Any healthy organization or process will at times consider the efficiency and relevance of how they organize their work. This is also the case for the intergovernmental process of the UNFCCC. How is the process set up to deliver on the many mandates and tasks given throughout its more than 25 years of operation? Does the beginning of the implementation era of the Paris Agreement call for process changes? There are many questions that arise from these two fundamental ones and, accordingly, numerous opinions. There are formal as well as more informal arenas to engage in an exchange to foster efficiency and effectiveness of the UNFCCC process. It is vital that this exchange is based on broad engagement of all stakeholders, from Parties to civil society and research organizations. This report is a good example on how academia can play an active role by providing evidence-based framing, as well as thought provoking solutions. I hope that you as reader of this report will find it as illuminating as I did. From the Foreword by Marianne Karlsen, Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation.

This report is referenced in the 27 October 2021 CarbonBrief UN Climate Talks Analysis: How delegations at COP climate summits have changed over time.