The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,
Recalling Article 9 of the Paris Agreement,
Also recalling decisions 1/CP.21, paragraphs 53 and 63, 14/CMA.1 and -/CP.25,
1. Takes note of the report of the Standing Committee on Finance to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement at its second session and the recommendations contained therein;
2. Endorses the workplan 3 of the Standing Committee on Finance for 2020 and underlines the importance of the Standing Committee on Finance focusing its work in 2020 in accordance with its current mandates;
3. Notes the outcomes of the discussions of the Standing Committee on Finance on the 2020 Biennial Assessment and Overview of Climate Finance Flows and the report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement as well as the respective workplans, outreach activities and indicative timelines for preparation;
4. Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Germany, Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland for their financial contributions to support the work of the Standing Committee on Finance;
5. Welcomes the 2019 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance, on the topic of climate finance and sustainable cities, with a focus on enhancing understanding of how to accelerate the mobilization and delivery of climate finance for the development of sustainable cities, and takes note of the summary report5 on the Forum;
6. Expresses its gratitude to the Governments of Australia, Lebanon and Norway, as well as to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the Islamic Development Bank, for their financial, administrative and substantive support, which contributed to the success of the 2019 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance;
7. Welcomes the decision of the Standing Committee on Finance on the topic of its 2020 Forum, which will be financing nature-based solutions;
8. Notes the inputs of the Standing Committee on Finance to the technical paper on the elaboration of the sources of and modalities for accessing financial support for addressing loss and damage;
9. Encourages the Standing Committee on Finance to present, to the extent possible, disaggregated information in relation to, inter alia, mapping data availability and gaps by sector, assessing climate finance flows and presenting information on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement;
10. Underscores the important contribution of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to the operational definitions of climate finance, and invites Parties to submit via the submission portal,7 by 30 April 2020, their views on the operational definitions of climate finance for consideration by the Standing Committee on Finance in order to enhance its technical work on this matter in the context of preparing its 2020 Biennial Assessment and Overview of Climate Finance Flows;
11. Takes note of the strategic outreach plan8 of the Standing Committee on Finance on enhancing stakeholder engagement;
12. Encourages the Standing Committee on Finance, in implementing its strategic outreach plan, to build on existing efforts to reach out to developing country Parties and relevant developing country stakeholders when generating data and information for the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement;
13. Looks forward to the inputs that may be provided by the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts to the work of the Standing Committee on Finance for its consideration in preparing elements of draft guidance for the operating entities;
14. Encourages the Standing Committee on Finance to continue to enhance its efforts towards ensuring gender-responsiveness in implementing its workplan;
15. Emphasizes the importance of the transparency of the proceedings and decisionmaking processes of the Standing Committee on Finance;
16. Takes note of the appointment of Standing Committee on Finance focal points to liaise with the other constituted bodies under the Convention and the Paris Agreement;
17. Decides to initiate the review of the functions9 of the Standing Committee on Finance relating to the Paris Agreement, as part of the review referred to in decision -/CP.25,10 with a view to concluding it at its fifth session (November 2022);
18. Requests the Standing Committee on Finance to report to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement at its third session (November 2020) on progress in implementing its workplan;
19. Also requests that the actions of the Standing Committee on Finance called for in this decision be undertaken subject to the availability of financial resources.
