What is the Global Stocktake? Assessing Collective Progress on Climate Action Goals

What is the Global Stocktake?

The Global Stocktake is a process established under the Paris Agreement to assess the collective progress made towards achieving the goals of the agreement.

The first-ever Global Stocktake is taking place in 2023, concluding at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. It aims to evaluate global progress on:

• Mitigation – reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise.
• Adaptation – enhancing ability to respond to climate impacts.
• Means of implementation – assessing support for finance, technology transfer and capacity building.

The key goal is to assess if countries are on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s objectives to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C.

The findings from the 2023 Global Stocktake will inform the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – national climate action plans outlining emissions reductions targets – to be submitted by countries in 2025.

In short, the Global Stocktake creates a periodic 5-year cycle to track climate progress, identify gaps and drive more ambitious climate action over time.

Why is the Global Stocktake important?

The Global Stocktake offers a critical opportunity to correct course and accelerate climate action.

It pinpoints gaps in existing climate efforts and opportunities across key sectors that can help the world achieve the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal to limit warming to below 1.5°C.

The stocktake’s findings can guide transformations across energy, transport, nature and more that are urgently needed to reduce emissions and build resilience.

For example, the first Global Stocktake’s synthesis report released in September 2023 made clear the world is not on track to meet the Paris goals. But it outlined solutions like quickly phasing out fossil fuels, scaling renewables, ending deforestation and shifting diets and transport that can put 1.5°C within reach.

So, if carried out effectively every 5 years, the Global Stocktake serves as a roadmap for countries and other stakeholders to evaluate their own climate plans and take more ambitious climate action over time.

The Stocktake Process

The Global Stocktake involves a three-phase process conducted over two years:

Phase 1: Data Collection

This initial phase gathers inputs on global climate progress from various sources like the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

It also collects voluntary submissions from countries, businesses, civil society networks and other stakeholders.

Phase 2: Technical Assessment

Expert dialogues are then held to analyze the inputs, identify insights and develop key technical findings.

Phase 3: Political Phase

This final phase occurs at the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in 2023.

Countries come together to decide how to utilize the Stocktake’s technical findings – including by potentially enhancing their climate targets and policies domestically after COP28 concludes.

The final political phase determines the real-world impact of the Global Stocktake in driving more ambitious climate action.

Key Findings

The Global Stocktake’s September 2023 synthesis report revealed that the world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals to limit global warming to 1.5°C or well below 2°C.

A major emissions gap persists between countries‘ current climate commitments and the deep cuts needed to restrict warming this century. Global emissions must decline by 43% by 2030 to align with 1.5°C pathways.

The report therefore emphasized the urgent need for transformative transitions across systems like energy, transport and nature usage to have a chance at the 1.5°C target.

This includes phasing out fossil fuels, massive expansion of renewables, changes in land use, industry shifts and transport electrification.

It also highlighted the crucial and pressing need to ramp up adaptation support and financing to developing countries facing devastating climate impacts. Resources must aid communities in responding to unavoidable climate effects and losses.

Therefore, the first Global Stocktake synthesis makes clear both the size of the climate challenge – but also narrows the path governments, businesses and cities must now pursue to address it.

Recommended Next Steps

The Global Stocktake provides vital insights that should guide countries’ climate efforts moving forward.

Key next steps include:

Strengthening Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): The findings from the stocktake should directly inform the development of more ambitious national climate targets enshrined in countries’ 2025 NDCs.

Phasing out fossil fuels: The stocktake is unambiguous that transitioning away from coal, oil and gas is critical and urgent to have a chance at 1.5°C.

Boosting adaptation resources: The summit emphasized the need to at least double funding flows to developing nations by 2025 so they can enhance resilience to climate impacts.

Shifting financial systems: Mobilizing public and private finance is essential, including reforms so that multilateral banks and investors align portfolios with net-zero pathways.

Following these steps can help drive breakthrough change. But responsibility extends beyond national governments to cities, states, companies and investors playing their part to accelerate progress.

Role of Key Entities

The Global Stocktake makes clear that responsibility for climate action extends beyond national governments to subnational and non-state actors.

Cities and regional governments must set bold decarbonization targets, electrify transport, improve building efficiency and more. Over 10,000 cities have already committed to net-zero by 2050.

Businesses across heavy industry, aviation and more must invest in clean technologies and develop transition plans aligned with 1.5°C trajectories. Hundreds of companies have joined the Race to Zero campaign toward this aim.

Farmers and rural communities play a major role through climate-smart agriculture, protecting forests and soils, and shifting food production practices. Many are already sharing knowledge globally on emissions-efficient techniques.

Civil society networks, youth movements, Indigenous groups and faith institutions help multiply calls for bolder national policies. They also aid accountability tracking. Over 600 civil society groups submitted inputs to the Global Stocktake process.

Success requires all these players recognizing the Stocktake’s findings and implications for their own climate contributions. Together with ambitious governments, mobilizing action across public and private spheres can achieve Paris Alignment.