Measurement, Reporting, and Verification in a Post-2012 Climate Agreement

The Bali Action Plan initiated a new round of negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the aim of achieving an “agreed outcome” addressing the full range of climate-related issues, including mitigation, adaptation, technology, and finance. In framing these negotiations, the Bali plan introduces a new construct with its requirement that certain actions be “measurable, reportable and verifiable.” Specifically, in paragraphs 1(b)(i) and (ii), addressing mitigation, the plan calls for consideration of:

Measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions, including quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives, by all developed country Parties….[and]

Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner.

The Bali plan appears, then, to anticipate that a new climate agreement will provide for the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of three categories of action: developed country mitigation commitments or actions, developing country mitigation actions, and the provision of support for developing country mitigation actions.

The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol already establish certain requirements and mechanisms providing for the measurement, reporting, and verification of parties’ actions. In explicitly delineating and linking these three functions, and in extending them to additional realms of action, the Bali Action Plan establishes MRV as  a critical cross-cutting element certain to figure prominently in any new agreement.

MRV can serve a wide range of purposes in a new climate agreement. It can provide an important means of tracking parties’ progress individually and collectively toward the Convention’s ultimate objective. The very process of measurement can facilitate parties’ actions by establishing baselines and helping to identify mitigation potentials. The reporting of actions can allow for their recognition internationally. The review or verification of parties’ actions can enhance action through expert advice on opportunities for improvement.

MRV could play a particular role in the linkage between developing countries’ action and support for those actions. Finally, credible MRV can strengthen mutual confidence in countries’ actions and in the regime, thereby enabling a stronger collective effort.