UN Climate Change News, 4 October 2023 - A new synthesis report designed to help governments reach a decision on the global stocktake at COP28 has been published by UN Climate Change. The report reflects the views of governments and their perspectives on the main elements that could constitute such a decision.

The global stocktake is part of the Paris Agreement and a key means to assess the world’s global response to the climate crisis and chart a better way forward.

The synthesis report is comprehensive and includes the views of almost all Parties. It is based on submissions received from 24 Parties on behalf of Party groups or individual Parties, representing 180 Parties and from 44 non-Party stakeholders (as of 2 October).

Whilst there are divergent views on the details of how to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, governments expressed broad agreement that past climate action has been insufficient and that more action by all Parties and support for developing countries is needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avoid loss and damage, and to adapt to climate change.

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said: “This report puts the cards on the table - except this is not a game. We know that we as the global community are not on track towards achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and that there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future.”

“This synthesis report is a blueprint of what the final outcome of the global stocktake could look like, based on Parties’ own words. Nations should make full use of the inputs to build consensus for an ambitious outcome towards action in this critical decade,” he added.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate, said: “The report is again telling us the world is off track. COP28 is the moment for all Parties to come together and put actionable solutions on the table. We must be ready with real answers to tackle the challenges, eradicate 22 gigatons of emissions by 2030, strengthen global resilience and mobilize finance at the scale necessary to enable a just and equitable transition. Now is the time to Unite, Act, and Deliver a strong negotiated outcome on the Global Stocktake.”

The new report comes on the heels of the technical report on the global stocktake published in September which details actionable solutions to climate change that are ready to be implemented.

The global stocktake is held every five years and is intended to inform the next round of climate action plans under the Paris Agreement (nationally determined contributions, or ‘NDCs’) to be put forward by 2025.

More information

Read the report (Views on the elements for the consideration of outputs component of the first global stocktake)
See also “Views from Parties and non-Party stakeholders on the elements for the consideration of outputs” available on the UNFCCC submission portal
Find out why the global stocktake is a critical moment for climate action
About UNFCCC

With 198 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.