*Updated 31 July 2023. 

The 2023 Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB 58) took place from 5 to 15 June 2023 at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB). The conference provided an excellent opportunity for ICAT and its partner countries and institutions to highlight the crucial role of transparency for the implementation and further strengthening of the Paris Agreement, exchange experiences, and prepare and build momentum for the upcoming COP28. 

Below is a brief summary of ICAT’s activities during the SB sessions. For more information about any of the events, projects or partnerships included below, please contact the ICAT Secretariat.

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Fiji/UNOPS/GHGMI Side event: Transparency for effective climate policies in agriculture

Focusing on lessons learned from several countries and new methodological support available, the event explored how transparency for mitigation and adaptation in the agriculture sector can support countries to meet their climate targets, while ensuring sustainable development and food security. 

Speakers from Fiji, Kenya and Panama highlighted the crucial role of transparency in backing evidence-based policymaking, leading to more efficient mitigation and adaptation measures and increased ambition regarding climate targets. Bringing three countries from three different regions together to discuss some of the successes and also some of the challenges that they have faced, the event highlighted key issues:

• Establishing agriculture monitoring and evaluation systems support countries to ensure that climate action does not run counter to the development goals of a country;
• Capacity building and long term sustainability are essential, and countries are taking action to improve human, technological and institutional capacity to ensure this;
• The development of indicators based on sound data and strong stakeholder engagement are a crucial part of this process;
• Monitoring and evaluation frameworks are critical for tracking NDC implementation and the effectiveness of policies;
• Collaboration and communication between different ministries can be used to ensure a constant data flow and improve buy-in, based on a shared understanding and awareness of the need for data;
• Transparency plays an important role in finding synergies between adaptation and mitigation as well as synergies with the SDGs.

Representatives from GHGMI and FAO presented methodological support available to countries for transparency of climate action in the agricultural sector, namely the ICAT Agriculture Methodology and the FAO/UNDP Guidance note for strengthening monitoring and evaluation for adaptation planning in the agriculture sectors.

The event was organized under the banner of the #Together4Transparency campaign. 

View event recording

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Meetings of the ICAT Central Africa and Central America  Hub countries

A meeting with representatives of 9 of the 11 countries participating in ICAT’s Hub in Central Africa, hosted by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), as well as representatives of the hub’s management team and the ICAT Secretariat was organized on the margins of the SB58. The meeting provided an opportunity for in-person coordination, exchange of experiences based on the first set of five national workshops that took place and planning for further activities to be carried out by the Hub in the coming period, including the regional workshop based on common priorities, such as NDC tracking and GHG projections. 

In addition, an initial meeting with some of the countries participating in ICAT’s Central America Hub, which will be hosted by CCAD, also took place during the Bonn Climate Change Conference. With the support of ICAT they are preparing a work plan and the arrangements for a successful implementation. 

Learn more about ICAT’s regional hubs

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UNEP-CCC event: Launch of knowledge platform on transparency

The new Climate Transparency Platform was launched by UNEP-CCC as a knowledge sharing platform for all things related to climate transparency. ICAT participated in the launch event and highlighted the importance of transparency support providers working together to make the platform as beneficial as possible to countries and partners working on transparency. ICAT, along with other support providers and stakeholders, will be contributing to the platform on a regular basis, with knowledge products, news and opportunities for transparency practitioners and other interested individuals. 

Access the platform 

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ICAT Partner Reception 

ICAT held a Partner Reception as a social event for the ICAT Community and an opportunity to celebrate achievements, connect and discuss what’s coming up ahead in our ongoing efforts to strengthen climate transparency across the world. In addition, during the event ICAT’s new guides for adaptation, loss and damage and Article 6 were released:

Adaptation

• Fostering successful adaptation projects: Assessment Tool & Guide
• Tracking progress on the ground: Guidance and good practices for integrating subnational and non-state actors into M&E systems for national climate change adaptation policies

Loss and damage

• Assessing climate change-driven losses and damages

Article 6

• Transparency for cooperative approaches under the Paris Agreement: A guide to navigating the links between Articles 6 and 13

All the guides are available on the toolbox section of the ICAT website. 

Access ICAT’s guidance for the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation and loss and damage

Access ICAT’s guidance for transparency for Article 6

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Bilateral meetings with ICAT countries 

Across the two weeks of the SB 58, the ICAT Secretariat met with representatives of many of its partner countries in person. ICAT was happy to advance project preparations with some of the new countries that were selected following the 2022 ICAT Call for Expressions of Interest. The bilateral meetings also served as an opportunity to discuss ongoing work and potential activities for continued engagement.

The Secretariat met with: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (MMA & MCTI), CAREC, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Samoa, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Senegal, Togo, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Learn more about ICAT’s work in direct country support

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Meetings with transparency networks and partners 

The Bonn Climate Change Conference brought together climate change stakeholders from across the world, offering a space for exchanges and meetings with key partners in climate transparency and capacity building. The meetings help ICAT coordinate and explore potential collaborations, with the aim of providing the best possible support for our beneficiary countries. More specifically, ICAT participated in the 13th meeting of the ETF Group of Friends (formerly MRV/Transparency Group of Friends) organized by the UNFCCC secretariat, the 28th Partnership Meeting of the PATPA and had bilateral and multilateral meetings with key partners, such as the UNFCCC secretariat, PATPA, NDC Partnership, IPCC and the World Bank. 

In addition, the ICAT Initiative Coordination Team, comprised of leaders from across ICAT’s implementing partners, met in a hybrid setting during the conference to discuss ICAT’s current and future country and regional engagement, capacity building work, toolbox development and strategic direction.

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UN Open House 2023

UNOPS and ICAT took part in the 2023 UN Open House event, which welcomed representatives from Consulates located in the Bonn and Frankfurt areas to attend, listen, and learn about the activities and initiatives of more than 20 UN agencies and organizations in Bonn.