How flexibility under Paris Agreement rules helps Pacific nations report climate action

By Ron Rocky Coloma

For many Pacific island countries, climate transparency is not a question of political will. It is a question of capacity.

That reality was at the center of a recent Pacific Transparency Network session, which walked government officials and practitioners through one of the least understood but most critical elements of the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework: flexibility.

“Flexibility is not a loophole,” said Aradhana Singh, coordinator for the region. “It is a recognized provision in the Paris Agreement that allows meaningful participation while acknowledging capacity constraints.”

Article 13 of the Paris Agreement requires all countries to report on greenhouse gas emissions, progress toward nationally determined contributions and climate actions.

The framework is universal, but it also recognizes that countries start from very different places.

That recognition is embedded in the modalities, procedures and guidelines adopted under the Paris Agreement. These rules allow developing countries that need it, including small island developing states, to apply flexibility in specific parts of their biennial transparency reports.

Singh emphasized that flexibility is capacity-based, not discretionary.

“It is not about willingness,” she said. “It is about capacity.”

For Pacific countries, those constraints are familiar. Climate change offices are often staffed by two or three people responsible for everything from national policy to international reporting. Data collection can involve populations spread across hundreds of islands. Trained experts in IPCC inventory methodologies are scarce, and staff turnover is high.

Against that backdrop, flexibility becomes a practical tool.

In greenhouse gas inventories, countries may apply flexibility in several areas.

For example, instead of identifying emission sources that account for 95 percent of national emissions, countries using flexibility may apply an 85 percent threshold for key category analysis. In uncertainty assessment, qualitative explanations may be used instead of complex quantitative modeling.

Small emission sources may be excluded at a higher threshold than normally allowed.

Time series reporting is another area where flexibility is widely used. Rather than reporting emissions back to 1990, countries may report from their NDC reference year forward, with a consistent annual series beginning in 2020.

Flexibility also applies to which greenhouse gases are reported. While standard rules call for reporting all seven gases, countries may report only carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide if other gases are insignificant or outside their national circumstances.

Beyond inventories, flexibility appears in tracking progress toward NDCs. Countries without modeling capacity are encouraged, but not required, to quantify emission reductions from policies and measures. Descriptive reporting can meet requirements where quantitative analysis is not feasible.

Projections of future emissions, often one of the most technically demanding sections of a BTR, are also encouraged rather than mandatory when flexibility is applied. Where projections are included, they may extend only to the NDC target year and use less detailed methodological explanations.

Even the review process includes flexibility. Countries may opt for centralized technical expert reviews rather than hosting in-country reviews, reducing logistical and staffing burdens. Timelines for responding to review questions and commenting on draft reports may also be extended.

During the session, participants cautioned that flexibility should be used thoughtfully. One speaker noted that in-country reviews can help reviewers better understand Pacific realities, sometimes avoiding misunderstandings that arise in remote reviews.

“Countries should assess their capacity and decide where flexibility is needed,” Singh said. “You do not need to apply it everywhere.”

The goal, Singh said, is not to lower standards but to create realistic pathways toward meeting them.

Subscribe to

our monthly

digital edition