Background

Transparency of climate action and support is the cornerstone of the multilateral climate change regime, as it fosters trust and accountability, and allows for the assessment of progress towards our shared climate goals. In this regard, the ETF:

• Helps countries strengthen their evidence base to better identify needs and prioritize actions that refine climate policies over time;
• Offers donors and investors greater clarity on both opportunities and funding requirements;
• Enhances the evaluation of global climate efforts by highlighting where additional action and support are necessary;
• Incorporates greenhouse gas inventories and monitors progress toward NDCs, building confidence and supporting countries in preparing more ambitious and effective climate plans.

The year 2025 represents a significant turning point for the ETF, as it marks the inaugural ETF cycle for the front-running countries who were the first to deliver their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), undergo Technical Expert Reviews (TERs), and participate in the first sessions of the Facilitative Multilateral Consideration of Progress (FMCP).

This fact, as well as the important efforts and strong commitment to climate transparency from all countries across the globe, is a feat to be celebrated, as it denotes the full implementation of the transparency arrangements under the Paris Agreement.

About half of the Parties met the deadline of submitting their BTRs by 31 December 2024. Furthermore, 40 of these countries have already gone through a TER, which helps identify capacity-building needs and foster knowledge-sharing both nationally and internationally. Finally, the first sessions of the FMCP are happening this year, offering Parties a platform to engage in open dialogue, exchange experiences, and learn from one another’s best practices in climate action and support.  

It is crucial to maintain the drive to implement the ETF, supporting those countries who have not submitted their first BTR yet to do so as soon as possible, as well as starting off strongly the preparations for the second BTR for those countries who have completed the first cycle.

Continued support remains essential for developing country Parties to fully implement the ETF. The timely submission of the first BTRs was enabled by financial, technical and capacity-building assistance, with mechanisms such as the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) playing a pivotal role in providing guidance, methodological tools and peer learning opportunities.

2025 offers an important opportunity to strengthen this support architecture. While the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been instrumental in channeling resources for BTR preparation, Parties continue to face challenges regarding the timeliness, accessibility and adequacy of such assistance. Future efforts should therefore focus on streamlining procedures, improving predictability, and ensuring that technical and financial support are better aligned with evolving national needs.

In 2025, we went from COP29 to COP30 with the Paris Agreement Rulebook completely finalized and its policy cycle fully in motion, encompassing NDCs, NAPs, and BTRs. In line with the “Southern Cross” vision, our collective task is to build the capacity of developing country Parties to evolve from ad hoc reporting practices toward government-led, systematic, and institutionalized processes for preparing and submitting national reports under the ETF.

Presidencies’ High-level Dialogue on Transparency

Political momentum is imperative for the effective implementation of ETF, as its full potential can only be realized when there is sustained high-level political commitment to ensure adequate resourcing, prioritization within national agendas, and the alignment of transparency efforts with broader climate ambitions.

COP Presidencies play a critical role in mobilizing this support. They are uniquely positioned to convene decision makers, galvanize political will, and maintain visibility of the ETF in the wider climate agenda. Hosting high-level ministerial dialogues at COPs is an important tool for the Presidencies to keep the momentum, take stock of ETF implementation —including progress made, challenges and opportunities—, as well as disseminate key messages from the ETF process.

This year’s dialogue convened by the COP 29 and COP 30 Presidencies will provide a platform for policy makers to discuss priorities under the ETF, including a space for the COP 30 Presidency to highlight the key messages from the BTR synthesis report as part of the COP30 outcome, underpinning the need for enhanced action and support and providing tools to identify effective policies, remaining gaps and avenues to accelerate progress towards meeting NDC targets.

In this regard, last year’s Ministerial Roundtable on Global Climate Transparency, as well as the launch of the COP29 Presidency’s Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform (BTP) laid a strong foundation to keep policy makers engaged in the implementation of the ETF. The BTP particularly aims to contribute to the on-going efforts of developing country Parties to prepare and finalize their BTRs and achieve full implementation of the ETF.

Moreover, at the Global Transparency Forum 2025, hosted by CBIT-GSP in September, the COP 29 and COP 30 Presidencies underlined the role of ETF on building trust and accountability, as well as in transforming our economies and society to tackle climate change effectively and reaffirmed their commitment to facilitate support to developing countries in addressing challenges to implement the ETF.

Going forward, the high-level dialogues on Transparency should evolve into an annual feature of future COPs, ensuring transparency retains its central role in the climate agenda, informing future policies and sustaining trust among governments.

The UNFCCC secretariat has a key role in supporting this process. Through the #Together4Transparency collaborative initiative —which unites several groups of stakeholders committed to joining forces in the implementation of the ETF— and its global network, the secretariat will engage with governments, experts, private sector representatives, civil society and other stakeholders to facilitate knowledge exchange, provide technical support, and amplify the outcomes of the ministerial dialogues.

Objectives of the Dialogue

This Presidency-led dialogue has the following objectives:

• To celebrate and recognize the efforts of Parties that have submitted their 1st BTRs, and undergone TER and FMCP;
• To generate strong momentum for the continuous implementation of and universal participation in the ETF;
• To showcase achievements and remaining challenges for each stage under the ETF;
• To recognize the role of Transparency in measuring progress towards NDC implementation and the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals;
• To acknowledge the role of support arrangements, in particular the CGE, in enabling the timely preparation of BTRs, and to reflect on opportunities to further strengthen this support architecture;
• To underline the importance of predictable and effective support for transparency, recognizing the contribution of the GEF and exploring ways to streamline and enhance its procedures to better respond to Parties’ evolving needs.

Target audience

The event aims to engage Ministers and other high-level Party representatives in the interactive dialogue. The event is open for observers to attend and may make interventions based on space and time availability.

Agenda*

*Please note there may be some changes to the agenda up until the start of the event.