UN Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the United Nations entity supporting the global response to climate change. The UNFCCC has near universal membership (197 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and its Doha Amendment, adopted in 2012.

The secretariat plays a crucial role in putting into practice the transparency and accountability arrangements for climate change reporting. It convenes and mobilizes thousands of stakeholders and coalitions and provides a forum for designing science-based climate policies and programmes.

The UNFCCC collaborates with numerous United Nations organizations to pool resources and convening power to effectively implement the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, as well as other global agendas, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In a typical year, the UNFCCC, through its constituted bodies, mechanisms and work programmes, strengthens mitigation and adaptation action and mobilizes support. In parallel, countries conduct negotiations to refine the international rules for climate action. The year’s work culminates in the COP, where Parties adopt decisions and guide further work. The global climate effort also moves forward at major conferences connected to work under the UNFCCC thanks to the scientific community and the community of global climate stakeholders. This section outlines how the secretariat’s programmes of work advanced and intersected to move us towards our common goals and describes the efforts by the secretariat in 2019 to streamline its operations and to better prepare for the challenges ahead.

Greenhouse gas emissions and transparency

Never have we needed to step up action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as today. Guided by the need for greater global collaboration and transparency in combating climate change, the secretariat supports all Parties in their efforts to monitor and assess emission levels, reduce emissions and design ambitious targets for keeping the temperature rise below 1.5°C.  

The secretariat coordinated technical reviews and analyses of national reports, including on REDD+, and trained reviewers, experts and Parties’ representatives in meeting national measurement, reporting and verification requirements. Greenhouse gas data and information on mitigation actions of Parties were synthesized in the report Climate action and support trends, released at the Climate Action Summit.

Adaptation

Greater efforts are required to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to protect people and the planet. The UNFCCC interacts with governments and partners in finding ways to increase developing countries’ capacity to adapt.

This year in adaptation was marked by the secretariat’s provision of support to countries for developing their national adaptation plans – in particular through the new Open NAP initiative – the work of the Adaptation Committee on climate finance, and the enhancement of partnerships under the Nairobi Work Programme. It also assisted the Least Developed Countries Expert Group and the Adaptation Committee with meetings and private sector engagement, including  financing for adaptation action. The Adaptation Committee published its flagship report 25 Years of Adaptation under the UNFCCC.

Climate finance

Ensuring quick access to adequate finance that supports countries in tackling climate change is essential. Economists have warned that inaction will be far costlier than action in the long run. The secretariat supported negotiations on a wide range of climate finance topics throughout 2019 and continued to assist developing countries in assessing the priority of their adaptation, mitigation, capacity-building and financial needs. The Needs-based Finance project was launched to help countries implement priority actions. In addition, the secretariat assisted the Standing Committee on Finance with its biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows and the 2019 Standing Committee on Finance Forum, which focuses on climate finance and sustainable cities.

Technology

Innovation in technologies that can be applied to improve climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions is key to achieving the purpose and goals of the Paris Agreement. Access to these technologies, in terms of both transfer and finance, is also key. In 2019, the secretariat continued to work with the Technology Executive Committee on implementing the technology framework, a new 4-year workplan, identifying policy options, practices and technologies with high mitigation potential through the climate technology project database and on producing recommendations for ways to move forward with mitigation.

Capacity-building

The UNFCCC capacity-building efforts are at the heart of its work on adaptation, mitigation, technology and climate finance. In 2019, the secretariat focused on improving its capacity-building activities through better coordination, systemic planning and continuous evaluation. At COP 25, the secretariat held the Second Capacity-building Hub of the Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB) and established the PCCB Network.

Carbon markets

The Clean Development Mechanism enables governments, organizations, businesses and individuals to buy carbon credits from projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions, thus lowering their carbon footprint. Carbon markets enable both the financing of clean development and reductions in emissions while implementing new solutions and technologies continues to pave the way for a full transition to a net zero carbon world.

With support from the secretariat, the clean development mechanism issued 50,995,101 certified emission reduction credits to 187 projects and 36 programmes in 55 countries in 2019. The secretariat organized capacity-building events and supported countries with carbon pricing.

Moving COP 25 from Santiago to Madrid in less than one month was immensely challenging. Nevertheless, thanks to the tireless collaboration of the Governments of Spain and Chile, the secretariat and the operator of IFEMA – Feria de Madrid venue, as well as to the solidarity, support and resources of Parties, the conference started on schedule.

COP 25 ended with key achievements in adaptation, mitigation and climate finance, including decisions that support research, innovation and collaboration in the areas of technology, oceans, coastal areas, ecosystems, agriculture and capacity-building.

Despite Parties falling short of agreeing on issues related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and on the launch of cooperative instruments – essential tools for enhancing the efficiency of mitigation efforts and increasing finance for adaptation – most technical issues relating to the market-based and non-market approaches under Article 6 were resolved in 2019. COP 26 will be tasked with sealing the deal on Article 6.

The secretariat supported negotiations among Parties on a wide range of issues, and coordinated an attendance of 28,000 participants and 32 Heads of State and Government as well as the  2,500 meetings and 260 side events.

In the context of the COP 25 Presidency’s vision to raise ambition while balancing mitigation and adaptation, the secretariat supported a wealth of initiatives, including five high-level ministerial events to raise ambition and engage sectors such as agriculture, energy, finance and science. Additionally, the secretariat provided support to the Presidency’s ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition and two other events pertaining to pre-2020 implementation and ambition as well as global climate action. The secretariat also provided support to the United Nations Climate Action Summit and held three regional climate weeks, and helped strengthen the Climate Ambition Alliance launched at Summit. The secretariat also worked with partners, United Nations organizations and other intergovernmental organizations to assist countries in preparing their nationally determined contributions.

Believing in the power of science-based decision-making, the secretariat works to ensure that Parties are kept abreast of the latest scientific research. In 2019, it engaged with the scientific community, including through partnerships with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Meteorological Organization, to organize the Earth Information Day at COP 25 and events around two IPCC Special Reports on Climate Change and Land and on the Ocean and Cryosphere.

Climate change is a global threat that requires a global response from all sectors of society. No nation can tackle climate change on its own, and no government can realize the full potential of its national climate change commitments without the contribution of businesses, not-for-profit organizations, multilateral organizations and citizens. In 2019, the secretariat stepped up its work on mobilizing and partnering with a wide variety of individuals and organizations with the aim of raising global – and local – climate ambition.

It released the Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2019 and the thematic Climate Action Pathways and enhanced the Global Climate Action portal, which includes over 20,000 actions and features an interactive map and country-specific pages. The secretariat’s Climate Neutral Now initiative attracted 239 new signatories in 2019, and its Momentum for Change initiative received 670 applications for the United Nations Global Climate Action Awards.

In an effort to reach wider audience, the secretariat increased its social and digital media presence, which led to a 33 per cent increase in followers across its social media channels – from 1.3 to 1.8 million.

Climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in every society – those who are socially or economically disadvantaged, and those who are marginalized. Guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development principle of leaving no one behind, the UNFCCC has committed to fully integrating the voices of indigenous peoples and women into its processes.

As a result, COP 25 adopted the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan, which sets out ways to enhance gender equality and empower women. The Conference also adopted the two-year workplan of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.

In 2019, the secretariat continued its organizational reform, extended its global networks and strengthened its partnerships, invested in forward-looking information technology infrastructure and data management, and implemented a wide-reaching online communication strategy that will enable it to better serve Parties and non-Party stakeholders.

Furthermore, it invested in information technology to upgrade the greenhouse gas data interface, consolidate its technology infrastructure and data centre and develop measures for sharing data with other organizations. The secretariat worked with key partners on initiatives such as eco-friendly credit cards for offsetting emissions, strategies for making companies ‘climate-positive’ and creative design tools for enhancing awareness.

In 2019, the world witnessed a string of devastating climate events, carbon dioxide levels continued to rise and ice caps to melt, and we reached the highest sea level ever recorded. Failure to address climate change will only exacerbate future impacts, yet most countries are neither responding to the call for ambitious action nor preparing at the pace science indicates is required. Efforts are being constrained by lack of resources, by different expectations and understanding of ambition, by complexity and by the wide variety of interests involved.

The widespread lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health measures have required the secretariat to work and organize meetings in a largely virtual environment while postponing climate conferences. It is against this backdrop that the UNFCCC is working towards achieving its objectives for 2020.

The secretariat will work with the COP Presidencies and presiding officers to ensure the smooth postponement of the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB 52) and COP 26, help Parties in their efforts to prepare new and updated nationally determined contributions, and support existing workstreams, work programmes, and constituted bodies.

Furthermore, the secretariat will continue to implement its new organizational structure to better support governments and proactively address emerging needs. It will increase outreach and communication efforts and continue to improve its digital infrastructure. 

The annual report provides key financial results for 2019, including total revenue and expenses, funding by trust fund, and comparisons of budgeted and actual expenditure for the core budget and the international transaction log, as well as lists of Party and non-Party contributors to the Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities.