Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement: 2024 in review
Building on the efforts of preceding years (2022, 2023), 2024 has been another successful year for the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement (PATPA). This year was of particular significance for global climate transparency as the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement enters into full force with the submission of the first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) by the end of 2024.
These circumstances made 2024 the year of BTRs and PATPA committed itself to fully supporting countries on their paths towards a successful BTR submission. The Partnership, with its founding members - the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Germany, continued to provide capacity-building support, foster mutual learning, and facilitate dialogue opportunities through various formats.
2024 stands out as another record-breaking year for global heat, underscoring the importance of global efforts, including PATPA’s work to enhance global climate transparency as a basis for critical ambition-raising.
Two main objectives guided PATPA’s efforts in 2024:
- Supporting and encouraging countries in the timely preparation and submission of their first BTRs.
- Strengthening the recognition of transparency as a guiding principle to ambitious climate policies.
Here are some of the highlights from 2024:
Global Level
A highlight of 2024 was the Global BTR Dialogue, taking place at the end of April in Brussels, Belgium. The event was supported by the European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), the Kingdom of Belgium through the UNDP Climate Promise programme, and Switzerland through citepa. The Dialogue provided a possibility for exchanging lessons learned, addressing common challenges, and discussing best practices in BTR preparations. It highlighted the importance of transparency systems as tools for building trust and accountability in climate action and provided hands-on exercises and practical guidance to participants.
PATPA’s global presence was completed by the annual Partnership Meeting (PM), held alongside SB60 in Bonn, Germany. This year's event brought together transparency experts from partner countries and international organizations, providing them with an opportunity to connect and discuss the way forward until the first BTR submission at the end of the year.
Regional Level
Regional workshops served as a cornerstone of PATPA’s activities in 2024. These workshops were tailored to the needs of each regional cluster.
A productive workshop season was set off in April by the Cluster Lusophone workshop taking place in Luanda, Angola. PATPA organized the event together with UNDP’s Climate Promise and CBIT-GSP under the theme of The Role of Transparency in Increasing the Ambition of Climate Action: Connecting BTRs to NDCs.
The Francophone and Anglophone Africa regional workshops took place back-to-back at the end of June in Kigali, Rwanda. The Francophone workshop was co-organized with UNDP’s Climate Promise and CBIT-GSP to cover the topic of Progress and Implementation of NDCs & Reporting on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation. The Anglophone workshop was organized together with CBIT-GSP and engaged with Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories.
The LAC regional workshop in July also revolved around the advancement of countries’ first BTR with a particular focus on GHG Inventories. It was organized in cooperation with CBIT-GSP in Bogotá, Colombia.
The workshop season was closed by the Asia regional workshop, held in September in Seoul, Republic of Korea. PATPA partnered with the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center of Korea (GIR), the UNFCCC and Australia in organizing the workshop focused on Fast-tracking Preparation of First Biennial Transparency Reports.
The integration of youth participants at regional workshops was a particular highlight and a chance to foster intergenerational dialogue on transparency and climate action.
National Level
PATPA’s Climate Helpdesk continued to play a pivotal role in supporting national transparency efforts. In 2024, the Helpdesk provided technical assistance to Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Ecuador, Peru and Rwanda focusing on supporting the countries in their BTR finalization.
New Formats for Knowledge Sharing
In March, PATPA pioneered an exciting format that adds to our array of knowledge products. The webinar “It’s BTR time: The importance of BTRs in 2024” consisted of three virtual events. The discussions revolved around the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of transparency and were supported by technical expertise. The webinar closed with the presentation of PATPA’s and FAO’s BTR Guidance and Roadmap Tool.
Thank You to Our Partners
We would like to thank our partners for their invaluable contributions, helping to make 2024 another productive year. Our gratitude goes to adelphi, Australia, the Kingdom of Belgium, CBIT-GSP, the European Commission, GIR, ICAT, Libelula, Öko-Institut, UNDP, the UNFCCC Secretariat and many others.
Celebrating the First BTR Submissions
Finally, 2024 marked a historic moment with the submission of the first BTRs. These submissions symbolize a collective step forward in global climate action, showcasing countries’ commitments to transparency and accountability, that we at PATPA are excited to witness firsthand.
What happens after BTR submissions? The transparency journey continues in 2025. Lessons learned from BTR submissions will guide the way forward, highlighting room for improvement and refinement, while the next round of NDC updates in early 2025 serves as impetus to advance alignment of NDCs and BTRs.
As we look ahead, 2025 promises to be another exciting year for climate transparency, with a range of global, regional, and national events and activities on the horizon. We’re excited for the joint journey ahead!