The science of climate change, as presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has demonstrated (through many years and numerous reports) the impact of human activity on changes in climate patterns. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992), climate change "is defined as a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability," and this is the main challenge facing the world today.
The Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2015 establishes in article 13 the creation of a Reinforced Transparency Framework whose purpose is to establish a “common language” for the reporting and review of the actions carried out on adaptation and mitigation by all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDC). For Transparency Partnership (2016, page 3) the actions contemplated in the CNDs…
They must be transparent, structured, and detailed in their assumptions and outcomes to provide policymakers with coherent and relevant information. In this regard, they must provide explicit information on the physical infrastructure and equipment required for the transformation as a basis for assessing investment needs.
For citizens, this means that climate transparency would also help us to have clarity and rigor in the financial and technical resources that are deployed from the decision-making process on climate change.
The Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) is where climate change adaptation and mitigation actions are monitored and verified. The ETF consists of two parts, according to Verena et al. (Transparency Partnership, 2018, p. 6), and these are: “Transparency in action, referring to action for climate change mitigation and adaptation (Art. 13.5); and Transparency in support, referring to the support received and provided (Art. 13.6). Among other obligations, the Enhanced Transparency Framework requires each Party to submit a National Inventory Report of greenhouse gas emissions and information necessary to monitor progress in the implementation and achievement of the NDC (Art. 13.7), as well as information on the effects of climate change and adaptation (Art. 13.8).”
Climate change mitigation (CRM) should not be limited to climate change mitigation but should also include adaptation actions, which are monitored and evaluated to identify their contribution to reducing vulnerability. Climate transparency and the proper planning of climate action measures in light of national realities will be essential to guaranteeing the livelihoods and community fabric of the populations of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region that climate change will not compromise their livelihoods and social fabric.
The region has made significant progress in planning and policy that can become inter-institutional and inter-sectoral strengths; however, it will be important that all actions ensure transparency in financing, information, public participation, and the mainstreaming of differential approaches, because the effective implementation of the Agreement worldwide depends on this.
