Released the first week of every new quarter, the BCCC Quarterly is a magazine-style newsletter that records the most important trends and developments regarding blue carbon and climate change policies and regulations in China, the U.S., and other regions, as well as international regimes such as the United Nations. Starting from 2025, it also includes two brand new special sections — the ‘Climate Change Project Profile’ and the ‘Climate Change Actor Profile’ — that aim to bring a fresh element to each issue.
The Climate Change Actor Profile section is designed to provide concise and structured insight into institutions, agencies, or organizations that play an influential role in shaping climate and environmental outcomes. These profiles focus on the actors’ mandates, operational structures, key areas of work, and their recent actions or changes in direction.
Besides offering a comprehensive coverage, the Actor Profile also aims to give readers a grounded understanding of why an actor matters at this moment—both in terms of their past contributions and current trajectory. Particular attention is given to how their recent decisions affect broader policy trends, climate negotiations, or environmental governance at national, regional, or global levels.
This quarter’s BCCC Climate Change Project Profile examines Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)—the most globally recognized mechanism for climate cooperation under the Paris Agreement. Despite their voluntary nature, NDCs have shaped energy transitions, guided development strategies, and unlocked finance flows in countries around the world. But as the 2025 update cycle unfolds, with most countries missing the deadline, the NDC framework is facing growing uncertainty. This profile offers a timely, in-depth analysis of how NDCs work, what they’ve accomplished so far, and why the missed submissions this year may signal a worrying shift in global climate priorities.
Beyond outlining the core functions and achievements of NDCs, this profile also reviews recent developments in the 2025 update cycle, evaluates current gaps in implementation, and reflects on areas where the framework could be strengthened. By examining economic, public health, and governance dimensions, the analysis highlights how NDCs have evolved into a broader planning tool—but also how uneven participation and limited integration into international cooperation could affect their long-term effectiveness.
The ICAS Team launched the Climate Change Project Profile section to provide accessible, issue-focused briefings on key mechanisms, tools, and initiatives shaping climate policy and implementation. These profiles aim to explain how specific climate-related frameworks operate, assess their recent developments, and examine their real-world impacts across different sectors and regions.
Each profile offers a timely overview of a selected topic—ranging from policy instruments to technical approaches—chosen for its relevance to the current global climate agenda. While grounded in factual research and institutional updates, the profiles also include a layer of analysis that highlights implications, points of tension, and areas where international cooperation, innovation, or greater attention may be needed moving forward.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a key federal body with broad authority to regulate, enforce, and shape national environmental policy. Established in 1970, the EPA has long played a central role in safeguarding public health and natural resources. It works has contributed to efforts on combating climate change, greenhouse gas emission, and various kinds of environmental pollutions. Yet its role is now under significant pressure, as the agency navigates its most sweeping deregulatory shift in decades under the Trump administration.
This profile examines the EPA’s institutional powers, regulatory mechanisms, and evolving influence on climate action in the U.S.—from landmark vehicle and power sector rules to recent moves that weaken clean air and water protections. It also reflects on the growing importance of state-level environmental leadership as federal support recedes. With its structure still intact but its direction increasingly uncertain, the EPA today stands at a pivotal moment—where the agency’s capacity to shape climate outcomes depends not just on its mandate, but on how that mandate is interpreted, resourced, and politically supported.
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