Climate policy

Global Stocktake

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

The global stocktake is the process under Article 14 of the Paris Agreement by which Parties periodically take stock of the Agreement's implementation to assess collective progress toward its purpose and long-term goals — on mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation and support. It operates in three phases (information collection and preparation, technical assessment, consideration of outputs), with the first stocktake concluding at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 and further stocktakes every five years thereafter.

References

UNFCCCGlobal Stocktake (Article 14 basis; three phases; first GST concluded at COP28 in 2023, every five years thereafter; modalities in Decision 19/CMA.1)

mandate and cycle

Grantham Research Institute, LSEWhat is the Global Stocktake? (anchored in Article 14; assesses Article 2 goals; two-year process)

structure and goals assessed

Overview

What it means

The GST is the engine of the Paris Agreement's ambition mechanism: its findings inform each new round of nationally determined contributions, so that commitments ratchet up rather than stand still. The first stocktake found the world off track for 1. 5 °C and produced the UAE Consensus, including the call to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems.

How it is used

Governments align NDC updates and long-term strategies with GST outcomes; the secretariat runs synthesis reports and technical dialogues; and non-Party stakeholders contribute evidence through open submissions.

Why it matters

It is the only standing, collective, science-informed checkpoint in the climate regime — the mechanism that converts global goals into periodic political pressure. **Note:** 1237 (process) and 1238 (technical assessment phase) merge into this entry.