Global stocktake
The Global Stocktake (too German about: global inventory ) is a fundamental part of the Climate Convention of Paris (Paris Agreement), which monitors the implementation of the Agreement and the common progress is evaluated in achieving the agreed objectives. The Global Stocktake combines the national implementation of climate protection contributions with the overarching goals of the Paris Agreement and should thus lead to an increase in climate policy ambition .
background
The Paris Agreement marks a turning point in international climate policy. The internationally binding treaty with global scope not only sets ambitious global goals, such as limiting the increase in the average earth temperature to well below 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial level , but also introduces an innovative architecture that gives states considerable leeway in defining their Grants climate protection goals. In contrast to the common practice of international environmental law , the individual contributions of the states are not negotiated internationally and the achievement of goals is not binding. In order to ensure the implementation of the goals nonetheless, international review and transparency mechanisms were integrated into the agreement.
The Global Stocktake as part of the Paris regime
The Paris Agreement obliges its contracting states to regularly formulate their own climate protection contributions, the so-called "nationally determined contributions" - NDCs, and to implement measures that contribute to achieving these climate protection goals. However, there is no obligation under international law to reach these NDCs.
However, the contracting states have to report regularly on the progress of the target implementation and the reports are subjected to an international assessment. In addition to this enhanced transparency framework , the Paris Agreement stipulated that the contracting states must update their NDCs on a regular basis, whereby these updated NDCs must not fall short of the previously applicable goals and should reflect the highest possible ambition. A global stocktake is also carried out every five years, in which the collective progress towards achieving the long-term goals is assessed. The results of this inventory should be taken into account when determining the national climate protection contributions. The global stocktake is thus an elementary part of the Paris Agreement in that it regularly takes stock and provides a basis for updating the NDCs.
The contribution of the Global Stocktake to increasing ambition
The Global Stocktake aims to increase ambition by supporting states in the following processes:
- Understand where you are currently in the implementation of the goals.
- To recognize what is still needed to achieve the goals.
- To identify which starting points there are in order to strengthen one's own measures at national and international level.
In this way, the global stocktake should become a driver of ambition. However, it should be emphasized that the Global Stocktake is characterized by a collective and not individual way of working. This means that individual countries are not singled out and the results of the process should not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the status of implementation in the individual countries.
The reach of the global stocktake
The question of whether the Global Stocktake should be limited to climate protection or whether it should also include other aspects such as adaptation and the provision of climate finance was the subject of controversial discussions. In the run-up to the Paris climate conference , however, the view prevailed that the global stocktake should include all three elements. Article 14 of the Paris Agreement names, in addition to reduction, adaptation and the means of implementation and support as part of the Global Stocktake.
The three phases of the global stocktake
The implementation modalities of the Global Stocktake adopted at the climate conference in Katowice envisage three phases:
Phase 1: Gathering and processing information
Phase 1 comprises the gathering of the information and its preparation for the subsequent technical evaluation. A wide variety of information sources are used for this. In addition to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the contracting states and the reports they submit under the Paris Agreement , the latest scientific findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and inputs from non-state actors and observer organizations are used as sources. The information gathered is made publicly available and summarized in the form of reports. There will be individual reports on different priorities - mitigation, adaptation and (financial) support - including the status of global greenhouse gas emissions , the overall effect of NDCs and the status of measures to adapt to global warming .
Phase 2: Technical evaluation of the information
In phase 2, a technical evaluation of the information takes place, in which the collective progress of the implementation of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals are recorded. For this technical evaluation, different actors come together in different dialogue formats over a year and exchange information about the information gathered. In this phase, possibilities are shown how measures to deal with global warming can be strengthened and improved. The results of this process are recorded in reports.
Phase 3: Political phase of taking results into account
In phase 3, the results of the evaluation are fed into the political process. The aim of this phase is to support the signatory states to the Paris Agreement in improving their climate policy and their measures to support other states. The results should also promote international cooperation between the states. However, it is unclear in what form the results should be recorded. A political declaration or a formal decision by the Conference of the Parties would be conceivable .
outlook
The first Global Stocktake will take place in 2023. The transparency framework established with the Paris Agreement , which obliges each individual state to report on the status of the implementation of its climate protection target and on its national emissions, will, however, only come into effect in 2024. Since the reports of the states compiled in the transparency framework represent an essential information basis for the global stocktake, the first global stocktake will have to build on the earlier reporting obligations. However, these have numerous information gaps and it is uncertain to what extent these gaps can be closed by other information sources. It is conceivable, for example, to make greater use of analyzes and recommendations from non-national actors, including civil society initiatives, companies or cities. Another aspect that still needs to be worked out concerns the exact chronological sequence of the individual phases. In particular, it must be ensured that the results of the process can be completed in good time and prepared so that they can be appropriately taken into account in the process of NDC development.
Individual evidence
- ^ Paris Agreement, Art. 4.2 .
- ↑ Bodansky, D .: The Legal Character of the Paris Agreement. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, No. 25 (2) , 2016, pp. 142-150 , doi : 10.1111 / reel.12154 .
- ↑ Paris Agreement, Art. 4.3 .
- ^ Paris Agreement, Art. 14 .
- ↑ a b Friedrich, J .: Global Stocktake (Article 14) . In: DR Klein, MP Carazo, M. Doelle, J. Bulmer, & A. Higham (eds.): The Paris agreement on climate change: Analysis and commentary . Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2017, p. 321-337 .
- ↑ Northrop, E., Dagnet, Y., Höhne, N., Thwaites, J., & Mogelgaard, K .: Achieving the ambition of Paris: Designing the Global Stocktake. 2018.
- ^ Paris Agreement, Art. 14.1 .
- ↑ Decision 19 / CMA.1, para 3.
- ↑ Decision 19 / CMA.1, para 37.
- ↑ Decision 19 / CMA.1, para 23.