Practical Solutions for Addressing Challenges in National Reporting for the Enhanced Transparency Framework: Cases from Developing Countries in the Asia–Pacific Region

Abstract

Transitioning to the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement (PA) from the current measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) arrangements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requires developing countries to enhance their national reporting systems in a sustainable way. There are various challenges that developing countries face in preparing national reporting under the existing MRV framework. The objective of this paper is to identify practical solutions as good practices in the short and long term to address the common challenges facing many developing countries as they prepare their national climate reporting. We collected information on practical solutions implemented by developing countries to overcome common challenges during preparation of their national reporting. There were some limitations regarding data collection using a country survey since we received responses from only six countries and two organizations, resulting in a small sample. Good practices for addressing common challenges include developing a national legal framework for transparency-related work, assigning a main coordinating institution, collaborating with domestic institutions for methodology development on emission reduction, and establishing university curricula on transparency. Replicating these solutions as good practices on how to deal with the challenges would be one way for developing countries to enhance their respective reporting systems in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, the paper highlights three underlying factors (efficiency, accountability, and sustainability) behind those practical solutions. These underlying factors should be considered important as guiding principles for building sustainable reporting systems in order to be able to successfully implement the ETF.

Enhancing Transparency of Climate Efforts: MITICA’s Integrated Approach to Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

“…Refs. [5,66] assert that developing countries urgently need to establish robust reporting systems and enhance national capacity to facilitate their transition to the ETF. In line with this, authors of [11] highlight the need for technical capacity on mitigation scenarios to alleviate reporting pressure on developing parties under the Paris Agreement.…”

“…Despite synergies between reporting elements such as national GHG inventories, PAMs, projections, NDC updates, and NDC tracking, consistency issues and primary difficulties in periodically producing and reporting on these elements are anticipated. This is particularly attributed to data collection, lack of national expertise and weak institutional systems [5].…”