Flexibility and capacity building towards enhanced transparency under the Paris Agreement
In the implementation of the Paris Agreement, notions of national determination and flexibility, enhanced ambition and continuous improvement, and national capabilities and the provision of support (including capacity-building support) play an important role.
This paper discusses how flexibility could be applied to those countries that need it and how, together with the provision of capacity-building support, it contributes to countries’ progress towards enhanced transparency. Some of the ideas have been raised during the Annual Partnership Retreat 2017 of the Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement. The authors of this paper build on these discussions to further inform negotiations on the modalities, procedures and guidelines (MPGs) of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF).
The first part of this paper addresses flexibility, identifying the key relevant clauses in the Paris Agreement and discussing options for and making recommendations on the implementation of the ETF. The second part discusses the different provisions of the Paris Agreement on capacity building related to transparency. It explores how these can systematically promote enhanced capacity and transparency in developing countries.