, such as the Ibero-American Business Network for Green Growth in South America and the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP) launched in 2023 to advance the decarbonization of the steel and cement sectors, also show how shared learning can accelerate progress across borders. 

From commitments to outcomes 

With most major economies having now submitted their 2035 NDCs, the focus must shift to implementation. The coming years will determine whether these plans are translated into faster electrification, lower energy costs, and more competitive low-carbon industries. 

Business is ready to play its part. What it needs from governments is predictable policy, investible delivery plans, and continued engagement. Countries that provide this clarity will be the ones that attract capital, build resilient industries, and secure long-term growth. As the world looks toward COP31, the challenge is no longer setting targets; it is turning them into outcomes at the pace the moment demands.

¹Our partners were the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) in Brazil, CLG Europe in the EU, TERI in India, Better Futures Australia and Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCSDA) in Australia, National Business Initiative (NBI) in South Africa, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) in South Korea, Indonesian Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD) in Indonesia, and Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) in Japan.