This policy brief gives an account of how Article 6 of the Paris Agreement came into being, focussing in particular on the role of Brazil and the EU in the run up to Paris. It then seeks to clarify the basic concepts involved in the Article 6 debate, and proposes ways in which opposing positions on the opertionalisation of the market mechanisms can be reconciled.
European Capacity Building Initiative
Policy Briefs and Notes
To meaningfully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of ‘common time frames’, clarity is necessary on which common time frames one is referring to. In the context of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), there are essentially two possible interpretations of that phrase: a material one, and a procedural one. The material interpretation is about time intervals associated with the NDCs – to be precise, about target periods and implementation periods. The procedural interpretation is about timetables for communicating and updating NDCs. Both types of time frames might benefit ambition through a harmonisation. Since the debate on target and implementation periods is chiefly centred around the market-based collaborative approaches of Article 6, it is probably best not to bring it into the Article 4.10 debate. That debate, particularly in the context of how common time frames could help enhance NDC ambition, is therefore best focused on the procedural side of things. This Note highlights some of the problems with the NDC communication and updating process, as currently defined in paragraphs 23 and 24 of Decision 1/CP.21. It also summarises the advantages, for enhancing NDC ambition, of combining the two paragraphs into a common procedural time frame that has become known as the Dynamic Contribution Cycle. In practical terms, such a combination could be achieved in very simple terms, by: Requesting all Parties in 2025 to update their 2030 NDC and communicate an indicative 2035 NDC, and to do so every five years thereafter.
Publication Date:
February, 2018
The Adaptation Communications can play a central role in identifying national needs and enabling international follow-up, while informing future action, driving ambition, and contributing information for the global stocktake. However, Parties to the Paris Agreement face a difficult balancing act while developing further guidance for the Communications, as they strive to make them useful and effective on one hand, and avoid placing an additional burden on countries (particularly those with limited capacity) on the other. This policy brief considers the challenges in light of the discussions that have taken place so far, most recently in Bonn in November 2017.
Publication Date:
January, 2018
This Discussion Note considers how the idea of climate finance contributions from sub-nationals has evolved since the Paris Conference in 2015, and how it can be taken to the next level at the Global Climate Action Summit in September 2018.
Publication Date:
January, 2018
A brief on the need to balance flexibility and utility while develolping the guidance for Adaptation Communications at COP23 and beyond.
Publication Date:
November, 2017
The 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, now called the Talanoa Dialogue, will address three questions: where are we now; where do we need to be; and how do we get there. It will include a preparatory phase and a political element. That much is clear, but key issues remain to be resolved. How will preparatory phase will feed into the political element? How can non-Party stakeholders engage effectively? What should the inputs and outputs of the Dialogue be? How can the Dialogue – which is a collective process – contribute to enhancing the climate ambition of individual Parties? This policy brief considers these issues, and offers suggestions for the way ahead.
Publication Date:
November, 2017
Not satisfied with only a “National” Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), Nepal pioneered a framework for Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPAs) in 2011, and committed to ensuring that at least 80% of the financial resources available for climate change will be channelled to the local level.What lessons can Nepal’s experience in devolving climate finance and action offer to the international community, and in particular to the Green Climate Fund’s Enhanced Direct Access modality, which aims to promote sub-national, devolved access? This paper examines the National Climate Change Support Programme, a bilaterally-funded programme to develop and implement LAPAs in Nepal, to draw lessons for the GCF and for other developing countries.
Publication Date:
October, 2017
What would be a successful outcome of COP 16 in Cancun as concerns climate finance?
What would be a successful outcome of COP 16 in Cancun as concerns climate finance? The aim of this paper is to assess how the momentum achieved in Tianjin can be harnessed to deliver the sort of outcomes required for a comprehensive deal.
How to reach a deal at Cancun?
Publication Date:
November, 2010
BACKGROUND PAPER GCF/B.06/05
Publication Date:
April, 2014
