Accounting Loopholes in Pre-2020 Agreements Unaddressed Under Paris Agreement: CEEW Report

A study titled “Strengthening Climate Accountability” has been released by the CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water). Accountability is crucial for global governance and climate action. The issue brief examines the Paris Agreement’s current transparency and compliance mechanisms. It also highlights the difficulties member nations face in claiming ownership of the aims and duties under climate agreements.

Governments have jointly vowed to fight climate change over the past three decades, but so far, little has been accomplished. The Paris Agreement still does not address the subpar performance and accounting flaws in the pre-2020 climate agreements. The brief urges strengthening accountability to increase compliance and delivery under the Paris Agreement as a result.

Key Findings

• As we move closer to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, “the poor performance and accounting loopholes in the pre-2020 climate agreements still remain unaddressed under the Paris Agreement.” These loopholes include the delivery gaps in action and support, misuse of accounting provisions, non-alignment of commitments with science, and easy exit or non-participation of countries from the climate agreements without any concrete/punitive measures.
• The Paris Agreement requires that nations submit NDCs that reflect their highest level of ambition, submit biennial transparency reports (BTRs) that are subject to review under the enhanced transparency framework, monitor the Paris Agreement’s implementation, and assess their progress collectively as part of the Global Stocktake.