MARKING THE WAY

The document identifies key components of effective climate accountability frameworks, emphasizing the importance of legislating targets, establishing independent oversight, and using cumulative carbon budgets. It advocates for a whole-of-government approach and the integration of adaptation and clean growth into climate policy to enhance resilience and economic development.

• Effective climate governance is strengthened by legislating long-term emissions targets and governance structures, which improves transparency, credibility, and predictability. This includes clearly defining institutional roles and utilizing independent advice and assessment to depoliticize policy debates and ensure evidence-based decision-making.
• Interim emissions reduction milestones should be planned 10 to 15 years into the future with codified rules for adjustments. Defining these milestones as cumulative carbon budgets is recommended as it provides a meaningful measure of a jurisdiction's contribution to global mitigation and clarifies trade-offs across sectors, regions, and time.
• Accountability is maintained by requiring governments to produce action plans developed with experts and stakeholders, and by obliging them to publish revised plans if milestones are missed. Furthermore, governments should be required to provide formal responses to independent advisory reports to ensure the relevance of expert advice.
• Climate accountability frameworks should expand beyond emissions reduction to integrate climate change adaptation and clean growth, which helps shift the focus toward broader economic development and resilience.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (n.d.). MARKING THE WAY. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Elements-of-Climate-Accountability-Frameworks-and-Best-Practices.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. MARKING THE WAY. n.d. https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Elements-of-Climate-Accountability-Frameworks-and-Best-Practices.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=MARKING THE WAY |url=https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Elements-of-Climate-Accountability-Frameworks-and-Best-Practices.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitutendmarking, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{MARKING THE WAY}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Elements-of-Climate-Accountability-Frameworks-and-Best-Practices.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }