Putting equity into practice in the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement

ABSTRACT

Equity has started to be put into practice in the global stocktake (GST), a key process in implementing the Paris Agreement. The Paris rulebook specifies inputs and modalities for the GST, explicitly referring to equity or fairness in seven places, with an important additional implicit reference. This paper illustrates how equity is part of information collected, considered by experts during technical assessment and captured in outputs of all components of the GST. Consequently, equity will be part of the outcome of the GST, which will inform countries as they consider their next nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Fairness in NDCs is a key way of including equity in the Paris Agreement, and a critical input into the GST. Equity is salient to all themes of the GST – mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation and support, as well loss and damage, and response measures. On each of these, the paper suggests overarching questions, modalities and inputs relating to equity that could be used in future. The analysis suggests that more equitable outcomes can be achieved, thereby enabling ambition.

Key policy insights

• Equity has started to be put into practice in inputs and modalities of the global stocktake.

• The Paris rulebook includes equity across all its components: inputs, assessment and consideration of outputs.

• Critical inputs on equity for the GST include fairness considerations in NDCs, voluntary submissions by Parties and IPCC reports.

• Consideration of equity in the GST process can lead to more equitable outcomes, enabling stronger collective ambition.

• Starting to put equity into practice in the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement

KEYWORDS:

• Equity
• global stocktake
• Paris Agreement
• Paris rulebook

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 The Adaptation Committee, the Least Developed Country Expert Group, the Technology Executive Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Paris Committee on Capacity-building, the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts, the Consultative Group of Experts, the forum on the impact of the implementation of response measures, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform Facilitative Working Group (UNFCCC, 2018b: footnote 2).