The findings of the IPCC served as the scientific basis for the Secretary-General's climate leadership throughout 2015 and provided added urgency to the negotiations under the UNFCCC on the Paris Agreement. As defined by both COP 19 and COP 2o, INDCs were to reflect Parties' planned climate actions, in order to facilitate clarity, transparency and understanding, and were to be submitted well in advance of COP 21 and in the first quarter of 2015 by those Parties able to do so. In early 2015, the Secretary-General prioritized engaging leaders on early submission of INDCs, meaning that by the time the COP 21 opened, 188 countries had submitted their INDCs.