The Initiative for Climate Action Transparency works to provide policymakers around the world with tools and support to measure and assess the impacts of their climate actions.

In the wake of the Paris Agreement, countries 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.

Tools

ICAT builds on existing efforts to assess the impacts of policies and actions, like WRI’s GHG Protocol Policy and Action Standard, and pairs them with direct country engagement. ICAT will develop sector-specific tools and guidance for measuring GHG emission reductions of climate change policies and actions, along with sustainable development outcomes and transformational change. These tools will better enable countries to meaningfully and systematically assess impacts and improve policy.

Capacity

Equally important to tools are processes, systems, and staffing for countries to carry out any MRV approach. Country experience in MRV varies significantly, and ensuring that countries have the capacity to implement MRV systems will facilitate credible and consistent reporting to the UNFCCC in the future. Building this capacity will require direct engagement with country officials to develop in-country systems for data collection, assessment, and reporting.

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