The presidency of the upcoming COP29 in Azerbaijan has shared a letter to encourage parties to submit early Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR), ahead of the November summit. The letter stressed the importance of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), making it clear that transparency forms a cornerstone of mutual trust and accountability in ensuring that collective actions to combat climate change are robust, comprehensive, and measurable. Under the ETF, parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit a BTR every two years, with the first one due by 31 December this year. The submissions should include information on national inventory reports; progress towards nationally determined contributions (NDCs); policies and measures; climate change impacts and adaptation; levels of financial; technology development and transfer; capacity-building support and needs; and areas of improvement. In addition, the letter highlighted the Baku Global Climate Transparency Forum, due to be formally launched on 3 September during the COP29 presidency’s high-level dialogue in Baku – where the COP29 high-level pairs for transparency will also be formally introduced. “We have to be steadfast in our determination to fulfil past promises, deliver on our mandates, and build on the process so that it can address the urgency and scale of the crisis,” the letter read. “As a presidency we are committed to delivering COP29 in a transparent, impartial, inclusive and party-driven manner. We now need everyone to take ownership of the process and engage in good faith to act swiftly.” The document also flagged the two pillars of the COP29 vision: “enhance ambition, enable action”.
