Background

Under the Paris Agreement, Parties are required to report progress made in implementing and achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) through Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), in accordance with the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) and the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs).  A core element of this reporting is the provision of clear, transparent, and consistent information on mitigation actions, targets, and indicators used to track NDC implementation and progress. As adaptation action is critically important, and both adaptation and mitigation actions are connected it also makes sense to connect-up the tracking and management of both mitigation and adaptation actions.

For Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), tracking NDC progress presents both an opportunity and a challenge. While many countries have articulated ambitious NDC targets and sectoral actions, translating these commitments into measurable indicators and systematically reporting progress remains complex. Common challenges include fragmented data systems, limited technical capacity, and the need to align domestic transparency arrangements with ETF reporting requirements.

In recent years, international organizations and technical partners have developed NDC tracking approaches and facilitative platforms to help countries systematically collect and organize data for reporting on NDC implementation and progress. These approaches and platforms look at integrating key data flows into NDC tracking and BTR related outputs for NDC tracking. These dataflows include GHG inventories and projections, information on risks, vulnerabilities, and evidence of loss and damage, and information on interventions and actions to mitigate and to adapt to climate change. By converting these raw data flows into transparent indicators using appropriate stakeholder engagement to collect data and practical tools to convert and quality assure it they help to ensure a consistent, trusted flow of information to decision makers and to the international community. When effectively implemented, these approaches and platforms not only streamline data collection, cleaning, and preparation, but also strengthen national climate action by increasing trust, understanding and technical competence and through integrating NDC tracking into broader strategic decision-making and planning.

Moreover, these approaches and platforms complement long-term capacity building by supporting national experts who engage stakeholders, provide standardized approaches and language, and offer shared spaces to store, access, and review information. Crucially, platforms must remain adaptable to each country’s specific needs to maximize their effectiveness.

Against this backdrop, and noting that a limited number of Caribbean countries have submitted their first BTRs to date, there is a clear need for targeted capacity-building focused on the practical use of digital platforms and tools to track and report NDC progress. This session aims to respond directly to country requests for hands-on guidance and peer learning in this area.

Objectives

To strengthen the capacity of Caribbean national teams to track and report progress on NDC implementation in their BTRs by showcasing and discussing practical NDC registry and tracking platforms, methodological approaches, and regional experiences.

Target Audience

• National focal points and technical teams responsible for BTR preparation
• Officials from Ministries of Environment, Climate Change, Energy, and Planning
• MRV and transparency experts
• Regional and international partners supporting NDC implementation and transparency

Partners and Host

The session is organized by the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre Caribbean, in collaboration with technical partners including the UNFCCC Transparency Division, FAO, UNEP's CBIT-GSP Anglophone Caribbean Network and Aether.

Summary of the event

The webinar convened by RCC Caribbean and partners focused on enhancing capacities for tracking Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) progress under the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) in the Caribbean region. It brought together experts and country representatives to share tools, experiences, and lessons for improving climate transparency and reporting.

Participants of the webinar benefited from the following:

• Improved understanding of NDC tracking under the Paris Agreement: Participants strengthened their understanding of how NDC implementation is tracked using relevant tools and considering national indicators; and reported through BTRs, feeding into the Global Stocktake, with emphasis on applying MPGs and structuring the NDC tracking chapter.
• Greater insights of challenges and good practices through CBIT-GSP BTR reviews: Common gaps included unclear indicators, weak linkage between policies and NDC targets, and limited GHG projections. Good practices highlighted included clearly justifying the use of flexibility (with timelines), applying standardized MPG terminology (e.g. planned/adopted/implemented), and providing structured linkages between targets, measures, and indicators.
• Broadened perspectives of ETF-aligned digital tools for tracking and reporting: The FAO NDC Tracking Tool and Aether’s NDC registry platform showed how countries can structure data in line with Common Tabular Formats (CTFs), support direct reporting to BTRs, improve data consistency, and reduce fragmentation.
• Advanced understanding of NDC tracking applications and experiences through peer exchange: The Dominican Republic, using the FAO NDC Tracking Tool, highlighted improved data organization, consistency in tracking indicators, and stronger coordination for transparency reporting, while noting ongoing challenges with data availability, indicator harmonization, and technical capacity. Saint Lucia, using Aether’s NDC registry platform, emphasized benefits in centralizing MRV data, strengthening institutional memory, and supporting continuity in tracking climate actions, while also facing challenges in maintaining consistent data flows, stakeholder engagement, and sufficient human resources for system upkeep.