At COP24 in Katowice, Poland, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) adopted a detailed set of modalities, procedures, and guidelines (MPGs) to operationalize the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework (ETF). The MPGs establish the methodologies to be used by Parties in their reporting and review under the ETF. The CMA decision laid out remaining technical work for Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to develop for adoption by COP26 in Glasgow. While some of the technical work has progressed, other areas require further focused work. This brief considers the following issues:

1. addressing flexibility in relation to the national inventory report tables Parties will use in reporting on their greenhouse gas inventories
2. the applicability of the structured summary formats that report progress toward a Party’s nationally determined contribution
3. making progress on transparency in 2021 in the broader context of the Paris Agreement’s ambition.