Asia-Pacific and Central Asia unite to strengthen climate transparency and agrifood action

Countries across Asia-Pacific and Central Asia are stepping up efforts to meet their climate commitments. A regional workshop held in Colombo delivered a clear and unified message: more transparent data and reporting systems, deeper regional cooperation and targeted action through agrifood systems are essential to accelerating climate action and ensuring measurable progress, leading to greater food security and better livelihoods.

“Transforming agrifood systems toward climate-resilient and low-emission pathways is essential if countries are to achieve their climate commitments while safeguarding food security and rural livelihoods” explained Vimlendra Sharan, FAO Country Representative for Sri Lanka.

Climate change affects agrifood systems in complex ways, from crop yields and food prices to trade, rural jobs and household incomes. When countries collect and share reliable information, they are better able to track their progress, identify risks, build trust with partners, and access climate finance. Without transparent, comparable data housed in national transparency systems, it becomes far harder for governments to plan and implement effective climate action.

Transparency and cooperation

National transparency systems are the structures, tools and processes that a country uses to measure, track and report its climate actions and progress under the Paris Agreement.  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working with countries to strengthen these systems, improve data collection and sharing, and enhance coordination across sectors and borders. This includes aligning climate reporting with agrifood policies, strengthening institutional capacities, and ensuring that farmers’ organizations and other stakeholders are fully engaged in climate action.

To support these efforts, the Asia-Pacific and Central Asia Regional Workshop on Enhanced Transparency and Regional Cooperation for Climate Actions was held in Colombo, bringing together government representatives, technical experts, farmer organizations, development partners and regional institutions.

The workshop comes at a critical time; as the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work, a key milestone for shaping the future of agriculture and food security under the UNFCCC concludes, and countries prepare to implement more ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets under their third generation Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0).

The event aimed to strengthen understanding of transparency requirements under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) to support the preparation of forthcoming Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs). Stronger national transparency systems and regional engagement can support not only reporting obligations, but also more credible implementation, better investment planning, and more effective participation in international climate negotiations.

Opening the workshop, K.R. Uduwawala, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, underscored the importance of transparency as the foundation for climate cooperation. “Transparency is not merely a reporting requirement, it is the foundation of trust, accountability, and effective cooperation.”

Sri Lanka’s work to strengthen its national transparency system provided real examples for learning. These efforts are supported by the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF’s) Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency funds, as well as other GEF-backed climate-smart agriculture and community-based projects. Additional support has been provided through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)-funded IMP-ACT 2030 project, implemented by FAO, to support NDC and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) implementation, enhance access to climate finance, and strengthen regional engagement on agriculture and food security within UNFCCC processes.

Anna Berg from BMZ highlighted the important role of agriculture and food security in advancing climate action, emphasizing the urgency to act, and noting that “farmers are already living with the consequences of a changing climate”. She further underlined the importance of ensuring that this reality is adequately reflected and fully integrated into relevant policy and decision-making processes.

Shaping future climate negotiations

Through plenary sessions, country presentations and technical exercises, participants shared experiences in preparing BTRs, strengthening institutional coordination, improving data systems, developing greenhouse gas inventories, tracking NDC progress and reporting on adaptation.

The workshop also reinforced the importance of South–South and interregional cooperation. By bringing together countries from Asia-Pacific and Central Asia, it not only provided a platform for practical exchange on transparency system development, but it was also a space for countries to consolidate their regional positions on agrifood systems.

Discussions highlighted the need for coherent policies linking climate action with trade, investment, and inclusive governance. Participants also stressed that farmers’ organizations and cooperatives must be recognized as key partners in achieving low-emission, climate-resilient agrifood systems.

New initiative: remote-sensing-based rice monitoring

The workshop also marked the launch of a new FAO initiative, supported by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), on remote-sensing-based monitoring of methane emissions from paddy rice. Linked to pilot work in Viet Nam and Cambodia, the initiative aims to strengthen national GHG reporting and demonstrate real progress on mitigation in rice cultivation, a key source of emissions in many countries.

Next steps

The workshop outlined several key next steps to sustain momentum, including strengthening regional collaboration on transparency and data systems, and developing country and sector roadmaps that link NDC implementation with ETF reporting and investment priorities. Participants also emphasized the importance of continued capacity development to support national institutions, alongside the preparation of coordinated regional inputs for COP31, particularly on agrifood finance, inclusion and transparency. These actions will help countries translate shared commitments into practical progress in the lead-up to COP31.

A shared vision for COP31 and beyond

The Colombo workshop reaffirmed that transparency is not only a reporting requirement, but a strategic tool for raising ambition, strengthening implementation, enabling investment, and increasing international engagement. It was also a key opportunity for countries to advance shared negotiating priorities and strengthen their collective capacity to engage effectively in the UNFCCC process - ensuring that the voices of Asia-Pacific and Central Asian countries, and the farmers who depend on climate-resilient agriculture, shape the outcomes of COP31.

The workshop was hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment and organized by FAO, with support from the GEF CBIT programme, BMZ IMP-ACT 2030, CCAC and the GIZ Agritrade project.

FAO Representative to Sri Lanka, Vimlendra Sharan, opens the workshop