June 20, 2023 – Posting this document from April, and reporting on it, because it explains why the UNFCCC was struggling to cope at climate talks in Bonn, earlier this month (according to several delegates I spoke with at the event).
unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/sbi2023_09E.pdf
“While the secretariat fully delivered on critical activities [in 2022], the current geopolitical situation and unpredictable supplementary funding impacted the scope and timing of implementation. This affected activities across the secretariat and highlighted the dependence on an unsustainable and unpredictable funding model.”
The Bonn climate talks ran June 5-15, 2023.
Activities that could not be delivered as planned include, according to the UNFCCC secretariat itself:
Ten Examples
One
— creating the secretariat-level infrastructure for registry systems and reporting tools under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
Two
— developing and deploying Enhanced Transparency Framework reporting tools and related expert trainings
Three
–managing the increasing scope and complexity of sessions of the subsidiary and governing bodies
Four
–upgrading the global climate action portal (NAZCA) to enable adequate tracking of non-Party climate action commitments
Five
–processing in timely fashion the admission of observer organizations
Six
–implementing innovations in and upgrades to key conferencing systems
Seven
–implementing capacity-building for national gender and climate change focal points in timely fashion
Eight
–addressing the workplan of the Technology Executive Committee
Nine
–addressing the workplan of the Paris Committee on Capacity-building
Ten
–addressing external audit recommendations on time
“Efforts are under way to address these shortcomings by reprioritizing resources (despite endeavours to identify supplementary funding), which will again – and increasingly so – affect the secretariat’s ability to deliver on certain mandated activities, including in 2023.”
UNFCCC
Bottom line
The secretariat is continually implementing actions to enhance efficiency in the UNFCCC process and undertake efforts to ensure that it remains responsive to its mandate and that each conference builds on the previous one so that the cumulative outcomes move the global community closer to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
UNFCCC
Developing a longer-term vision of how the secretariat will support Parties and other stakeholders in meeting their commitments will be critical to ensuring overall credibility and integrity.
Actions and decisions taken in 2023 and beyond will determine whether the world has a chance to reach the goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
