Papua New Guinea has launched a new national climate plan setting targets for energy, forests and emissions through 2035. The Third Nationally Determined Contribution, known as NDC 3.0, was introduced in Port Moresby on 26 October alongside a package of climate reporting documents. It covers the period from 2025 to 2035 and sets out commitments rather than evidence that the targets have already been met.
The plan places energy at the centre of the country’s stated climate pathway. Papua New Guinea has set a goal of cutting annual greenhouse-gas emissions from the energy sector by 29 per cent by 2035, compared with 2022 levels. It also aims for renewable sources to provide 80 per cent of on-grid electricity generation by 2035, up from about 60 per cent in 2022. A separate access goal is for 70 per cent of the population to have electricity by 2030.
Energy targets sit alongside access commitments
The distinction between the generation and access targets matters. A larger renewable share describes the mix of electricity produced for the grid, while the access target concerns how widely people can obtain electricity. The two objectives can support the same national direction, but they measure different things and will require progress on different parts of the power system.
The NDC describes an economy-wide pathway towards net-zero emissions by 2030 and net-negative emissions by 2035. Its measures span energy, transport, forestry and land use. A net-negative position would mean removals of greenhouse gases exceed emissions, rather than simply reducing emissions from one sector. The plan presents that outcome as a pathway and target, not as a confirmed future result.
Forests and land use are part of the plan
Forest protection is another major element. Papua New Guinea aims to reduce deforestation and forest degradation by 20 per cent by 2035 against 2022 levels. The country’s extensive forests are therefore treated both as ecosystems requiring protection and as part of the national emissions pathway. The plan also refers to stronger climate resilience across agriculture, infrastructure, transport, health and communities considered vulnerable to climate impacts.
For the first time, the national contribution includes a dedicated framework on loss and damage. It addresses climate-related disasters, displacement, and economic and non-economic losses. The framework signals that the plan extends beyond emissions reduction to the effects that climate hazards can have on homes, livelihoods, services and communities. It does not itself establish a completed compensation programme or guarantee support for a particular event.
Reporting package moves into implementation phase
The launch also included Papua New Guinea’s first Biennial Transparency Report, a National Inventory Report and a REDD+ Technical Annex. Together, these documents are intended to provide information for tracking greenhouse-gas emissions and removals, monitoring progress, and considering action on deforestation and forest degradation. Their release gives the climate plan a reporting framework, but reporting alone does not deliver the targets.
The next stage will depend on implementation across government and on coordination with communities, businesses and other partners. The commitments remain conditional on adequate, predictable and accessible international climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building support. That condition is central to how the targets should be understood: the launch establishes national aims and a framework for action, while the pace and extent of delivery remain dependent on resources, institutions and future decisions.
The new contribution therefore sets out a longer-term direction for Papua New Guinea’s climate and development choices. Its progress will need to be assessed over time through the promised monitoring and reporting, rather than assumed from the launch itself.
