The Paris Agreement, which aims to limit temperature rise as the result of climate change, requires countries to prepare policies and actions — or nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — and raise their ambition over time. Transparency is critical to the success of the Paris Agreement, which is why it also sets out an enhanced framework transparency for countries so that they can effectively implement their NDCs.

ICAT was founded to respond to the critical need of improved transparency and capacity-building for evidence-based policymaking under the Paris Agreement.

ICAT works to increase the overall transparency capacities of countries, including when assessing the contribution of climate policies and actions on countries’ development objectives. This initiative also provides appropriate methodological information and tools to support evidence-based policymaking. ICAT integrates guidance, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing to engage countries through a common framework, strengthening the transparency and effectiveness of climate policies and actions.

ICAT work is guided by the ICAT strategy and ICAT long-term work programme. By addressing key gaps in the availability and quality of data, the platform enables countries to promote efficient and cost-effective policies. Fulfilling the requirements of the enhanced transparency framework also helps foster mutual trust and confidence in the effective implementation of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

In collaboration with technical experts from around the world, WRI helped develop an integrated suite of globally applicable assessment guides for countries. These include:

The assessment guides build upon existing approaches and are designed to be compatible with countries’ reporting commitments. They accommodate different needs and national circumstances to ensure it is widely applicable and broadly supported.

Photo Credit: Simon Fanger