ECO wants to congratulate Parties for the (mostly) constructive, (mostly) forward looking and (mostly) honest discussions seen in the multilateral assessments and the facilitative sharing of views. And while some Parties might have liked to see the heat turned up on the US, the collegiate nature of the discussions showed the true value of transparency – it’s all about building trust. That’s not to say that some did not deserve a bit of sizzle. With uncertainty over the US administration’s commitment to climate action, China made a strong point questioning the United States on the public health cost of retreating from the Clean Power Plan. However, many more Parties took it at as an opportunity to share success stories, best practises and lessons learned.
In the Multilateral Assessment, countries largely reported being on track to meet their 2020 targets, and both Canada and France stood out by highlighting an increase in non-state actor and local authority engagement. Perhaps even overachievement of some of these targets might be on the table. ECO hopes countries will be coming back to the table to tell these stories and energise the Facilitative Dialogue in 2018.
The facilitative sharing of views, meanwhile, was a space to reflect on the benefits of starting reporting early, with many countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, reporting MRV and capacity development needs resulting from reporting under ICA. India was the clear success story of the morning, with numerous Parties offering congratulations for its rapid solar roll-out and enhanced targets.
However, our hearty congratulations here at ECO go to Mauritania, the first LDC to submit a BUR under the ICA process, proving that it’s never too early to start reporting. Transparency is useful for all countries. So, if you are a Party still looking for a transpiration (transparency inspiration) just remember – if Mauritania can do it, so can you!
