Equity in the global stocktake

This chapter considers issues of equity that go beyond the end-goal of the Agreement, towards its execution that will be facilitated by the process of global stocktake. Historically, the debate on equity in the climate change regime has centred around 'emissions allocation', which means how much CO₂ each country should be allowed to emit as part of an international agreement. To ensure that the global stocktake furthers the idea of equity as per Article 14 of the Paris Agreement, two issues need to be taken into account. First, the scope as well as the treatment of elements within the stocktake and, second, how the observations and results from the collective stocktaking exercise are operationalized to further equity amongst countries. Therefore, the global stocktake is the key to maintaining the longevity and robustness of the Paris Agreement in the milieu of any change in climate science, technological innovation, and economic and political fluctuations.