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Paving the way for Low-Carbon Development Strategies / X. van Tilburg, L. Würtenberger, H.C. de Coninck,  S.J.A.Bakker, ECN, September 2011, 67 p. (report n° ECN-E--11-059)http://www.ecn.nl/publications/ECN-E--11-059The aim of this report is to help move forward the discussion on low-carbon development strategies (LCDS) towards a useful climate policy instrument. It does so through a historical perspective on the use of an LCDS in a national and international context in order to provide high-level guidance to governments and experts who plan the development of an LCDS. The ultimate aim of a low-carbon development strategy is to catalyse concrete actions that support development with lower emissions. Therefore the process of LCDS development should not focus narrowly on producing a strategy document. Depending on the national context, an LCDS can serve different audiences and have different purposes, adding robustness to the attainment of mitigation actions. Rather than specifying a target or producing a document, an LCDS should provide a process that, depending on the developing country’s readiness, meets needs to develop and to fill capacity, knowledge and information gaps., It should bring stakeholders from government, the private sector and civil society on the same page and eventually lead to greenhouse gas emissions that are lower compared to the situation in which the LCDS process had not been undertaken. International support could be sought for an LCDS process, but should not be made obligatory. (© ECN)