Through the Global Negotiations Support initiative and the Global Climate Change Policy Fellowship programme, SLYCAN Trust supports negotiators from the Global South in their engagement with the UNFCCC and other multilateral processes. Esther Mireku is a young negotiator from Ghana who works with the Environmental Protection Agency and is a SLYCAN Trust fellow and research associate since 2023. These are her reflections from participating in the 29^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP29).

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Article 7 of the Paris Agreement is a critical pillar of the global climate response and its multilateral regime. At the center of the adaptation effort is the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), which envisions a collective effort to build a resilient world, strengthen adaptive capacity, and reduce vulnerability. Although the GGA looks ambitious in scope, it faces challenges in its implementation. This blog post will briefly examine the evolving landscape of GGA negotiations, the key technical issues at play, and the opportunities it offers to unlock adaptation action.

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The vision behind the Global Goal on Adaptation

The establishment of the Paris Agreement solidified adaptation as a global priority through the GGA, which is enshrined in Article 7 of the Paris Agreement. The GGA will support the integration of adaptation efforts into countries' Nationally Determined Contributions and help to track adaptation efforts. The overarching aim of the GGA is to foster a resilient world where countries that are at the brunt of climate change can anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate risks. Unlike mitigation, translating the GGA vision into a clear numerical target is challenging, generating intense debate among negotiators, experts and other stakeholders.

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The negotiation landscape: Key technical challenges 

As a young negotiator, I followed negotiations on the GGA and the third review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM). Although my major focus was on GGA, discussions on these two agenda items helped me observe how technical assistance from platforms like the Santiago Network can help build adaptive capacity in my country. In both rooms, I was able to add my voice to the discussions to help ensure that global efforts address both preventive resilience and the unavoidable impact of climate change.

In the GGA negotiation room, discussion was based on the draft conclusion from SB 60 and the technical work done by experts and negotiators on the refinement of the indicators. Some of the key technical challenges faced by Parties included:

• Measuring progress without universal metrics: One key question often asked in the negotiation room is how to measure adaptation. Unlike carbon emissions, which can be quantified in tons, adaptation lacks a single metric. Workshops and webinars have been organized to find a combination of both qualitative and quantitative indicators. Achieving a balance between these indicators is crucial but complex, bearing in mind how each country's adaptation needs and priorities vary. For example, the varied adaptation needs of countries include financial needs, institutional and policy needs, technical and data needs, sector-specific needs, ecosystems and nature-based solutions, and social and community needs.
• Linking adaptation to the global temperature goal: How can adaptation strategies be linked to the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal? While mitigation is specific on limiting “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre- industrial levels,“ adaptation targets are more varied, making them difficult to compare. GGA negotiators and experts are currently working on finding alignments in all their methods to achieve this goal.
• Ensuring adequate finance: Means of implementation, especially finance, are a constant challenge in adaptation negotiations. Countries of the Global South require significant financial resources to enable them to implement their adaptation strategies. Countries focus on getting a predictable and accessible funding stream as well as enhancing the transparency of adaptation finance flows. Despite the efforts of institutions like the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund, there remains a significant gap to be covered as highlighted in the recent decision on a new collective quantified goal on climate finance, which notes with concern “the gap between climate finance flows and needs, particularly for adaptation in developing country Parties.”
• Balancing national ownership with global accountability: In practice, adaptation efforts are inherently context-specific because climate change impacts vary across regions, communities, and ecosystems. However, the GGA envisions a global framework to track progress. Negotiators are faced with the task of balancing national needs with the need for global oversight and comparability. Since country-driven approaches are important, it is prudent to have a uniform global framework to ensure collective progress.

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Advancing the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh and the UAE-Belém work programmes

Parties established the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh work programme at COP26 as a special vehicle to advance the GGA. Its main aim was to develop methodologies, foster knowledge exchange, and identify best practices through workshops and technical dialogues. At COP28, the UAE-Belém Work Programme was established by decision 2/CMA5 to build on the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme. Its main objective is to develop indicators for tracking progress on climate adaptation targets. This work programme includes conducting technical workshops and involving experts to refine methodologies and indicators.

At COP28, Parties also established the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, a broader framework for the GGA that is supported by the technical work of the UAE- Belém work programme on developing indicators. The Framework focuses on enhancing global adaptation and resilience by 2030 and beyond in thematic areas such as food, water, health, ecosystems, or infrastructure across various governance levels. Negotiators are working to ensure that the Framework is operationalized and that the work programme delivers tangible and robust outcomes. 

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Current status and the path forward

At COP29, discussions were focused on finalizing the GGA framework and integrating it into the next Global Stocktake process. Discussions in the GGA room emphasized the need for an inclusive monitoring system that will incorporate the diverse reality of parties. Despite the progress made in Baku, there were some challenges encountered. Countries face different climate risks, making a standardized approach difficult to achieve. Data and capacity-building gaps were highlighted, with less political commitment to adaptation. However, there are some significant opportunities in these challenges. The data gap highlighted can be bridged by supporting countries to access innovative technological solutions, having a collaborative platform for knowledge sharing and capacity building, and analyzing other sources of innovative financing.

Implementing the GGA could make a significant contribution towards building a climate-resilient world. Developing countries like Ghana must build resilience in key sectors like agriculture, water, and health. For instance, in the agriculture sector, climate-smart agriculture initiatives like drought-resistant crops and efficient irrigation systems could boost agricultural activities in vulnerable communities and reduce risks from erratic weather patterns. In the water sector, enhancing WASH activities could protect the Ghanaian populace from communicable diseases.

Although the process of implementing the GGA is complex, the current draft decision represents progress. Parties and non-Party stakeholders have the opportunity to further engage in operationalizing the Framework through open dialogues as well as knowledge- and experience-sharing using the best available science. Hopefully, the Baku high-level dialogue will give the GGA the necessary political push to achieve its implementation. The full implementation of the GGA will safeguard lives, people’s livelihoods, and the future of the planet. With continuous effort from negotiators to achieve a consensus and drive action, the vision of having a GGA can be turned from an aspirational goal into a lived reality for the whole global community.