Originally posted in the WSDS 2025 Special Issue of TerraGreen, March 2025.

Dr Henning Wuester via this article makes us comprehend some of the aspects pertinent to effective climate action. Climate action that is adequate to meet global climate objectives requires fundamental changes across society. For these changes to be successful and sustained, stakeholders from all sectors must be engaged in the process. Effective engagement needs to be underpinned by transparency and data. Transparency is essential in informing decisions, building trust, and ensuring that actions taken achieve intended results.

Climate transparency refers to the gathering, evaluation, and reporting of data and information. It is the basis for planning climate action, ensuring that realistic, yet ambitious targets are set, and then designing effective policies to implement them. Transparency is also vital for tracking climate progress by monitoring policy implementation, assessing whether outcomes are on track, and determining if adjustments are necessary.

By providing an evidence base, transparency helps stakeholders understand complex climate issues and ensures that policies are based on solid data, which ultimately supports better decision-making.

Engaging stakeholders in all phases of climate action—planning, implementation, and evaluation—is essential. Stakeholders from key sectors, including the private sector, need to be part of the solution. Involving affected groups from the start not only raises awareness but also helps create a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. This inclusive approach ensures that policies are designed with all perspectives in mind, making them more effective and sustainable in the long term.

Moreover, the data collected from stakeholders provides an invaluable resource for refining and improving these policies.  As stakeholders share their insights and concerns, the gathered data can inform adjustments and improve the overall process.

While climate action brings many benefits, it often also presents challenges and disadvantages. These potential downsides must be addressed to ensure that the transition is acceptable. Transparency provides the evidence needed to weigh the benefits against the limitations, helping to mitigate potential harm.

This is particularly important when one or more communities could be adversely affected by the change. Transitions to a green economy must be just, ensuring no one is left behind. Transparency is a critical part of such a transition. A just transition is based on an inclusive process where all relevant stakeholders are involved in dialogue, helping to manage challenges and advance progress.

When stakeholders have access to clear, open data, they are more likely to trust the process, collaborate effectively, and feel a sense of ownership over the actions being taken. This collaborative approach reduces conflict and makes the implementation of climate policies smoother and more efficient.

ICAT has published a suite of guides and methodologies to support countries as they implement their climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Two are particularly relevant to stakeholder participation: The Stakeholder Participation Guide and the Just Transitions Monitoring Guide.

The Stakeholder Participation Guide provides a step by step, practical approach to engaging with stakeholders. It addresses the key elements of stakeholder engagement, including  their identification, establishing multi-stakeholder bodies, designing and conducting consultations, and establishing grievance redress mechanisms. Its intended users are among others policy makers, and stakeholders themselves. For stakeholders, the guide empowers them to participate more effectively in, and influence, the design, implementation and assessment of policies and actions to ensure that their concerns and interests are addressed.

ICAT’s Just Transitions Monitoring Guide provides a step-by-step approach to support the development of a monitoring framework that will enable governments to track the status of a just transition. It was designed for government agencies and ministries such as those responsible for development, climate planning, data management and finance, including national, subnational, regional or local jurisdictions. It builds on experience with implementing the approach through dedicated ICAT country projects in Nigeria and South Africa and is currently being applied through an ICAT project in Brazil.

Data and transparency are at the core of effective climate action. Stakeholder engagement, grounded in transparent data and information sharing, enhances policy effectiveness by raising awareness, improving understanding, and facilitating collaboration. The combined efforts of stakeholders, guided by clear, evidence-based assessments, are crucial for achieving sustainable climate goals and ensuring a just transition for all.