This policy memo reviews a key question for the 2015 climate treaty negotiations: how are national contributions reviewed?

The extent to which national contributions reflect goals determined domestically (a “bottom up” system) or negotiated targets (a “top-down” approach) remains a central topic of discussion, as do the nature of the contributions themselves and how they will be distributed across countries. But regardless of how these balances are stuck, some form of country-tocountry review seems likely to play a significant role in the post-2015 climate regime.

What role can review play in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)? How can the mechanism be designed to maximize benefits and avoid pitfalls?