40


EMISSIONS GAP REPORT 2018 – BRIDGING THE GAP: THE ROLE OF NON-STATE AND SUBNATIONAL ACTORS


Box 5.3 Monitoring, reporting and verification success stories


Monitoring, reporting and verifying the emissions inventories and commitments of both national actors and NSAs is key to global climate change assessment and governance, as there is a risk that actors participate in transnational climate governance initiatives to “greenwash” or boost their reputations, without setting or implementing meaningful climate action targets (Okereke, 2007; Mayer and Gereffi, 2010; Hsu et al., 2016). Some NSAs, however, are making their emissions inventories more transparent and making progress on implementing climate actions. For example, Scotland, Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory all compile particularly comprehensive GHG emissions inventories, which account for the emissions of one or more GHGs from sources within a defined space and time. Each government also goes one step further, by having these inventories externally verified.


Note: This box draws on insights shared by The Climate Group’s Compact of States and Regions initiative.7


Box 5.4 Improving monitoring, reporting and verification in international cooperative initiatives


Tracking progress on NSA implementation achievement of targets


Although efforts to improve the monitoring, reporting and evaluation of NSA actions are increasing (see previous section and box 5.4), studies and information regarding NSA implementation – progress towards achieving targets and whether actors are meeting their goals – are still scarce (Chan et al., 2018; 2015). Part of the difficulty of tracking implementation is that ex-post measurement of results is largely lacking, given the nascent nature of many NSA climate actions. Therefore, most available studies quantifying the mitigation impact of NSAs assess their potential emission reductions, rather than ex-post or achieved results. An exception is ICLEI’s (2018b) report analyzing the drivers of emissions reductions based on 138 local governments submitting inventories and reporting on policy efforts.


To bolster confidence in NSA contributions to bridging the 2030 emissions gap, data on implementation are critical to understanding whether current targets and goals are being reached and 2030 potentials are likely to be achieved.


Many initiatives are improving their commitment pledging and evaluation process. For example, CDP is starting to collect this information through its Assessing Low-Carbon Transition (ACT) initiative that provides data, indicators and feedback for companies to align their targets with 2ºC scenarios. An application of ACT is the Corporate Climate Action Benchmark (CCAB) developed by CDP and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). From 2019 onwards, the CCAB measures the climate action performance of high emitting companies on a yearly basis, allowing stakeholders to monitor progress. The aim of the CCAB is threefold: incentivize companies to align their strategies and operations with a well below 2ºC pathway, create a race to the top by rewarding companies that are best in class, and visualize progress of corporate climate action between 2020 and 2030. Some city networks, including ICLEI and the EU Covenant of Mayors, are reporting on their members’ progress, although currently only a fraction (1,743 out of more than 6,000 members with action plans) list progress reports on their website. The Science-Based Targets initiative helps companies to set internal climate targets that are aligned with the long-term mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement. The initiative currently includes over 100 companies with science-based targets and over 300 companies wanting to develop such targets.


Some studies question the extent to which NSA implementation and achievements to date have delivered real emission reductions (Chan et al., 2015; 2018; Michaelowa and Michaelowa, 2017). One analysis found that out of more than 300 collaborative non-state partnerships announced at the 2002 World Sustainable Development Summit, nearly 65 percent were yet to be operationalized 10 years later (Pattberg et al., 2012).


Nevertheless, from the studies available, a number of aspects that are likely to influence the implementation and performance of NSA actions are emerging (see also section 5.3.2). Graichen et al., (2017); ICAT, (2018); Michaelowa and Michaelowa, (2017); Pattberg and Widerberg, (2016) show that these aspects include:


7 In particular, we thank Milimer Morgado and Jean-Charles Seghers for their help in compiling these examples.


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