Consultative Group of Experts Advances Transparency Efforts for Climate Reporting

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The Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) reviewed their annual workplan and prepared a progress report for submission to the Subsidiary Body for Implementation at their 10th meeting held last month. The CGE emphasized their commitment to assisting developing country Parties in meeting their climate reporting obligations under the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement.

Xiang Gao, the Chair of the CGE, officially inaugurated the meeting while Pheav Sovuthy, Under Secretary of State at Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, highlighted the urgency of climate action, noting the 30% likelihood of global warming reaching 1.5 degrees by 2026.

Jigme, Manager of the Transparency Division at UN Climate Change, highlighted the substantial progress achieved in transparency-related negotiations and implementation, underscoring the pivotal role played by the CGE.

The CGE’s notable achievements in 2023 include:

• The CGE organized three regional hands-on training workshops focusing on reporting climate change impacts, adaptation, and support-related information, benefiting 157 participants (42 percent women and 58 percent men) from 78 developing countries. The workshops promoted a better understanding of adaptation-related topics and reporting methods under the Paris Agreement.
• The CGE conducted three regional webinars to introduce newly developed training materials for reporting mitigation action under the ETF, with 155 attendees.
• The CGE published the second edition of the ETF Handbook in all UN languages, as well as updated adaptation and mitigation training materials for ETF reporting. Interviews with national experts from Cuba and Zambia regarding institutional arrangements for transparency reporting have also been published.
• A stocktake survey and an assessment of the latest national communications, biennial update reports (BURs) and summary reports on the technical analysis of BURs were conducted to identify transparency gaps and needs. The survey results and an updated technical paper will inform the CGE's 2024 workplan.

For a more comprehensive overview of the CGE's accomplishments in 2023, refer to their progress report.

As the CGE continues to support developing countries in implementing transparency arrangements, it actively seeks feedback and insights on its activities and publications. Stakeholders are encouraged to engage with the CGE at COP28 through the following events:

COP28 Transparency Support Side Event: On 8 December, from 13:15 to 14:45 in room 5, the CGE will host a side event to showcase its achievements and planned activities for transparency support. The event will also unveil findings from the CGE's capacity-building needs assessment and provide a platform for sharing experiences in preparing the first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), while also soliciting feedback on emerging support areas.

25th Anniversary: 2024 will mark the 25th anniversary of the CGE's establishment. In commemoration of this milestone, the CGE invites current and former members to a celebratory event. This offers a valuable opportunity for members and transparency experts to share their perspectives on the CGE and transparency efforts in general.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).