Climate transparency refers to the gathering, evaluation, and reporting of data and information. It is the basis for planning climate action, ensuring that realistic, yet ambitious targets are set, and then designing effective policies to implement them. Transparency is also vital for tracking climate progress by monitoring policy implementation, assessing whether outcomes are on track, and determining if adjustments are necessary.

By providing an evidence base, transparency helps stakeholders understand complex climate issues and ensures that policies are based on solid data, which ultimately supports better decision-making.

Engaging stakeholders in all phases of climate action—planning, implementation, and evaluation—is essential. Stakeholders from key sectors, including the private sector, need to be part of the solution. Involving affected groups from the start not only raises awareness but also helps create a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. This inclusive approach ensures that policies are designed with all perspectives in mind, making them more effective and sustainable in the long term.

Moreover, the data collected from stakeholders provides an invaluable resource for refining and improving these policies. As stakeholders share their insights and concerns, the gathered data can inform adjustments and improve the overall process.

While climate action brings many benefits, it often also presents challenges and disadvantages. These potential downsides must be addressed to ensure that the transition is acceptable. Transparency provides the evidence needed to weigh the benefits against the limitations, helping to mitigate potential harm.

This is particularly important when one or more communities could be adversely affected by the change. Transitions to a green economy must be just, ensuring no one is left behind. Transparency is a critical part of such a transition. A just transition is based on an inclusive process where all relevant stakeholders are involved in dialogue, helping to manage challenges and advance progress.

When stakeholders have access to clear, open data, they are more likely to trust the process, collaborate effectively, and feel a sense of ownership over the actions being taken. This collaborative approach reduces conflict and makes the implementation of climate policies smoother and more efficient.

ICAT has published a suite of guides and methodologies to support countries as they implement their climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Two are particularly relevant to stakeholder participation: The Stakeholder Participation Guide and the Just Transitions Monitoring Guide.

The Stakeholder Participation Guide provides a step by step, practical approach to engaging with stakeholders. It addresses the key elements of stakeholder engagement, including their identification, establishing multi-stakeholder bodies, designing and conducting consultations, and establishing grievance redress mechanisms. Its intended users are among others policy makers, and stakeholders themselves. For stakeholders, the guide empowers them to participate more effectively in, and influence, the design, implementation and assessment of policies and actions to ensure that their concerns and interests are addressed.

ICAT’s Just Transitions Monitoring Guide provides a step-by-step approach to support the development of a monitoring framework that will enable governments to track the status of a just transition. It was designed for government agencies and ministries such as those responsible for development, climate planning, data management and finance, including national, subnational, regional or local jurisdictions. It builds on experience with implementing the approach through dedicated ICAT country projects in Nigeria and South Africa and is currently being applied through an ICAT project in Brazil.

Data and transparency are at the core of effective climate action. Stakeholder engagement, grounded in transparent data and information sharing, enhances policy effectiveness by raising awareness, improving understanding, and facilitating collaboration. The combined efforts of stakeholders, guided by clear, evidence-based assessments, are crucial for achieving sustainable climate goals and ensuring a just transition for all.

Examples of Successful Stakeholder Engagement

Eswatini

In Eswatini, the ICAT project included a series of workshops with interested parties, who provided invaluable feedback for developing an adaptation measurement, reporting and verification system. They formed a technical working group, and also developed the monitoring and evaluation system for the water and health sectors. In this way, collaborating partners gained a better understanding of the complex interactions between the country’s health and water sectors, and stakeholders were empowered to voice their concerns and commitment from the outset.

Bolivia

In Bolivia, the ICAT project included extensive stakeholder collaboration through workshops and bilateral meetings. From the project start, a sectoral working group of key actors in the energy sector provided data, discussed, recommended, and validated results. In this way, affected government ministries and other agencies were able to provide input into the proposed measurement, reporting and verification framework for the country’s energy sector to project greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, assess the impact of relevant policies and measures, and develop appropriate indicators to report on progress. Stakeholders were also able to give feedback on proposed institutional arrangements and the related regulations.

Kenya

The main objective of the ICAT project in Kenya is to build a data information framework for the crop subsector that is used to inform GHG emissions trends, agricultural development policy and decision making in Kenya, and track NDC implementation progress. This is being done through extensive information sharing among stakeholders, including a workshop to co-design the architecture of a data management system; and training workshops for 100 technical stakeholders across five regions of Kenya.#

Dr Henning Wuester is Director of the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT).