https://unfccc.int/news/global-stocktake-a-critical-lever-for-ambitious-climate-action

 

Delegates at the Bonn Climate Change Conference wrapped up the first technical dialogue of the global stocktake yesterday - a process that is critical both for implementing the Paris Agreement and helping set the course for ambitious climate action.

 

"Clearly, we urgently need implementation to happen as rapidly as possible and we need much more ambitious climate action," said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. "The global stocktake is a critical part of achieving both."

For the past several days, government delegates, observers and various experts began taking stock of where the world stands when it comes to implementing the Paris Agreement. These discussions are a key component of the global stocktake to assess collective progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Achieving this goal is essential to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.

The dialogue provided information for countries and stakeholders to see where they're collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement - and where they're not.

Many participants at the dialogue highlighted the need for financial support, particularly to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and noted that resource gaps will widen as the climate crisis worsens. Other participants pointed out that current pledges by national governments are insufficient to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and that ambitious climate action needs to be urgently scaled up.

"While the international community has made progress in several areas, we also know it has yet to live up to several commitments in others - the failure to mobilize $100 billion by 2020 is but one example," said Ms. Espinosa. "And we also know that climate action has yet to reflect the deep transformational change that is needed across all sectors to build a more sustainable and resilient future."

The numbers reinforce this. Last year's NDC Synthesis Report - a compilation of all national climate action plans submitted so far - confirmed that the world is still far off the Paris Agreement goal of stabilizing global temperature rise at 1.5C by the end of this century.

But the stocktake is also about opportunity. It allows national governments and stakeholders to identify existing gaps in climate action. It enables them to address those gaps, by showcasing solutions, opportunities, innovations and best practices from throughout the world.

And the discussions are based on the best available science, which is at the heart of the global stocktake.

During the past 10 months, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a trilogy of reports, which contain the most up-to-date science on climate change.

Together, these three reports are a dire warning about the consequences of inaction. The reports confirm that human activities are causing climate change and human influence is making extreme climate events more frequent and severe.

Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair, said the reports found that human activities have warmed the planet at a rate not seen in the past 2,000 years, putting the world on track to global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next two decades.

"The next few years will be critical but there are ways to improve our chances of success," added Dr. Lee. "International cooperation is key to achieving ambitious climate goals and accelerated and equitable climate action is critical to sustainable development."

What happens next

Harald Winkler, co-facilitator of the technical dialogue, outlined the next steps for the global stocktake process. He encouraged delegates to continue making submissions to help UN Climate Change gather the information necessary to conduct the stocktake through its online submission portal.

He also encouraged participants to continue their discussions in the coming months to help prepare for the next technical dialogue, which will take place at the UN Climate Conference (COP 27) in Egypt this November. For example, he suggested they could informally continue their conversations during the Regional Climate Weeks.

"This would make the stocktake more global and inclusive," he said.

The co-facilitators of the technical dialogue will prepare a summary report in the coming weeks to capture the discussions at the Bonn Climate Change Conference.

Finally, the key findings from the first global stocktake will be presented and discussed at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) at the end of 2023. While this will be a key moment to identify opportunities to step up climate action and international support, the global stocktake is an ongoing process that can add value on every step of the journey.