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After the historic Conference of Parties (COP) in 2015 that concluded with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, climate diplomacy has reached another major milestone: delegates at COP24 in Katowice, Poland, agreed on the ‘Katowice Climate Package’ which defines how the Paris Agreement will be implemented globally. It includes provisions on:

• what information needs to be communicated in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs);
• how the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) will be operationalised;
• the process for establishing new targets for climate finance;
• how to conduct the Global Stocktake;
• how to assess progress on the development and transfer of technology.

Work on decisions on market mechanisms will be continued at the upcoming negotiations.

One major element of the Katowice package is the adoption of ETF modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs). These apply to all Parties, while providing flexibility for those developing country Parties that need it in the light of their capacities. Such flexibility is self-determined, and countries making use of it will need to explain how they apply it, what the capacity constraints are, and provide time frames for improvements in relation to those capacity constraints. Additionally, information on how a country is improving its reporting should be part of the biennial transparency report.

The MPGs cover the following:

• national inventory report on anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases;
• information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving NDCs;
• information related to climate change impacts and adaptation;
• information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity building support provided and mobilised;
• information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity building support needed and received;
• technical expert review;
• facilitative, multilateral consideration of progress.

The first biennial transparency report and national inventory report are to be submitted by 2024 at the latest.

Some further work remains to be done in relation to the ETF. In the period up to COP26 in 2020, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice has to develop a) common reporting tables and tabular formats for the electronic reporting of different types of information, b) outlines of the biennial transparency report, national inventory document and technical expert review report, and c) a training programme for technical experts participating in the technical expert review.

All COP decisions are published here: https://unfccc.int/node/184700.

Implementing the ETF

In 2019, all countries will start to reflect on how they can begin implementing the ETF in the light of the MPGs and in their specific country context, including identification of potential support needs. Arrangements for capacity building will continue to provide support to developing countries, with the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) remaining a major source to this end. The CBIT was established under Paris Agreement and provides support for developing countries to build institutional and technical capacity for meeting enhanced transparency requirements.

More information on the CBIT: https://www.thegef.org/topics/capacity-building-initiative-transparency-cbit.

In addition, global and regional peer-learning formats and policy dialogues remain an important vehicle for promoting enhanced transparency. The upcoming activities of the  Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement will focus on implementing the ETF. The Partnership will continue to provide platforms for negotiators and practitioners to exchange experiences and lessons learnt, which in turn will also help further developing the processes for implementing the ETF and achieving improvements over time. Finally, the Partnership will increase its efforts to closely collaborate with other initiatives, programmes and donors with the aim of enhancing synergies at all levels.