Reflection and operationalization of the common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities principle in the transparency framework under the international climate change regime

“Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” (CBDRRC) is the most significant guiding principle in the international climate change regime, created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and inherited by the Paris Agreement 24 years later. This paper examines the operationalization of the CBDRRC principle in one of the cornerstone rules of the regime—its transparency provisions, both in existing practice under the convention and possible evolvement in negotiations under the Paris Agreement, from the perspectives of both international rule-making and domestic implementation. The authors have found a continuous enhancement of the transparency framework since the 1990s, and gradual consolidation of a bifurcated system between developed and developing countries into a common one. The authors argue that the transparency framework, as part of the procedural rules, should be designed to facilitate transparent information sharing in accordance with substantive commitments under international climate change laws. Thus, it indirectly reflects historical responsibilities for climate change, while the framework should also be designed as feasible and reflective of the respective capabilities of nations. Finally, the evolution of the transparency framework will aim to enact common and enhanced provisions while differentiating between developed and developing countries in the near term, and greater transparency-related capacity-building for developing countries.