In Q3, Parties made headway on the new climate finance goal (the New Collective Quantified Goal, or NCQG). After three years of work, the mandated events of the ad-hoc work programme on the NCQG concluded at a series of meetings in September. Delegates found common ground on improving access to climate finance, reporting mechanisms, and actions to support implementation.

A high-level ministerial dialogue on the NCQG in October further paved the way for an ambitious outcome at COP29. As negotiators have grappled with issues around how to design the goal and the role of different stakeholders in implementing it, the dialogue allowed ministers to get up to speed on the key issues. Some issues are still to be decided: the structure of the goal and the quantum(s), who contributes to it and if certain categories of recipients should be prioritised, and if the goal will have specific targets for adaptation or for certain types of financial instruments.

The co-chairs of the ad-hoc work programme published their annual report, which includes the substantive framework of a draft negotiating text for the NCQG.

Earlier in Q3, the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) completed its technical work for 2023 and adopted four reports: the sixth biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows; the second report on progress on the USD 100 billion per year goal; the second needs determination report; and the report on common practices related to climate finance definitions, accounting methods and reporting practices. The second needs determination report – based on the costed needs of 98 Parties in their latest NDCs – noted a cost estimate across different time frames ending by 2030 in the range of USD 455–584 billion per year.

The SCF Forum, hosted by the Tanzanian government, focused for the first time on gender-responsive climate finance, and emphasized that advancing gender equality is fundamental to achieving climate resilience and the goals of both the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development agenda.

Also in Q3, the Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage selected the Philippines as its host country, with Ibrahima Cheikh Diong selected as the Fund’s inaugural Executive Director. 

Reaching agreement on the final elements of Article 6 (carbon markets and non-markets) at COP29 is essential. In Baku, Parties must agree on the final building blocks for both country-to-country trading, as well as for a new international carbon market: the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.

In Q3, momentum continued to build on Article 6. In July, the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body advanced preparations for COP29, focusing on key standards for the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism: one for developing mechanism methodologies and another on activities involving removals.

By early October, the Supervisory Body’s work during this quarter started to come to fruition. At a meeting in Baku in October, the Body adopted mandatory environmental and social safeguards, as well as the key standards needed to get the carbon crediting mechanism up and running.

To ensure the mechanism can remain agile, the Supervisory Body adopted guidance and recommendations on mechanism methodologies and activities involving removals. This means the Body can continue to review and improve these standards when needed. The Body will seek endorsement for its approach at COP29.

More broadly on Article 6, the secretariat published confidentiality guidelines and a code of conduct for Article 6 reviewers, as mandated by Parties at the June Meetings this year in Bonn. The secretariat also initiated centralized reviews of Article 6.2 initial reports, including rostering technical review experts, conducted sub-regional workshops on institutional arrangements and reporting, and held webinars on submissions on non-market approaches under Article 6.8. 

Additionally, work that was mandated in June on Articles 6.2 and 6.4 took place in early October. Parties met to discuss key issues like authorization, the agreed electronic format, application of first transfer, sequencing, addressing inconsistencies, and registries. These outstanding Article 6 issues were also discussed at the pre-COP, where progress was made to ensure that work on the remaining issues is able to conclude at COP29, resulting in Articles 6.2 and 6.4 being fully operationalized. 

Transparent reporting is a vital enabling tool for all governments – it provides crucial data to help make informed decisions, design stronger climate policies over time, attract climate finance, and bring broader development goals closer within reach.  It is also vital to enable a clearer picture of aggregate global progress on climate action. 

Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) are due from Parties this year, and just last week Japan became the first G20 economy to submit its inaugural BTR, setting an example for other Parties. Japan joins Andorra, Guyana and Panama in leading the way with submission of BTRs.

Since the launch of the new ETF reporting tools, more than 1,000 experts from 130 Parties are using the tools. To date, three Parties have submitted their Common Reporting Tables (CRTs) and/or Common Tabular Formats (CTFs) generated by using the tools, demonstrating that the tools are fully operational and facilitating Parties’ effective and efficient reporting under the Paris Agreement.

The Bulk Data Tool was made available in September, allowing Parties to enter multiple policies and measures or support projects into the system simultaneously. This feature, highly anticipated by developed countries and emerging economies, enables CTF tables to be completed.

Regional trainings and live demonstrations of the tools were organized in several countries to help experts learn how to use them. Virtual question-and-answer sessions with users of the tools took place in October, with clinics scheduled throughout COP29. 

In parallel, 1,566 experts have enrolled in the BTR technical expert review training programme, of which 748 experts are already fully certified and eligible to participate in the technical expert reviews of BTRs, most of which will take place in 2025. In addition, training workshops were organized in collaboration with the COP29 Presidency and other partners to enable developing countries to fast-track preparation of their first BTRs.

The training for Technical Review Officers, which got underway in September, marked a critical milestone in preparing for the technical expert reviews under the ETF. The training included three modules, covering key topics such as review modalities, greenhouse gas inventories, and NDC tracking.

In September, two high-level events launched several global transparency initiatives ahead of COP29, highlighting transparency as a key tool to help countries boost climate action, ambition and finance.

At the close of Q3, Guyana became the first Small Island Developing State to undergo an in-country review of its first BTR, and the first country that submitted REDD+ results under the Paris Agreement. The review of the BTR helped Guyana refine its climate action indicators to better align with the country’s upcoming NDC.

A list of the wide-ranging practical support that secretariat offers to Parties – across programmatic workstreams – can be found here. 

Bolder new national climate plans, formally called Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, due in 2025, are vital to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis hitting every economy. Done well, they can also serve as blueprints for stronger economies and societies, spreading more widely the vast co-benefits of bolder climate action – including stronger economic growth, more and better jobs, less pollution and better health with much lower health costs for households, business and governments, and more secure and affordable clean energy, among others benefits. New NDCs should also reflect the outcomes of the 2023 Global Stocktake on climate action from COP28, which urged countries to transition away from fossil fuels, scale up renewable energy, and build resilience. As such, these plans will be among the most important policy documents so far this century.

In Q3, UN Climate Change secretariat collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, the NDC Partnership and other partners to organize six NDCs 3.0 Regional Fora to help enable more ambitious action on NDCs 3.0. To enhance the effectiveness of NDCs 3.0, the secretariat's Regional Collaboration Centres organized 22 webinars and workshops related to various aspects of NDCs 3.0 including on increasing access to finance, fostering private sector and youth engagement, and promoting gender mainstreaming. These sessions play a role in building capacity and empowering Parties and all stakeholders to drive meaningful climate action. 

In September, the secretariat supported the COP Presidencies Troika (consisting of the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Brazil) to organize a high-level event on the margins of the UN General Assembly, which encouraged countries to submit and implement ambitious NDCs 3.0. 

In Q4, the secretariat released its annual NDC synthesis report, which shows global emissions in 2030 expected to be only 2.6% lower than 2019 levels, assuming all current commitments are implemented.  This is still a long way off the 43% reduction needed by 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  The World Meteorological Organization also released its 2023 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, showing concentrations of greenhouse gases reached another new record in 2023.  Both reports underscore the crucial importance of this next round of NDCs demonstrating major increases in climate ambition and actions aligned with the 1.5 degree Celsius global heating limit, and covering all sectors of economies and all greenhouse gases. 

At COP29, the secretariat is organizing more than 20 side events and special events with other partners related to NDCs 3.0. These events will provide a crucial platform for Parties and stakeholders to exchange insights, showcase innovative solutions, and deepen collaboration on critical issues related to the next generation of NDCs.

Work continued apace in Q3 on adaptation measures, with significant progress made under the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme on indicators. The secretariat, guided by the Chairs of the Subsidiary Bodies, compiled and mapped more than 160,000 entries of metadata for more than 5,000 indicators for measuring progress toward climate resilience. The Adaptation Committee also identified information on indicators reported by Parties in their national reports and communications. This contribution, containing more than 4,000 indicators, was submitted to the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies in September, who then convened a diverse group of technical experts to review and refine the mapping of indicators.

In Q3, the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) advanced work on updating the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) technical guidelines. The group also put in place a set of actions to help Least Developed Countries formulate their NAPs before the end of 2025 and develop project proposals to access funding for implementation. Significant progress was also made in operationalizing the NAP 3.0 initiative to help revamp the NAP process and its support system. 

In September, the Advisory Board of the Santiago Network met in Bonn and approved guidelines and procedures for responding to requests for technical assistance, managing funding, and preventing and addressing conflicts of interest. Fully operationalizing the Santiago Network is essential to ensure that developing countries receive the technical assistance they need to avert, minimize and address loss and damage.

The Adaptation Committee met in September, finalizing its annual report and approving its 2025-2027 workplan. The workplan focuses on providing technical support and guidance to Parties on adaptation, including on means of implementation, considering information provided by Parties fostering collaboration and coherence, and managing process-related activities to advance adaptation efforts. 

COP29 will be an important moment for adaptation, with several key outcomes expected. One major deliverable is the conclusion of the second five-year assessment of progress to formulate and implement NAPs, paving the way for enhanced NAPs 3.0. Other discussions will focus on the global goal on adaptation, particularly on indicators for measuring progress toward climate resilience. 

Another important outcome will be the adoption of a draft decision on the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), extending the mandate of its Facilitative Working Group and approving its workplan for 2025–2027. 

Inclusive governance processes, which include women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, are key to effective climate action and gender equality rising in tandem.

The latest report from the UN Climate Change secretariat on the implementation of gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and action as reported by Parties shows that 85% of Parties referenced gender in their various reports (such as NDCs, NAPs, etc.) submitted to the secretariat. The report shows Parties recognize that gender-responsive climate policies and finance are crucial to closing implementation gaps and accelerating climate action.

The latest Gender Composition Report shows the June Meetings (SB60) convened by the secretariat in Bonn achieved equal gender representation in Parties’ delegations, maintaining this milestone first achieved last year at SB59. However, the report notes a significant gap at COP28, where only 36% of delegates and 28% of delegation heads were women.

The secretariat also organized virtual gatherings for national gender and climate change focal points on transparency and inclusive stakeholder consultations, as well as engagement of women’s groups and national women and gender institutions. Creating these spaces is key in the lead up to the final review of the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and its Gender Action Plan at COP29.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary at COP29 the Global Climate Action Portal, a platform mandated by Parties and known within the official process as NAZCA, has become a key tool for all stakeholders – driving ambition through transparent data and information. Initially only showcasing non-state climate commitments, it now tracks the progress of commitments, and will be redeveloped, after consultations, to recognize credible leadership, particularly on net-zero commitments. 

A concept for redeveloping the Global Climate Action Portal (NAZCA) will be put forward at COP29. COP29 will also acknowledge progress on the Net Zero Data Public Utility, set to bring 10,000 companies on board through its partnership with CDP. 

The short updates above are just a small sample of all the work taking place in the intergovernmental process on climate change. We aim to highlight the vital work in many other areas in future Quarterly Updates, and as always, we value your feedback.

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