- Climate transparency focuses on charting how well countries are living up to their pledges to counter climate change.
- The process helps build trust among nations, which experts say is vital to making good on the Paris Agreement and ending the climate crisis.
- Transparency has been credited with spurring nations to be more ambitious in their climate targets, though the world remains on the path for potentially catastrophic warming.
- As the climate crisis worsens, experts say it's increasingly important for countries to bolster their climate-related reporting, including by incorporating more reliable data.
- UNEP is helping 68 nations prepare their biennial transparency reports, which are a key mechanism under the Paris Agreement.
The next few months will be critical in the battle against climate change, with dozens of nations expected to submit their updated climate plans ahead of the next round of climate talks in Belm, Brazil.
These documents, known as nationally determined contributions, are required under the Paris Agreement. They will outline how countries are planning to address climate change and soften its brutal impacts. Done well, they can also serve as blueprints for driving economic growth, creating jobs, improving human health and fostering energy security.
With so much at stake, climate experts say it is crucial to not just get the plans right, but to deliver on them which is where a process known as transparency comes in.
Ahead of the Global Transparency Forum a gathering of climate experts from 3 to 5 September in the Republic of Korea here's a closer look at what transparency is and why it is considered pivotal to ending the climate crisis.
What is climate transparency?
Broadly speaking, transparency means tracking how governments and companies are living up to their climate-related promises. This type of monitoring and reporting can be done by third parties or by governments under a specific mechanism in the Paris Agreement, the landmark 2015 pact to counter the climate crisis.
How does transparency work under the Paris Agreement?
The Enhanced Transparency Framework connects climate pledges to temperature targets, making it the backbone of the accord. In practice, transparency involves the reporting and review of national climate information and data, chiefly through biennial transparency reports. Among other things, these documents outline:
- a countrys annual greenhouse gas emissions;
- how a nation is planning to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change;
- how much progress a country has made towards its climate goals; and
- what kind of support including advice and financing that a country needs to reach its targets.
The first round of these reports, which are still being submitted, will help to guide the new climate pledges being made later this year.
How exactly does building transparency help countries meet climate commitments?
The simple answer is that transparency provides a window into whether nations are living up to their commitments under the Paris Agreement, holding them accountable on the international stage.
Transparency is important in every walk of life from dealing with loved ones to implementing international agreements, says Hongpeng Lei, Chief of the Mitigation Branch at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). When it comes to climate change, being transparent demonstrates that nations are doing what they promised to do building the trust that is vital to countering this crisis.
Is transparency important for any other reasons?
Yes. It gives countries the data they need to design and implement effective climate plans. It unlocks finance by estimating the costs of these plans, tracking funding flows, and showing donors and taxpayers that money is being well spent. It identifies what is working so that other cities, regions and countries can duplicate successful policies. Put all these elements together, and you have joined-up global action that can make a real dent in greenhouse gas emissions and help vulnerable nations adapt to growing climate impacts.
The Paris Agreement was signed 10 years ago. What has transparency reporting revealed about where countries stand? Are they living up to their promises?
Transparency reporting has found that climate action has been a mixed bag. Most nations are not yet on track to fully deliver on their promises: emissions are still rising in many regions and implementation continues to lag. But transparency has been critical in shining a light on this gap.
The good news is that due in no small part to transparency reporting many governments have strengthened their climate pledges since 2015. This has caused global warming projections to drop significantly. Without global cooperation, humanity would be headed for a catastrophic 5C rise in temperatures this century. But with the Paris Agreement and subsequent pledges, the world is now tracking closer to 2.63.1C, reveals UNEP data. Though, that is still far from the Paris Agreements temperature goal.
Are there any encouraging examples of transparency in action?
Yes. While its not explicitly part of the Paris Agreements Enhanced Transparency Framework, the International Methane Emissions Observatory is a great example of how transparency can lead to changes on the ground. Through the observatory, UNEP has harnessed satellite data to detect major leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and alert governments and companies. In Algeria and Yemen alone the plugging of leaks has helped reduce emissions equivalent to taking nearly 1 million cars off the road.
What is UNEP doing to boost transparency?
UNEP has a host of initiatives that support developing countries as they meet their commitments under the Enhanced Transparency Framework. Last year, the organization facilitated the submissions of 49 reports, including22 biennial transparency reports. This year, with Global Environment Facility funding, it is assisting 68 countries as they prepare the studies. UNEP also has wider efforts under the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency. which is supporting nations bolster their reporting.
What can be done to strengthen transparency?
The key task is to move away from ad-hoc reporting practices, which have been the norm, to government-led transparency systems with robust institutional arrangements, legal frameworks and reliable data flows, says UNEPs Lei.
I also hope that the upcoming Global Transparency Forum can help move the dial, as it will in part be focusing on showing good practices and practical solutions for sustained and systematic reporting, he adds.
Why is it important to act on transparency now?
The short answer is that the climate crisis is growing worse by the day. Even if countries live up to their pledges under the Paris Agreement, UNEP data shows the world will warm by a potentially calamitous 2.6C -3.1C this century.
Humanity is going to have to dramatically step up its game if were to avoid a climate disaster, says Lei. Transparency gives us the chance not only to hold countries accountable but also to showcase solutions, share successes and inspire greater ambition and bolder actions so that promises turn into real progress.
The Sectoral Solution to the climate crisis
UNEP is at the forefront of supporting theParis Agreementgoal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2C, and aiming for 1.5C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed theSectoral Solutions, a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. Key sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities.
