2024 TOP 10 BLOG
The Global Stocktake Report: Ensuring Our Future
VJEL Staff Editor: Yanissa Rodriguez
Faculty Member: Derek Walker
The Global Stocktake (GST) resides at the heart of the Paris Agreement– the revolutionary agreement of countries worldwide to combat climate change by limiting global warming. The teeth behind the Agreement, Article 14, mandates an assessment on the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The findings are shared every five years at the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP). The GST tracks the progress of goals made by the Parties to the Paris Agreement. Ideally, GST assessments on party progress should lay the groundwork for parties to set and pursue more ambitious targets.
With the first GST taking center stage at the recent COP28 in Dubai, it will be five years before the next report card, and the world can’t wait to turn up the dial on ambition. The synthesis report, released in September 2023, highlighted the pathways integral to our planet’s stability and collective well-being. While developed countries tussle with developing countries over issues like climate finance, action is needed now. The GST synthesis report touched on vital overarching goals for countries to consider as they pursue climate action. Throughout the report, a common thread could be found woven through these themes: the need for laws that not only work, but consider the practical concerns of individuals on the ground. The GST calls on countries to ratchet up their efforts to close the emissions gap, because at the moment, we are falling behind. Currently, we are only reducing emissions by 15-30%. How should Parties move forward then? The GST pushes the following recommendations forward:
Further Implementation of Domestic Policies
To meet the Paris Agreement’s ambitious temperature targets—limiting warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius with significant effort towards hitting 1.5 degrees—countries must intensify their climate actions now. Developing and developed countries hold the same goal, but encounter different pathways and challenges as they work towards a net-zero, climate stable future. Each country has its own unique national profile, with distinct capabilities for reducing emissions, investing in domestic or international climate action, or even ramping up domestic efforts without the help of international support. These national actions and commitments must balance international commitments with domestic political and economic realities. To get an idea of this concept of differentiated responsibilities and capabilities, take the United States, for example. The U.S. is a political powerhouse and a leading emitter of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and therefore, can and should pull a larger weight in achieving climate targets. The U.S. has rejoined the Paris Agreement under President Biden, which includes financially supporting developing countries to compensate for the role of developed nations as historic emitters. Despite the U.S.’s outsized role in the global warming we are experiencing today, only recently, with the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act, did the U.S. take action that comes close to matching its responsibility. Generally, developed countries are poised to both reduce their emissions and significantly boost climate finance commitments to facilitate emissions reduction in developing countries. To date, financial commitments have fallen short of the mark, and a new assessment of how much finance is needed overall will be put forth at the upcoming COP meeting taking place in December 2023.
Increased Focus on Adaptation
One of the primary takeaways from the GST synthesis report is the need for mitigation and adaptation efforts to be driven by local knowledge. Mitigation has historically received most of the attention in climate discussions; adaptation is of increasing importance. Climate change manifests itself in diverse ways globally, displaying distinct impacts depending on the region. Adaptation requires addressing problems at the local level by assessing and treating problems within specific, individualized contexts. Local communities are best equipped to apply their local wisdom and resources for an effective outcome, although the amount of resources needed continues to rise as impacts from climate change intensify. Local communities know their land, people, and economies best—they are the best actors for designing solutions to their problems. To promote local adaptation, strong domestic policies and international cooperation and capacity building taking this into consideration are vital.
To effectively respond to the growing pressures of climate change and facilitate locally-driven responses, Parties should implement domestic policies rooted in the principles of just transition and equity. Placing vulnerable populations at the forefront of climate action and mobilizing financial support that is accessible and available when needed will be essential in successful adaptation efforts.
Achieving a Just Transition
Climate action requires transformation of our societies that will impact every aspect of life, including the transportation, agriculture, and industrial sectors. The Paris Agreement established the “just transition” as a guiding principle for Parties to integrate into their transformations. The UNFCCC defines just transition as “transforming the economy and economic system in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.” A just and equitable transition includes promoting the participation and inclusivity of non-Party members from civil society organizations to local and Indigenous communities, the private sector, and cities and states. In a positive reinforcing cycle, the participation of these stakeholders will enable effective implementation efforts at the national level.
Just transition efforts have been globally recognized as essential components of environmental action. In Brazil, for example, the legislature passed into law a Fair Energy Transition Program to guide the energy transition of a coal-dependent state with economic, social, and environmental factors in mind. In Colombia, the legislature is adopting just transition principles into law when considering the way the nation transitions away from its second-largest export, coal. The UN estimates 38% of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which outline each country’s goals within the Paris Agreement’s mission to limit global temperatures to under 2 degrees Celsius, include principles related to a just transition. The likelihood of achieving durable and equitable outcomes is higher when just transition principles are embedded throughout national climate plans.
Not only are countries bolstering their domestic efforts, but progress is being made internationally through the implementation of just transition principles in Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs). TheInternational Partners Group, for example(made up by theEuropean Union, theUnited States, the UnitedKingdon,Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Denmarkand Norway), is one of many initiatives helping developing nations rehaultheir domestic energy infrastructure to provide a secure,reliant energy grid to everyone, but particularly vulnerablegroups. Currently, programs in Indonesia and Vietnam have collectively supplied close to $30 billion to aid both nations in an equitable, systemic overhaul of their energy infrastructure. These efforts indicate the GST’s hopeful vision in driving ambitiously collaborative climate action forward.
Conclusion
The cards are now in the hands of nations seeking to address climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement. The onus is on them to adequately respond to the valuable information from the GST, and this GST is telling us we are way behind schedule. Climate change is a systems-level crisis, and Parties must respond to the alarming report card presented by the first GST by taking concrete steps towards transforming our current energy, transportation, and industrial systems to promote ambitious mitigation and adaptation outcomes. It will take considerable effort and sustained commitment from countries, companies, subnational governments, and a vast array of stakeholders around the world to achieve this transformation. Civil society groups and climate advocates around the world, including observers to the UN COP process like the Vermont Law and Graduate School delegation, are poised to hold their leaders accountable for achieving real results.
Editor’s Note: This article was written prior to the COP 28 event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.