Purpose–The main purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of global carbon budget (GCB) as akey concept that should be introduced as a reference when countries formulate their mitigation contributionsin the context of the Paris Agreement and in all the monitoring, reporting and verification processes that mustbe implemented according to the decisions of the Paris Summit.Design/methodology/approach–A method based on carbon budget accounting is used to analyze theintended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted by the 15 countries that currently head theranking of global emissions. Moreover, these INDCs are analyzed and compared with each other. Sometimes,inadequate methodologies and a diverse level of ambition in the formulated targets are observed.Findings–It is found that the INDCs of those 15 countries alone imply the release into the atmosphere of 84per cent of the GCB for the period 2011-2030, and 40 per cent of the GCB available until the end of the century.Originality/value–This is thefirst time the INDCs of the top 15 emitters are analyzed. It is also thefirstanalysis made using the GCB approach. This paper suggests methodological changes in the way that thefuture NDCs might be formulated.

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