The First Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement: Role, Functioning and Legal Implications

At the 2023 UN climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the outcome of the first global stocktake (GST) under Article i4 of the Paris Agreement was adopted. This result was hailed by some as a historical achievement, while others considered it a failure. This article explains (i) what the role of G ST is; (ii) how it functions; (iii) what the GST outcome from Dubai contained and why it provided reasons (for some) to celebrate; and (iv) what its implications are for the processes under the Paris Agreement and for Parties' climate change obligations. Importantly, the article sheds light on the role of the G ST- which will take place every five years- in informing the increasing level of ambition of Parties' climate action and support. Regularly conducting the GST is a means for providing an evidence-based, updated assessment of the collective progress of Parties and where they ought to be to achieve the Agreement's goals. The outcome of the GST shall be taken into account by Parties, as a matter of legal obligation. If undertaken effectively, the GST can thus provide the basis for increasingly ambitious actions and for driving transformational action across all sectors.