Modelled pathways that are consistent 
with NDCs announced prior to COP26 until 2030 and assume no 
increase in ambition thereafter have higher emissions, leading 
88 
The timing of various cut-offs for assessment differs by WG report and the aspect assessed. See footnote 58 in Section 1.
89 
See CSB.2 for a discussion of scenarios and pathways.
90 
See Annex I: Glossary.
91 
NDCs announced prior to COP26 refer to the most recent NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC up to the literature cut-off date of the WGIII report, 11 October 2021, and revised 
NDCs announced by China, Japan and the Republic of Korea prior to October 2021 but only submitted thereafter. 25 NDC updates were submitted between 12 October 2021 
and the start of COP26. {WGIII SPM footnote 24}
92 
Immediate action in modelled global pathways refers to the adoption between 2020 and at latest before 2025 of climate policies intended to limit global warming to a given 
level. Modelled pathways that limit warming to 2°C (>67%) based on immediate action are summarised in category C3a in Table 3.1. All assessed modelled global pathways 
that limit warming to 1.5°C (>50%) with no or limited overshoot assume immediate action as deﬁned here (Category C1 in Table 3.1). {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.