This year, governments and non-state actors continue formally taking stock of how we are progressing in our collective efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The end of the Global Stocktake (GST) technical dialogues takes place at the Bonn Climate Change Conference this June, and the first GST process culminates at COP28 in December.
Non-state actors are critical in the delivery of national goals and commitments and our ability to meet the Paris Agreement goals. This is why CDP has long advocated for the inclusion of non-state actor action in the stocktaking process. In our brief the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake, we put forward that the GST should be:
- Purpose-driven, contributing to accelerating global ambition;
- Inclusive, fostering participation and engagement from all Parties as well as non-Party stakeholders; and
- Evidence-focused, built on high quality data.
Unfortunately, we already know that we are far from where we need to be. After years of discussions on the Paris Agreement and its goals, it is time to raise ambition in line with science and implement the commitments made. International legal instruments, public policies, and actions from the private sector will be put to the test in the face of the challenge of rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the increased need for adaptation.
A roadmap for both Parties and non-Party stakeholders
The GST establishes a collective assessment of global performance on climate mitigation, adaptation, finance, loss and damage, and other cross-cutting themes. As such, the inclusion of non-Party stakeholders (NPS), including companies, financial institutions, cities, states, regions and civil society organizations, in the mandate of the GST is critical to ensure we are accurately assessing progress, identifying gaps, fostering implementation and raising ambition.
In the words of Marianne Karlsen, President of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the UNFCCC: "The Global Stocktake and other discussions (…) have shown the many gaps that exist in climate action, but also the opportunities. (...) We have seen unprecedented engagement from non-Party stakeholders who have a crucial role to play in helping governments achieve their climate targets."
As well as continuing the engagement of all actors in the final technical dialogues, the outcome of the GST must provide a common roadmap for both Parties and NPS to enhance the implementation of climate actions and increase financial flows towards more sustainably aligned activity.
The accountability of commitments made has emerged as a key topic of discussion for NPS. The GST should build on the report of the UN High‑Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG) to offer concrete steps for actors to take, including disclosing environmental information, setting science-based targets and putting transition plans in place.
NPS disclosure is a critical accountability mechanism, ensuring transparency of climate action and regular tracking of progress towards NPS targets and commitments. Transition plans are essential to ensuring that all actors’ targets are backed up by clear timelines and indicators explaining the ‘when’ and ‘how’ they will reach net-zero emissions. They also demonstrate the actors are being transparent, accurately accounting for both risks and impacts of economic activities, and in so doing, driving forward the transition. Transparency and implementation must go hand in hand.
A GST that specifically highlights the importance of this evidence-based non-state climate action and reflects the rich inputs from NPS into the process will be vital in supporting both countries and NPS in updating commitments and raising the ambition of all actors.
Daniela Lerário, current Latin America Caribbean Director at the UN’s Climate Champions Team, underscores that “the Climate Champions Team strongly supports the importance of discussing the role of NSAs in the Global Stocktake. This “common roadmap” can be a springboard for action highlighting:
- The urgency that the science demands, now that we have only seven years until 2030 to halve global emissions to stay on track for a 1.5° C resilient world in 2050
- Honest assessments of progress, spotlighting the in/ adequacy of our actions, and our collective resolve to deliver on what this decisive decade demands of all of us
- Clear signals of the systems transformations underway through a sector and holistic approach
- Inclusive climate action, incorporating the vast panoply of actors, such as women, youth, local communities and indigenous people, as well as business, government, civil society, academia and finance sector.
- Forward looking and result-oriented accelerated action.”
Mrs. Lerario adds that “the GST will be a “global accelerator” – directing governments, cities, businesses and advocates to take transformative action to slash global emissions, boost climate finance and increase resilience. How the world responds to it at COP28 will determine the pace for climate action over the next decade, and beyond.”
Links to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
While the technical dialogues continue to bring together barriers, opportunities and best practice, the consideration of outputs phase at COP28 should translate data, information, and technical discussions into political messages and roadmaps demonstrating how we can jointly scale climate action to the pace required by science. This will better allow the work of the first GST to be incorporated into countries' efforts to revisit their NDCs and improve their climate commitments and actions.
The link between the GST and the NDCs’ ambition progression should be clearly emphasized throughout the GST cycle, both in the technical dialogues and consideration of outputs. At COP28, the presentation of the results to the Parties could benefit from a section that elaborates on how to integrate NPS data into public policies including NDCs and Biennial Transparency Reports. Acknowledging this data would further enable a closer link between Parties and NPS and greater sharing of information system-wide, catalyzing wider change by providing evidence to governments of action being undertaken by NPS.
At a national level, the UNFCCC has also emphasized the importance of society as a whole organizing events to support the GST. Therefore, it is essential that the international climate community takes advantage of all official engagement opportunities and proactively works to increase the weight of this process; organizing events, webinars, workshops, and producing knowledge about the subject.
In Brazil, CDP and the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS) are at the forefront of this issue. Changes in federal administration in Brazil and the possibility of rebuilding a structured multi-level climate governance make it an ideal time to revisit the NDC. The GST will be essential in the process of updating the Brazilian NDC. As the GST covers several climate agendas, it can also leverage relevant Brazilian, as well as Latin America, debates such as adaptation and public and private climate finance gaps and opportunities. For instance, the Latin American and Caribbean region has around 82% of its population living in cities that must clearly adapt to the increase of extreme weather events that hits most vulnerable people.
A purpose-driven, inclusive and evidence-focused process
As the process to take stock of progress towards the Paris Agreement goals continues throughout 2023, accurately capturing non-state action is vital to avoid a skewed interpretation of success. To enable the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement, CDP recommends the GST must:
- Provide a common roadmap for both Parties and non-Party stakeholders for enhancing the implementation of climate actions and increasing financial flows towards more sustainably aligned activity.
- Clearly emphasize the link between the GST and the NDCs’ ambition progression throughout the GST cycle.
- Showcase that connecting policy and science for a collective assessment can be beneficial for more transparency for both Parties and non-Party stakeholders’ climate actions.