14 Nov 2016

The Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) have proposed for interactive, transparent and effective development modalities of the Global Stocktake (GST) on matters relating to Science and Review as per the dictates of Article 14 of the Paris Agreement on climate change .

Article 14 of the Paris Agreement established the GST to periodically take stock of the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement by assessing the collective progress towards achieving the purpose and goals of the Agreement.

Under the Agreement, GST is also charged with the responsibility to provide an update on actions and support given.

A consensus was also reached in Paris that Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) should give guidance on how the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can inform the GST about implementation of the Agreement.

The African group of Negotiators said through the proposal made on their behalf by Mali in Marrakech, that such a process will assist enhance accountability and trust among parties.

“Such a process should first review the scientific and technical data of the inputs to ensure the integrity of the review and recommendations made thereof,” reads the proposal.

The proposed process by the group would include interrogation of synthesis reports from the transparency framework on progress made on implementation, and aggregate impacts of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The group also suggested for a review mechanism involving a joint working group of subsidiary bodies as well as a number of structured expert dialogues featuring people from academia and non-state entities.

The dialogue, the group says, will be responsible for the articulation of both the past and expected performance in relation to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change reports in the form of mitigation, adaptation, finance gaps, required technology, capacity building and many other such approaches.

The proposal goes on further to say time frames adopted within the Paris Agreement should allow for communications that would present information for a given period and that outcomes of GST should take on board international cooperative initiatives, which according to the group allow for flexibility for more action without additional commitment. BOPA