Elaborating the Paris Agreement: Transparency of Finance

Increased climate finance for developing countries and enhanced transparency are two critical pillars of the Paris Agreement. The two intersect in the provisions of Article 9 (finance) and Article 13 (transparency), addressing the reporting and review of finance-related information. These include requirements that developed countries provide both ex-ante (forecast) and ex-post (retrospective) information on the provision and mobilization of climate finance, and that developing countries report on support needed and received. Parties are now developing guidance for the implementation of these provisions, to be adopted as part of the Paris “rulebook” at COP 24 in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018. This brief outlines existing arrangements on finance-related information under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the new reporting requirements set under the Paris Agreement, and key issues and options in elaborating guidance for their implementation.