1 December 2014: Participants exchanged views regarding what a rules-based architecture for a global climate agreement could imply at the 15th informal meeting of the International Partnership for Mitigation and MRV, which convened on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, in October 2014.

The meeting recognized that an agreement will likely include diverse intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), which will present challenges for assessing implementation for countries with “different types of commitments with different elements, on a different basis and with different time scales.”

Participants discussed common ground and ensuring transparency, comparability, simplicity and flexibility while also taking into account differentiation, capacity and equity. The meeting stressed the importance of a framework for accounting and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) that considers diverse INDCs and capacities. Participants also recommended developing a common rules architecture.

The session, which met on 22 October, brought together approximately 70 participants from 30 countries, as well as representatives from institutes and organizations. Judy Beaumont, South Africa, and Karsten Sach, Germany, co-chaired the session.

The next Partnership meeting is scheduled for 11 February 2015, during the next round of negotiations on a new climate agreement, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland. [Mitigation Partnership News Story] [Mitigation Partnership Website]