This paper was submitted to the UNFCCC on March 31, 2025.
Summary
The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) has been discussing the challenges posed by the increasing scale of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conferences and approaches to increasing the efficiency of the UNFCCC process for many years. The rapid growth of agenda items and mandated events under UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement are testing the resources and capacity of both the UNFCCC and Parties to manage and engage.
This submission aims to contribute to the discussion on increasing efficiency in the UNFCCC process, including in relation to the agendas of the governing and subsidiary bodies, ahead of consideration of these issues at SBI62.
Suggestions include:
thematically reorganizing agendas to reduce inefficient redundancies and overlaps
defunct or dormant agenda items could be strategically neglected and those which routinely fail to reach a conclusion could be subject to an automatic sunset clause
taking a multi-year approach to setting and delivering on agendas.
The Annex compiles the status of mandates through to COP30 — running to some 200 pages.
Questions for consideration
How might agendas be simplified or reorganized in a way that reassures Parties that important agenda items will not be overlooked?
How can we best use existing processes to better facilitate negotiations and enhance international cooperation?
How can the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) Presidency and the Troika of COP Presidencies facilitate the increased efficiency of the UNFCCC process?
