UN Climate Change News, 18 March 2026 - Support for developing countries on climate transparency is entering a new phase, following decisions adopted by Parties at COP30 in Belém and new plans agreed by the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) in Bonn.
The CGE convened its 8th Informal Forum and 14th meeting earlier this month in Bonn, Germany, reinforcing support for developing country Parties on climate transparency as implementation of the Paris Agreement advances.
The meetings took place following key transparency-related decisions adopted in Belém, where Parties recognized the CGE's achievements and agreed to make it a permanent body serving both the Convention and the Paris Agreement, while also adopting revised terms of reference and updating the group's composition.
Sharing lessons from the first cycle of ETF implementation
The 8th Informal Forum brought together CGE members, national transparency experts and Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) reviewers from Cuba, Finland, Georgia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Panama and South Africa, as well as partner organizations including the IPCC, UNDP, UNEP, CBIT-GSP and ICAT.
A total of 127 participants attended the event to exchange experiences and lessons learned from participating in the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). Discussions focused in particular on experiences with the technical expert review (TER) of BTRs and the facilitative multilateral consideration of progress (FMCP).
Participants actively shared questions, challenges and practical insights drawn from their own involvement in the processes. Key highlights from these exchanges are illustrated in the visual summary below.
In her keynote remarks, Julia Gardiner, Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), emphasized that transparency lies at the heart of the Paris Agreement and that BTRs play a crucial role in tracking progress and informing processes such as the Global Stocktake.
Xuehong Wang, Director of Transparency at UN Climate Change, noted that developing countries are now moving into full ETF implementation through BTR preparation and participation in the TER and FMCP processes. She reaffirmed the secretariat's commitment to continue supporting the CGE and developing country Parties in strengthening their national transparency systems.
Setting the direction for the CGE's work
Following the Informal Forum, the CGE held its 14th meeting from 3 to 5 March 2026. Members considered outcomes from Belém, findings from the group's annual capacity-building needs assessment, and feedback collected through CGE activities in 2025 to help shape the next phase of its work.
The CGE developed its work programme for 2026-2029 and the workplan for 2026, setting the strategic direction for the group's activities in the coming years.
The 2026-2029 work programme reflects the evolving support needs of developing countries as they move into full implementation of the ETF. The CGE will continue to promote, support and enable transparency arrangements in developing countries while helping improve reporting over time.
The group will also continue to assess gaps, needs, lessons learned and areas for improvement, with the aim of providing targeted technical advice and support to developing countries. Collaboration with key partners and stakeholders will remain central to strengthening and scaling up this support.
The 2026 workplan outlines a range of activities for the year ahead, including the development of technical materials, regional hands-on training workshops and webinars tailored to regional priorities, as well as continued collaboration with partner organizations.
Through the outcomes of the Informal Forum and its 14th meeting, the CGE reaffirmed its central role in supporting developing countries to implement transparency arrangements under the Convention and the Paris Agreement, helping strengthen trust and collective climate action.
