Transparency and international control in the 2015 Paris Agreement: A self contained regime?

Abstract

With the arts. 13, 14 and 15 of the Paris Agreement of 2015 and the Decisions of the Conference of the Parties (CMA) which develop them, a complex institutional and procedural structure is established in order to ensure transparency and international control in the application and compliance with the provisions of this international treaty. In this sense, in art. 13 the so-called enhanced transparency framework is regulated, which must be made effective first through a technical expert review, and then through a facilitative and multilateral review of progress within the CMA. Art. 14 provides for the so-called global stocktake, aimed at assessing the compliance of all parties of the Paris Agreement. And in art. 15 a mechanism is established to facilitate the implementation and promote compliance with this international treaty. It remains to be seen if, given the urgency of the response to climate change, the working of this entire institutional and procedural structure will allow the goals set forth in art. 2 of the Paris Agreement to be met. As of today and as a provisional assessment, we can have a healthy dose of skepticism in this regard.