Transparency at COP: The Bridge Between Reporting and Implementation

November 13, 2026 COP31 Blog

Paige Mervine, Graduate Student in Anthropology and Environmental Policy

At COP31, I am following implementation and communications, particularly how communication can encourage climate action and implementation. To look at this linkage, I am attending just about every transparency based event. Transparency under the UNFCCC focuses on reporting and data collection to inform policy initiatives. The #Together4Transparency group has put on some really amazing events that cover my topic well (and they even gave me a cool lanyard). Going to a bunch of sessions on climate reports and policy review might sound a bit boring to some, but here in Türkiye transparency is being called “the quiet success of the Paris Agreement”.

Blue #Together4Transparency lanyard that lists all of the collaborative organizations helping in the transparency initiative: experts, media, businesses, youth, NGOs, IGOs, and parties.

The Paris Agreement created the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), which standardized the way countries report on climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years. These contribution reports cover a country’s emissions reduction goals and the strategies to be used to reach those goals, as well as their contributions to the global community’s climate change goals. As of now, not all of these NDCs have been achieved for a variety of reasons, and communications and data availability play a big part in NDC success tracking.

Before Paris, reporting on climate change was kind of a free-for-all, but has greatly improved since then. The ETF requires Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), which are basically one big check-in for the Paris Agreement signatories. BTRs cover progress on NDCs, climate change impacts and adaptations, and areas for support. The big one here, for me at least, is identifying areas of support.

The main roadblocks to achieving NDC goals include finance and capacity building. BTRs help identify these areas of support. The idea is that better identification tools will enable targeted support to boost implementation. Among all of the hindrances to climate action, finance and capacity building are some of the easier ones to address, and the impression I get from these sessions is that everyone is pretty pleased to at least be crossing some of the hurdles on the way to a sustainable future.

BTR flag next to a #Together4Transparency sign that explains the enhanced transparency framework: "the ETF builds mutual trust and confidence, and promotes effective implementation of climate action and support"

Transparency also helps keep the general public in the know. The UNFCCC transparency team held a few sessions that highlighted the importance of information accessibility for climate action. When people are aware of the problem, they can start to do something about it, even if their country is not taking enough initiative. This feels especially important, as someone from the US where climate action has stalled. Local initiatives can still make a difference, especially when they have access to accurate climate data to better form a plan to adapt.