By Abbas Nazil
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has announced a major redevelopment of the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal to strengthen global climate action transparency and implementation.
Launched at COP20 in Lima, Peru, the NAZCA portal has served for over a decade as a central platform for tracking climate commitments and actions by non-party stakeholders, including states, regions, cities, businesses, and civil society organizations.
The redevelopment, unveiled at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, introduces the NAZCA Portal Redevelopment and Engagement Roadmap, which aims to create a modern, data-driven platform integrated with the UNFCCC Climate Data Hub, enhancing user experience and consolidating information on mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and means of implementation.
UN Climate Change Transparency Manager Vlad Trusca disclosed that the upgraded portal will feature improved digital architecture, enhanced data accessibility, stakeholder engagement tools, and a user-friendly interface, positioning it as the authoritative hub for non-party climate action data.
The redevelopment also includes the establishment of the NAZCA Network, an engagement strategy designed to bring stakeholders closer to climate action data, provide opportunities for peer learning, amplify local initiatives, and gather feedback to continuously improve the portal’s functionality.
Experts from organizations including CDP, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centres maintained that the portal’s multi-stakeholder approach provides visibility to subnational governments, corporations, and cooperative initiatives, serving as a baseline for ambition and local climate action.
The portal will feature advanced tools such as geospatial mapping, full data downloads, domain-specific AI insights, and self-service modules for entities and initiatives, aligning non-state climate action with national contexts and policy frameworks.
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, former COP21 President, noted that NAZCA has been instrumental in integrating non-state actors into the global climate governance space, promoting transparency, trust, and recognition for voluntary climate action contributions.
By modernizing NAZCA and strengthening engagement, the UN aims to catalyze higher ambition, improve implementation of climate initiatives, and accelerate global progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement while highlighting the role of non-party stakeholders in sustainable development.
The initiative underscores the growing importance of transparency mechanisms as enablers of economic transformation and climate resilience, particularly in the Global South, ensuring that climate governance reflects real-world action and measurable impact.
