CAN Submission: Elaborating Modalities of Accounting for Climate Finance, July 2016

~CAN welcomes the opportunity to present its views on the modalities for the accounting of
financial resources provided and mobilized through public interventions in accordance with
Article 9, paragraph 7, of the Paris Agreement in this submission.

For climate finance provided towards meeting obligations under Article 9.1 of the Paris
Agreement (PA) to be politically sustainable, transparent and mutually-agreed systems for
accounting and tracking flows are fundamental, inter alia, to assess progress towards meeting
obligations but also to allow learning from experiences in the provision, mobilisation and usage
of climate finance, to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of such finance and its role in
keeping warming below 1.5°C by supporting low-carbon and climate-resilient development in
developing countries.

Current reporting systems (e.g. the Biennial Reporting provisions) lack completeness,
consistency and detail that in our view is required to meet those objectives. Some developed
countries are including many types of projects and financial instruments that recipient nations
and civil society observers do not consider appropriate. Levels reported may be inflated or
overestimated, financial instruments that do not constitute actual support are included, and the
climate-relevance of finance is often questionable. The current accounting systems do not
reflect on finance flowing back to developed countries (e.g. as part of repaying loans, or return
on private investments). Lack of detail, especially where countries do not report on a projectlevel
basis, does not allow comprehensive and consistent monitoring, verification and
evaluation, hampering potential to learn from, and advance, climate finance.

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