Designing review processes under the Paris Agreement

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores how non-state actors—including cities, companies, and non-profits—can be integrated into the review processes of the Paris Agreement to enhance transparency, implementation, and ambition.

• The Paris Agreement establishes three primary review mechanisms: an "enhanced transparency framework" (Article 13) to assess pledge implementation and support; a facilitative, non-punitive implementation and compliance mechanism (Article 15); and a "global stocktake" (Article 14) starting in 2023 and occurring every five years to assess collective progress.
• Non-state actors can contribute to the enhanced transparency framework by providing independent insights, helping ensure outcomes are implemented domestically, and holding Parties accountable. Specifically, they could provide inputs for technical reviews via separate meetings during in-country visits or through submissions for desk-based reviews.
• Regarding the Article 15 implementation and compliance mechanism, the brief suggests that while its non-punitive nature likely precludes adversarial roles for non-state actors, they could still provide relevant information, access documentation, and help Parties overcome barriers related to financing, capacity-building, or technical knowledge.
• Non-state actors can support the global stocktake and the 2018 facilitative dialogue by providing scientific insights through the IPCC, submitting reports from credible organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme, and offering data on the climate efforts of cities and companies.
• Beyond formal mechanisms, non-state actors perform a critical informal role by analyzing intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) for ambition, equity, and fairness—metrics rarely assessed in formal processes—and by mobilizing national change agents such as parliamentarians.
• The document recommends that the modalities for Articles 13–15 explicitly harness non-state actor capacities, establish public access to documentation as the basic rule, and allow for written and oral interventions during multilateral discussions.

APA

van Asselt, H., & Hale, T. (2016). Designing review processes under the Paris Agreement. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2016-Non-state-actors-Paris-Agreement.pdf

Chicago

van Asselt, Harro, and Thomas Hale. Designing review processes under the Paris Agreement. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2016. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2016-Non-state-actors-Paris-Agreement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van Asselt |first1=Harro |last2=Hale |first2=Thomas |title=Designing review processes under the Paris Agreement |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2016 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2016-Non-state-actors-Paris-Agreement.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vanasselt2016designing, author = {van Asselt, Harro and Hale, Thomas}, title = {{Designing review processes under the Paris Agreement}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2016-Non-state-actors-Paris-Agreement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }