....The cost of implementation is expected to be around 70 billion USD, split into 17.5 billion USD for the unconditional reduction and 52.5 billion USD for the additional 8%. ... Iran signed the Paris Agreement in April 2016, but has not ratified it. The Agreement was approved by both the Iranian Cabinet of Ministers and the parliament (the Majles) who then sent it to the Guardians Council for consent to ratification. However, at the time of writing, Iran had not deposited its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (European Parliament, 2017; UNFCCC, 2017a). There are no clear indications as to when ratification will take place. Iran is a dynamic upper middle income economy and a key emitting country, ranking globally among the first dozen emitters with emissions almost as high as Germany’s (with around 800 MtCO2e, see Table 2). Moreover, Iran’s emissions are steadily increasing, in particular in the energy sector. The business as usual (BAU) scenario of Iran's INDC foresees that energy-related GHG emissions will grow 4.7% each year until 2030, which would result in an increase of GHG emissions from approximately 700 MtCO2e in 2010 to over 1,700 MtCO2e in 2030 (DoE and UNDP, 2014). The INDC’s pledges of between (unconditional) 4% and (conditional) 12% reductions against the BAU appear to be significantly lower than the mitigation potential outlined in alternative scenarios, such as in the “all policies” mitigation scenario in the NC2 and in recent academic literature Overshadowing these is the uncertainty concerning international sanctions, which act as an important barrier to transfer and exchange of technology, capacity building and investments. Paradoxically, the lifting of the sanctions could also lead to increased fossil energy supply, inefficient use and emissions. Iranian policymakers may therefore want to carefully balance growth strategies with the need to limit emissions from heightened energy demand, creating new opportunities for low-energy development. Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions Islamic Republic of Iran Country Report (29/2018)