Context: At COP28, countries will examine how much progress they have made in curbing global warming. According to The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), “It’s a moment to take a long, hard look at the state of our planet and chart a better course for the future.

What is the Global Stocktake?

• The global stocktake is a process for countries and stakeholders to see where they’re collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and where they’re not.
• Significance: The results will guide the making of stringent national policies, set more ambitious goals, or financially enable poorer countries to transition to clean, green energy. 
• The Paris Agreement made it mandatory for all countries to set emissions-reduction targets and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This is known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• It was decided that countries would assess their progress for the first time in 2023 and every five years.

Also Read: NDC Synthesis Report For 2023: UNFCCC

What is the Global Stocktake Report?

• The UN published a technical report on the first Global Stocktake in September 2023, according to which the global community took some action and made some progress but it was still too little.
• Key Findings: 
• The Paris Agreement has galvanized countries into setting goals and signaling the urgency of the climate crisis.
• Transition to Renewable Energy: Governments must support ways to transition their economies from fossil fuels, and states and communities must strengthen efforts.
  • The share of renewable energy has to be increased, and all ‘unabated fossil fuels’ (for example, coal plants without carbon capture and storage mechanisms) are to be rapidly eliminated.
• Ambitious Targets: It is needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% in 2035 and reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally.
• Deforestation and land degradation must be halted and reversed, and agricultural practices critical to reducing emissions and conserving and enhancing carbon sinks must be encouraged.
• Focus on Adaptation: Most current efforts are “fragmented, incremental, sector-specific and unequally distributed across regions.” therefore, the world urgently needs to adapt to the unfolding and future impacts of climate change.
  • Transparent reporting on adaptation could facilitate and enhance understanding, implementation, and international cooperation.
• Priority to loss and damage: Averting, minimizing, and addressing ‘loss and damage,’ requires urgent action across climate and development policies to manage risks comprehensively and support impacted communities.
• Climate finance: It was “essential” to unlock and redeploy trillions of dollars to meet global investment needs, including by rapidly shifting finance flows globally to support a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate-resilient development.
  • Access to climate finance in developing countries needed to be enhanced.
  • Financial flows needed to be consistent with climate-resilient development to meet urgent and increasing needs.

What is the impact of the Global Stocktake Report?

• The report did resonate in the recently held G20 Leaders Declaration which recognizes the need for increasing finance for the world to transition to a renewable energy economy. 
• The Declaration highlighted the need for USD 5.8-5.9 trillion in the pre-2030 period required for developing countries as well as USD 4 trillion per year for clean energy technologies by 2030 to reach net zero by 2050.

Source: Indian Express