UN Climate Change launches ISS tool on NAZCA to track non-Party climate action
By: Abudu Olalekan
UN Climate Change just rolled out a new tool on the NAZCA portal, and honestly, it’s about time. Called the Initiative Self-Service—ISS for short—it lets registered cooperative climate initiatives, or CCIs, track and report their own progress without jumping through hoops.
Here’s the deal: NAZCA is now tracking more than 300 CCIs. Its up 70% since 2018. Out of those, 190 are either reporting every three years or they just signed up. Big numbers. But registration is only the first step. The real work happens when these groups actually show what they’re doing. Transparency. Accountability. That’s what moves the needle for the Paris Agreement.
At COP30, the talk shifted to a five-year vision for the Global Climate Action Agenda—2026 to 2030. The message was clear: non-Party stakeholders need to keep pushing voluntary climate action, and reporting platforms have to get better. Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said it plain during the June meetings in Bonn: rebuilding NAZCA isn’t just a tech upgrade. It’s about making sure commitments turn into action, especially now that we’re in the implementation era.
So what does ISS actually do? It gives CCIs a simple way to manage their data and update progress through NAZCA. No complex frameworks. No endless paperwork. Just a common format to report what they’ve done, and a smooth way to keep it current.
CCIs, by the way, are voluntary setups. Think businesses, local governments, NGOs—sometimes teaming up with national governments—chasing the same climate goal. Every September, they’re invited to report on the previous year. It’s a chance to look back at promises made months or years earlier, celebrate wins, and spot where things slipped.
That data doesn’t vanish into a folder somewhere. It feeds into the Yearbook of Global Climate Action and helps measure the collective impact of non-State actors. More visibility. More credibility.
Ken Tanaka from the Japan Climate Initiative put it well: collaboration across businesses, local governments, and NGOs is what turns climate talk into real solutions. Reporting to NAZCA? That’s about accountability. It’s also a moment to reflect, learn, and do better next time.
With ISS live and more CCIs on NAZCA than ever before, momentum is building. The hope is other eligible initiatives will step up, register, and show what they’re bringing to the table. As the five-year vision gets underway, UN Climate Change isn’t slowing down. Neither should we.
Olalekan A. Abudu is a seasoned and dedicated News Journalist at REPORTERS ROOM, with over eight years of experience. He specializes in politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial issues. Committed to accuracy and balanced reporting, Olalekan exemplifies the principles of public-interest journalism.
