Newly revised tool from FAO helps countries track their climate change commitments

FAO has just released a new version of the Excel-based Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) tracking tool and user manual.  The tool’s main purpose is to help countries collect the information needed to prepare their biennial transparency reports (BTRs) in a systematic way.

Background

Tracking NDCs is a mandatory element of the BTR under the Modalities, Procedures, and Guidelines (MPGs) of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF).It is a key mechanism for assessing progress on climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The MPGs have standardized reporting thanks to the Common Tabular Formats (CTF). This helps promote comparability and reliability in tracking emissions reduction and adaptation goals across countries. 

Viviane Umulisa, FAO climate change expert and one of the main authors of the NDC tracking tool, explains more about the newly revised version of the tool.

Why was there a need to revise the tool and the user manual?

The first version of the tool was presented at the Transparency Network conferences in Bonn (2022), Almaty (2023) and Pretoria (2023) where we received valuable feedback. Furthermore, national transparency experts, using the tool in their countries, gave us insights into how improve the tool to meet their real needs.

In particular, we recognized the need to align the tool more closely to the MPGs and the CTFs. It now allows users to track progress on adaptation actions.

Furthermore, in 2024, the UNFCCC released their ETF Reporting Tools and we wanted to ensure that the NDC tracking tool was better aligned to these new tools.

What are the new features of the tool?

The main purpose of the tool is to help countries collect the information they need to prepare their BTRs. In particular, it focuses on Chapter 2 of the BTR: Information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving nationally determined contributions. The tool was restructured to be as similar as possible to the CTF of the BTR.

Furthermore, the tool now makes it possible to track progress on adaptation actions in line with the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).It now has pop ups that clarify the elements, structure and methodology needed for reporting on chapter two of the BTRs.

Mirella Salvatore, team leader of FAO’s Transparency team and co-author of the tool, highlights the additional benefits of using the NDC tracking tool.

What additional benefits does the tool offer?

The tool helps users collect the information required for the UNFCCC ETF Reporting Tools and generating the CTFs. As an offline application, it allows data to be gathered over time, ensuring that all necessary information is available by the time of the BTR submission.

It also features a dashboard that provides visual representations of NDC implementation and progress made towards the NDC targets. This makes it easier to understand and clearly communicate a country's climate efforts. The visuals can be used as evidence in Chapter 2 of the BTR to complement the narrative text.

The newly introduced section on adaptation tracking—though not mandatory under the MPGs—adds value by highlighting the importance of establishing a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system. This section helps raise awareness about the need to identify indicators and measure the outcomes and impacts of adaptation actions, contributing to better reporting under the GGA.

For more information see:

https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cc4960en