{WGIII SPM footnote 26}
93 
In this report, ‘unconditional’ elements of NDCs refer to mitigation efforts put forward without any conditions. ‘Conditional’ elements refer to mitigation efforts that are 
contingent on international cooperation, for example bilateral and multilateral agreements, ﬁnancing or monetary and/or technological transfers. This terminology is used in the 
literature and the UNFCCC’s NDC Synthesis Reports, not by the Paris Agreement. {WGIII SPM footnote 27}
94 
Implementation gaps refer to how far currently enacted policies and actions fall short of reaching the pledges. The policy cut-off date in studies used to project GHG emissions 
of ‘policies implemented by the end of 2020’ varies between July 2019 and November 2020. {WGIII Table 4.2, WGIII SPM footnote 25} 
to a median global warming of 2.8 [2.1 to 3.4]°C by 2100 (medium 
conﬁdence). If the ‘emission gap’ is not reduced, global GHG emissions 
in 2030 consistent with NDCs announced prior to COP26 make it likely 
that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century, while limiting 
warming to 2°C (>67%) would imply an unprecedented acceleration of 
mitigation efforts during 2030–2050 (medium conﬁdence) (see Section 4.1, 
Cross-Section Box.2). {WGIII SPM B.6, WGIII SPM B.6.1, WGIII SPM B.6.3, 
WGIII SPM B.6.4, WGIII SPM C.1.1}
Policies implemented by the end of 2020 are projected to result in 
higher global GHG emissions in 2030 than those implied by NDCs, 
indicating an ‘implementation gap94’ (high conﬁdence) (Table 2.2, 
Figure 2.5). Projected global emissions implied by policies implemented 
by the end of 2020 are 57 (52–60) GtCO2-eq in 2030 (Table 2.2).