Every five years, the Global Stocktake (GST) assesses collective progress towards the Paris Agreement’s long-term goals. Examining mitigation, adaptation, means of implementation and support, response measures, and loss and damage, the GST takes stock of actions and support to inform greater ambition towards an equitable global climate response. The outcome of the first GST forms the core of the broader UAE Consensus, significantly overlapping with many COP28 workstreams.

This paper analyses the complex GST decision, exploring how it connects to other COP28 workstreams. However, the litmus test of the GST’s ambition is in its implementation. The paper argues that effective implementation needs to be inter-connected, within the UNFCCC, in national-level action and across the broader landscape.

Three kinds of connections emerge from this analysis: connections inherent to all climate action, those that help understand the decisions made and those that guide the implementation of more ambitious and equitable climate action. In light of these connections, an integrated approach is essential for turning outcomes into actions. By providing a more nuanced understanding of the intricate connections underpinning the GST and the UAE Consensus, the paper seeks to inform urgent action and support to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and address the climate crisis.

Report by Finance Working Group, ODI, UCT