Verra was a founding member of the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT). ICAT  is a multi-donor fund that aims to help countries assess the impacts of their climate actions and to support greater transparency, effectiveness, ambition  and trust in climate policies. ICAT integrates methodological guidance, capacity building and knowledge sharing to strengthen the transparency and effectiveness of climate policies and actions worldwide. 

As of 2020, Verra remains engaged with the initiative in an advisory role, offering insights from its long-standing experience building rigorous and robust assessment frameworks and working closely with national governments and international governance systems/bodies. 

As countries are working towards operationalizing the Paris Agreement, they are devising strategies to implement their “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) through various policies and actions. Policymakers’ ability to transparently report on progress towards these NDCs will depend on their ability to effectively measure, report and verify (MRV) that progress.

Effective domestic MRV structures can reinforce national and international decision-making processes and allow for the recognition of country efforts, building trust and confidence. Designing policy that effectively delivers quantified social and environmental benefits will also require building buy-in and support from citizens and stakeholders. Implementing and credibly reporting on such policies will ultimately promote an accelerated transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

ICAT has deployed a set of tools to help countries assess the impact of their climate policies and improve their chances of strengthening and achieving their national climate goals under the Paris Agreement. The ICAT Assessment Guides provide governments and non-state actors with the means to assess the impacts of national policies and actions that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Initiative is also working with developing countries to strengthen capacity to assess climate actions (in the context of their NDCs) and report their progress in line with the Paris Agreement, based on individual country needs. To date, ICAT is working in 40 countries in four regions.

To learn more about the initiative, please visit the ICAT website.