Transparency in climate actions and support is an important pillar on which climate negotiations rest. It lends credibility and legitimacy to actions and support measures, and it builds trust among developed and developing countries for carrying out further negotiations. Presently, the climate transparency obligations for developed countries are relatively more rigid in terms of the reporting requirements and review processes, as compared to the obligations recommended for developing countries (including the least developed countries and small island developing states). The obligations of the latter group have been adjusted keeping in mind the lesser individual, institutional, and systemic capacities of these countries for climate reporting.

The Paris Agreement mandates a common reporting system while ensuring that developing countries receive adequate, timely, and transparent support (financial, technical, knowledge base) from developed countries. As developing countries lack sufficient resources to ensure enhanced climate reporting transparency, they find its implementation to be difficult. A global coordinated effort to enhance transparency will help in tracking progress through periodic stocktaking exercises and in establishing the flexibility requirements (as per the agreed principles) of developing countries. At present, defining capacity and ascertaining flexibility for a developing country remains a contentious process, influenced by subjective and varying perspectives in the absence of a reference point.

This study aims to bridge this gap by presenting an assessment tool – Capacity Building Assessment Matrix (CBAM) – to help quantify capacity building efforts and the gaps therein, with regards to climate transparency.