Regional Transparency Networks launched around the globe

While the climate crisis calls for action and transformations throughout countries, regions and societies, the Paris Agreement requires countries to regularly submit transparency reports from 2024 onwards. These reports enable tracking of where we stand on achieving the global climate goals, and are part of the efforts to increase trust and ambitions.

However, these new reporting requirements, also known as the “Enhanced Transparency Framework”, present a significant challenge for most developing countries due to more comprehensive and stringent provisions, including the regular tracking of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

To get developing countries ready for these upcoming challenges, six new Regional Transparency Networks have been launched under the Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency – Global Support Programme (CBIT-GSP).

Based on country needs

Covering the diverse regions of Anglophone Africa, Anglophone Caribbean, Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific, the Regional Transparency Networks are key support modalities for all countries in the respective regions.

Organized through a dedicated Regional Network Coordinator, the networks deliver both needs-based regional activities as well as targeted national support activities for climate action transparency.

The six networks were launched presenting the results of regional in-depth needs assessments identifying capacity needs in the different thematic areas of the Enhanced Transparency Framework, such as greenhouse gas inventories and NDC tracking.

Based on the needs assessment, draft work plans for 2023 were elaborated and discussed among countries during the launch events. As a project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a representative from GEF provided opening remarks during the different launch events.

In total, the CBIT-GSP comprises ten Regional Transparency Networks, including the six newly launched networks and two further Regional Transparency Networks (Eurasia and MENA) to be launched in the coming months. Two other networks, the Francophone Network and the Lusophone Cluster, are established under the UNDP Climate Promise Initiative, in close collaboration with the CBIT-GSP.

CBIT-GSP – A global transparency project

The Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency – Global Support Programme is a global project, funded by the GEF, executed by UNEP and implemented by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre.

It supports countries in meeting the transparency requirements under the Paris Agreement, through multiple support modalities, including global, regional and national activities. The Regional Transparency Networks are the primary support vehicle, with workplans that remain flexible to accommodate for ad-hoc requests by countries using a dedicated support request form, which can be found here.

A first activity in all regional networks is a webinar on accessing GEF support for the preparation of Biennial Transparency Reports.

All CBIT-GSP webinars can be found here.

CBIT-GSP also hosts an integrated platform, serving as a one-stop-shop for transparency, with information on all transparency support providers, projects, events, knowledge products and, a dedicated space for the new Regional Transparency Networks, including an online forum for knowledge sharing. The CBIT-GSP integrated platform will be officially launched during the intermediary sessions of the UNFCCC in June in Bonn.