Unnoticed by most, a precedent was set this Saturday and Monday in Lima. Over the course of two days, the first sessions of the Cancun MRV workshops – the multilateral assessment of the first Biennial Review reports by Annex I Parties – unfolded in Plenary Cusco.
Sixteen countries and the EU bloc participated in this new transparency process, reporting progress on policies and measures in fulfilment of their Cancun pledges, and responding to questions raised by fellow negotiators.
But ECO felt a bit let down. These workshops promised to deepen the understanding of the situation of each presenting country whilst demonstrating that they are acting in good faith and working hard towards meeting their commitments.
But despite the fact that MRV primarily aims at promoting transparency and trust, the workshops were designed in something of an exclusive manner – with representatives from civil society sitting in the back of the plenary with no opportunity to contribute to the discussions.
ECO wonders who would be better placed than civil society organizations and national research institutions with relevant experience to contribute to a better collective understanding of the respective domestic circumstances and policy developments in each developed country? Yet instead of taking part in a lively dialogue over these two days, the delegates put themselves through long and technical discussions, sidelining other vital inputs.
Parties should assess the shortcomings of this event as they design the MRV processes that will apply in future under the Paris agreement. Excluding the voice of observer organizations does not encourage the best quality dialogue and obstructs ‘buy in’ and clarity on Parties’ emission reduction plans and goals.
The future MRV framework should call upon the unique expertise and experiences of civil society and research institutions. As negotiators go through the second version of the draft elements for the Paris agreement, they have a direct opportunity to strengthen future transparency mechanisms by opening up the process to all with salient expertise to contribute.
