The Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance committee (‘the Committee’) was established under Article 15, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Paris Agreement. Further detail was included in decision 1/CP.21 paragraphs 102 and 103. Its modalities and procedures were adopted by the CMA in decision 20/CMA.1 at Katowice.

Its role is to facilitate implementation of and promote compliance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement. It is guided by principles in Article 15 and paragraphs 1 to 4 of the annex to decision 20/CMA.1, including that it shall function in a manner that is transparent, non-adversarial and non-punitive and paying attention to the respective national capabilities and circumstances of Parties.

The functions of the Committee have been further elaborated in paragraphs 20, 22(a) and (b), as well as paragraphs 32 to 34 of the annex to decision 20/CMA.1.

Paragraph 22(a) provides that the Committee will initiate consideration of issues in cases where a Party has not:

(a) Communicated or maintained a nationally determined contribution (NDC) under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, based on the most up-to-date status of communication in the public registry referred to in Article 4, paragraph 12, of the Paris Agreement;

(b) Submitted a mandatory report or communication of information under Article 13, paragraphs 7 and 9, or Article 9, paragraph 7, of the Paris Agreement;

(c) Participated in the facilitative, multilateral consideration of progress;

(d) Submitted a mandatory communication of information under Article 9, paragraph 5, of the Paris Agreement.

Paragraph 22(b) of the annex to decision 20/CMA.1 provides that in cases of significant and persistent inconsistencies of the transparency information provided by a Party with the modalities, procedures and guidelines for reporting, as pointed out in the “recommendations” in the final technical expert review reports, the Committee may, with the consent of the Party, consider these issues.

The Committee is mandated to report annually to the CMA. The CMA will undertake the first review of the modalities and procedures of the Committee at its seventh session.

The secretariat to the Committee can be contacted by clicking here.

 

Adoption of the rules of procedures of the Committee at CMA 4

Credit: UN Climate Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Event hosted by the Co-Chairs of the PAICC at COP 27

The Co-Chairs of the PAICC, Ms. Christina Voigt (Norway) and Mr. Haseeb Gohar (Pakistan) hosted an event entitled "The Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee and the Operation of the Paris Agreement" on Thursday, 10 November 2022 at the UNFCCC pavilion. 
 

 

 

The recording of the event is accessible here. 

Newsroom article on the PAICC

A newsroom article on the Committee has been published in the UNFCC newsroom on 30 March 2022. 

Side-event of the PAICC at COP 26

The aim of the event was to introduce the role and function of the PAICC to a wider audience and to provide an interactive opportunity for the audience to engage with the co-chairs of the committee as well as its members and alternate members. 
Speakers included:

Ms. Christina Voigt and Mr. Haseeb Gohar, Co-Chairs of the committee
Mr. Felix Ross, Director of the Legal Affairs Division and Principal Legal Advisor, UNFCCC,
Mr. Tomonobu Sato, alternate member of the committee,
Ms. Diane Tan, alternate member of the committee,
Ms. Jimena Nieto, Professor of International environmental law and member of the Kyoto Protocol Compliance Committee

The event has been uploaded on YouTube and can be accessed here. 

UN Climate Change News, 6 November 2020 - The Committee to facilitate implementation of and promote compliance of Parties with the provisions of the Paris Agreement has concluded its second meeting this year and is on track with the delivery of its mandate for CMA3 - the recommendation of its draft rules of procedure.

By providing facilitation to implementation and helping governments understand the compliance aspects of the regime, the Paris Agreement's Committee enables countries to deliver on their national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement (“Nationally Determined Contributions”, or “NDCs”), thereby promoting further ambition to tackle climate change over time.

Ms. Christina Voigt, Co-Chair of the Committee, said: “The Committee’s adoption of a list of elements to guide its work is an important stepping stone to the development of the draft rules of procedure. Together with the interim organizational arrangements, this list will help the Committee in delivering its mandate at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow next year.”

The Paris Agreement's Committee to facilitate implementation and promote compliance met for its second time from 26 to 29 October to work further on its draft rules of procedure and worked on a list of possible elements for the draft rules of procedure, which are to address any matters necessary for the proper and effective functioning of the Committee.

The Committee focused on aspects of organization; general provisions to guide the Committee in its work; and aspects of how it initiates and processes the implementation issues that it addresses, and how it will come to decisions on those implementation issues. The work is a work in progress and the Committee will continue to develop the list into a full draft of procedural rules during its next meetings.

To guide its work while it works on the draft rules, the Committee also adopted interim organizational arrangements which can be accessed here. These arrangements cover basic rules for running the meetings, such as confidentiality, ethical conduct, conflict of interest, oath of service, functions of Co-Chairs, meeting documentation, as well as electronic decisions by the Committee.

The Committee adopted its work plan for the 2020 - 2021 biennium. This living document envisages an alternating pattern of formal meetings and informal meetings throughout 2021, indicating a commitment to intensive working to ensure it delivers the draft rules of procedure to the Glasgow conference in 2021. The Committee also adopted its first annual report to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). The report provides a summary of the Committee’s activities and performance during the year and progress in developing its draft rules of procedure.

Expressing satisfaction over the outcome of the second formal meeting of the Committee, Mr. Haseeb Gohar, Co-Chair of the Committee, said:“Despite having COVID-19 restrictions, the Committee was able to adopt the work plan of the Committee for the biennium 2020-21; interim organizational arrangements; annual report to the CMA; possible elements for the draft rules of procedure; and agreed to organize an event at the Climate Dialogues.”

“This is the manifestation of the Committee’s commitment, dedication and devotion towards promoting implementation of and compliance with the Paris Agreement,” he added.

The Committee plans to host an event in the upcoming UNFCCC Climate Change Dialogues, November/December 2020 (Climate Dialogues). The event will engage with experts from other compliance committees established under international in order to share experiences around facilitating implementation and supporting Parties in complying with their commitments. The event will also provide government representatives with an opportunity to share their views to enhance compliance and implementation of the Paris Agreement.

About the Paris Agreement's committee to facilitate implementation and promote compliance

The Paris Agreement's committee to facilitate implementation and promote compliance was established under Article 15, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Paris Agreement. Further detail was included in decision 1/CP.21 paragraphs 102 and 103. Its modalities and procedures were adopted by the CMA in decision 20/CMA.1 at Katowice.

Its role is to facilitate implementation of and promote compliance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement. It is guided by principles in Article 15 and paragraphs 1 to 4 of the annex to decision 20/CMA.1, including that it shall function in a manner that is transparent, non-adversarial and non-punitive and paying attention to the respective national capabilities and circumstances of Parties.

UN Climate Change News, 28 September 2020 - What does the proper and effective functioning of a committee on compliance involve? Similar to a puzzle, many different parts of its rules of procedure need to work together in unison. This was addressed by the Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee (PAICC) at the recent informal virtual meeting on its functioning.

Established under Article 15, paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement, the PAICC will function in a manner that is transparent, facilitative, non-adversarial and non-punitive and paying particular attention to the respective national capabilities and circumstances of Parties. The PAICC’s work will be guided by the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

Following its ground-breaking first virtual formal meeting in June this year, in September 2020, the PAICC carried out important inter-meeting work in preparation of their upcoming second formal meeting (scheduled in October 2020). The informal discussion was focused on how the PAICC will function by addressing substantive aspects of its draft Rules of Procedure.

The draft Rules of Procedure under discussion aim to address any matters necessary for the proper and effective functioning of the PAICC.  Once completed, the Rules of Procedure will address any matters necessary for the proper and effective functioning of the PAICC, including the role of the PAICC Co-Chairs, conflict of interest, timelines for the PAICC’s work, as well as reasoning in decisions of the PAICC.

Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and consequent constraints on face-to-face interactions, the PAICC improvised to maximize interaction by discussing real-world situations. The exercise was very useful as it allowed the PAICC to:

• deepen its understanding of the matters it needs to agree on to recommend a draft Rules of Procedure to the supreme governing body for the Paris Agreement for its consideration and adoption and
• anticipate, in particular, cases where implementation of or compliance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement by Parties may be challenging. 

First discussions at the meeting zoomed in on the guiding principles of the PAICC and how facilitation and compliance cases could be initiated. According to the Modalities and Procedures, this could happen in three different ways: by a Party, by the PAICC or by a Party and the PAICC together.

Mr. Haseeb Gohar, Co-Chair of PAICC, said at the end of the first day:

"While we focused on these three elements, it is clear from these discussions how important it is to recognize the interlinkages between various other elements in the Modalities and Procedures of the PAICC. It was a useful and rich discussion,” he added.

Building on these discussions, the PAICC next took a deep dive into the complexities of its future functioning with the aid of two possible scenarios where Parties might experience challenges in implementation of or compliance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

At the closing of the session, Ms. Christina Voigt, Co-Chair of the PAICC, said:

"The exercise of examining such situations is very technical in nature and guided our thinking, as a committee, on how the PAICC would work in practice. Some of the substantive elements of the PAICC’s draft Rules of Procedure will serve as informal inputs to the second meeting."

The emerging team spirit of the PAICC, which has not yet met in-person since commencing its work in 2020, was the spotlight of the meeting. While building relationships to make progress on the mandated work of the PAICC is markedly more challenging in a virtual format than in-person, this format with real-world situations nevertheless facilitated an open and inclusive environment for discussion in the PAICC, allowing it to be a step closer to completing this important task.

Work on the draft Rules of Procedure is based on a 2018 mandate. The draft will next year be recommended for consideration and adoption to the Paris Agreement’s top decision-making body, the CMA, which oversees the implementation of the Paris Agreement and takes decisions to promote its effective implementation.

UN Climate Change News, 26 June 2020 - The committee that operates the mechanism to facilitate implementation of and promote compliance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement, established under its article 15, has laid the groundwork to deliver its mandate.

The Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee (PAICC) held its first meeting from 2 to 5 June 2020. It deliberated on the work it would need to do before the third session of the Conference of the Parties serving at the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) to develop the draft rules of procedure of the committee and in relation to substantive issues. The meeting was a groundbreaking one because it is the first time that the first meeting of a UN Climate Change constituted body is held entirely virtually. Read more here.