Recently, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) released a critical online reporting tool for tracking progress against the goals of the Paris Agreement. As part of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), this new tool ensures countries can report information on their climate actions in a standardized format.
By the end of 2024, all countries that are part of the Paris Agreement will have to regularly submit these reports, known as Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), which will include information on progress made towards achieving the climate commitments laid out in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The BTR deadline is a significant milestone. It will help answer the question: what have countries achieved since they signed up to the Paris commitments in 2015?
BTRs must include updates on each country’s emissions through a greenhouse gas inventory, actions towards improving resilience, and financial support provided or received. It can also include information on loss and damage impacts and needs.
Only the poorest and most vulnerable countries who lack the capacity to report—the small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs)— are exempt from this deadline, though many, if not most, are still committed to reporting.
Some countries—like Andorra, Guyana, and Panama—have already come forward with their BTRs ahead of the December deadline.
Transparency reports can illuminate important truths about the success and efficacy of the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC process.
BTRs from countries that have never reported will serve as a significant test of the strength of the climate regime and its compliance mechanisms. These reports are vital, as they will feed into the five-year ambition cycle of the Paris Agreement.
Ahead of the critical December 31st deadline, it is helpful to consider the following five key questions on BTRs.
1. How can civil society use national climate transparency reports?
BTRs allow the public, civil society, and other stakeholders to track how countries are reporting progress towards their climate commitments.
They are also an important starting point in understanding how countries are reporting their progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and should outline country climate initiatives on:
- creation of long-term low emission development strategies
- adaptation measures
- climate finance provided to developing countries
- climate finance received and needed from developed countries
- progress measurement against NDCs.
Civil society actors and other stakeholders can use this information to scrutinize country actions, highlight areas for improvement, advocate for stronger climate policies, and hold governments accountable.
2. How can the private sector use national climate transparency reports?
The ETF is a central tool within the Paris Agreement, ensuring that countries can be held to account for climate commitments by requiring them to regularly report on their actions.
But what does the ETF mean for the private sector?
BTRs will contain a wealth of information, offering valuable insights into a country’s climate priorities and long-term strategies. Businesses might use the data to identify emerging markets for clean technologies or assess regulatory risks.
3. What benefits can countries see from reporting under the Paris Agreement?
Reporting under the ETF is not just a requirement for countries, it’s an opportunity for them to take advantage of several benefits:
- Improved planning and policy-making: through the ETF reporting process, countries gain valuable insights into their own emissions and adaptation data and improve their domestic monitoring and reporting capacity, ultimately helping governments develop more effective climate policies.
- Strengthened trust: by regularly reporting climate actions towards emissions reductions and building climate resilience, countries demonstrate their accountability to the international community, contributing towards increased trust among countries in the climate regime.
- Increased investor confidence: transparent reporting and continuous improvement of institutional capacity can signal to investors that a country is committed to addressing climate change.
- Facilitated global collaboration: reporting under the ETF can foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing, helping countries to learn from each other’s experiences, identify relevant best practices, and develop partnerships.
- NDC data collection: Much of the information collected for BTRs is also important for the formulation of new NDCs, including those due in February 2025 currently under preparation.
Embracing transparency not only strengthens the global response to climate change, but ensures the Paris Agreement’s objectives can be fulfilled, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient future for all.
4. How does the Enhanced Transparency Framework affect the new collective quantified goal on climate finance?
Finance discussions will play a central role at COP29, with the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) taking center stage. Key to the NCQG negotiations are its transparency arrangements, which will guide how progress – and achievement – of the goal will be met.
While the ETF does include guidance on reporting climate finance provided and received, certain elements, like methods for standardized reporting or improved understandings of what counts and does not count as climate finance, will need to be added to the ETF to fully realize the NCQG. Expect transparency negotiations to play a large role in the shape of the NCQG in Baku.
5. Where to find data on BTRs?
Transparency reports submitted to the UNFCCC, including those under the enhanced transparency framework, are posted promptly on the UNFCCC website and are available to download for any organization, country, or individual. BTRs from all countries can be found on the UNFCCC website.