The Paris Agreement and its accompanying decision call for Parties to strive to formulate mid-century communicate long-term low-greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) by 2020. Moreover, the Paris decision requests Parties to communicate a new or updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) by 2020. This paper finds that there is potential for these long-term strategies to guide short- and mid-term action and feed into future NDC submissions. This paper highlights that long-term strategies can substantially shape countries’ short- and mid-term priorities, policies and investment pipelines, leading to significant cost reductions in the long-term. Linking NDCs to long-term mitigation strategies will be key in ensuring efficient use of resources, particularly crucial for responding to climate change amidst and following the COVID-19 crisis. This paper presents seven case studies from countries’ experiences that highlight how a long-term perspective can drive short-term action, and provides concrete insights into how countries may best leverage a long-term perspective in their NDC process.