UN Climate Change News, 15 January 2026 - The second half of 2025 marked a significant milestone for global climate transparency, as UN Climate Change completed 18 technical expert reviews of Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF).
This brings the total to 50 reviews completed during the 2024-2025 biennium, engaging over 300 technical experts worldwide. This achievement reflects the accelerated operationalization of the ETF and its role in enhancing transparency, trust and confidence under the Paris Agreement. Through these reviews, Parties received targeted feedback that supports continuous improvement in reporting.
Beyond assessing greenhouse gas inventories and progress towards nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the BTR review process serves as a facilitative, trust-building mechanism. Reviews help identify areas for improvement and capacity-building needs, strengthen national transparency systems, and reinforce confidence in the robustness of climate data and information.
Reflecting on the milestone, Xuehong Wang, Director of Transparency at UN Climate Change, said: "The completion of 50 reviews demonstrates that the Enhanced Transparency Framework is moving into full implementation. These reviews provide Parties with practical, country-specific feedback that strengthens reporting systems, supports better policy decisions, and builds trust at the heart of the Paris Agreement."
Among the completed reviews, seven included voluntary reviews of information on climate change impacts and adaptation, while ten involved technical analyses of results from activities to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), submitted on a voluntary basis in the context of results-based payments.
Support from Parties and partners during the 2024-2025 biennium played an important role in enabling the technical expert reviews, through the provision of supplementary financial resources. Their intention of continued support to technical expert reviews in the 2026-2027 biennium reflects ongoing commitment to strengthening transparency under the Paris Agreement.
Looking ahead, transparency efforts are set to scale up further. Over 30 BTR reviews are already scheduled for the first half of 2026, and lessons learned from the first 50 reviews will be used to refine review practices and enhance efficiency, while upholding the ETF's principles of being facilitative, non-intrusive and respectful of national sovereignty.
To share experiences and lessons from the first cycle of technical expert reviews under the ETF, the UNFCCC secretariat will host a webinar on Wednesday 28 January 2026 about the progress of ETF implementation under the Paris Agreement.
Additional insights are available in the Annual Report on Technical Expert Reviews, released at COP30, and in the latest BTR review newsletter.
As the ETF continues to mature, these 50 reviews represent concrete steps toward stronger transparency, improved climate action, and a more coherent global response to climate change.
See the detailed list of reviews conducted in 2024 and 2025 here.
