To succeed in its goal of delivering urgent climate action and inspiring further ambition, the Action Agenda must be credible. A clear and robust set of principles and criteria are critical to understanding the commitments and progress of cooperative initiatives, building confidence among actors and ensuring that the Action Agenda effectively contributes to closing the mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation gaps. Read more here.
Involvement of EU actors in international climate initiatives: a closer look at national governments, cities and transport
An assessment of a selection of initiatives based on the NAZCA portal and UNEP Climate Initiatives Platform shows that EU national governments are well represented in these initiatives, but the level of participation varies between countries and is generally limited to Northwestern Member States and Italy. On the other hand, EU Cities participation is more widespread, but transparency and availability of emissions and energy data can be improved. Most transport initiatives in which EU Member States participate do not include quantifiable targets, which would be key to increase effectiveness. Read more here.
Framework and Roadmap for the Action Agenda to 2020
This document outlines the current set of institutional arrangements and processes around the Action Agenda and considers how these might evolve going forward. Particular attention is given to the objectives, functions, division of labor, and operation of the Action Agenda. Read short version here. Read detailed version here.
Ensuring Credibility of the Action Agenda through Strong Initiatives
This discussion paper considers the characteristics that apply to successful initiatives, and discusses how criteria might be developed and applied to select initiatives into different parts of the Action Agenda in a fair and transparent way. Read more.
Summary of Current Efforts to Track and Aggregate Non-State Climate Action
This brief memo summarizes the discussion of a meeting in Bonn on May 20th that brought together the data and research communities studying these efforts, and also considers how tracking and aggregation might proceed to support effective implementation and scaling up of climate action. Read more.
Framework Memo on Relation between NDCs and Cooperative, Subnational and Non-State Action
This memo considers the various relationships between NDCs and other forms of climate action, identifying opportunities for synergy. Read more.
13 Experts Call for a Comprehensive Framework for Nonstate Climate Action
As countries negotiate a new climate agreement for the United Nations climate conference in December 2015, a groundswell of climate actions is emerging as cities, regions, businesses and civil society groups act on mitigation and adaptation, independently, with each other and with national governments and international organizations. The Paris conference provides a historic opportunity to establish a framework to catalyse, support, and steer these initiatives. Without such a framework, ‘bottom-up’ climate governance runs the risk of failing to deliver meaningful results. Social science research highlights the need for a comprehensive approach that promotes ambition, experimentation and accountability, and avoids unnecessary overlaps. Read more
Strengthening Non-state Climate Action
This report provides the first progress assessment of climate actions launched at the 2014 UN Climate Summit in New York. It considers the distribution and performance of climate actions along multiple dimensions that are relevant to both mitigation and adaptation. While it is too early for a conclusive assessment of the effectiveness of climate actions, this study makes a first and indispensable step toward such an assessment. Initial findings are encouraging. One year after their launch, most climate actions have performed well in terms of producing outputs, putting them on track to implementing their commitments in the coming years. Read more
Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) Independent Assessment Report
Executive Summary
December 7, 2015
This independent report has assessed 68 initiatives under the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA). The initiatives cover all twelve LPAA themes, with about two-thirds of initiatives launched in 2014-2015. Analysts from seven research organizations and civil society groups in the Europe, India, and the United States compiled information from the LPAA organizers, public sources, and questionnaires sent to initiatives in order to perform this assessment.
The Action Agenda After Paris: Galvanizing Climate Action in 2016-2020 and beyond
Global efforts to address climate change have been energized by a groundswell of action from cities, regions, companies, and other sub- and non-state actors, acting individually and in partnership with each other, as well as with national governments, civil society groups, and international organizations. Read more.
UNFCCC parties and observers’ views on the groundswell of climate actions
What have parties and observers said about sub/non-state action, multi-stakeholder alliances and action coalitions, and other international cooperative initiatives (ICIs) in the UNFCCC process? This memo summarizes the statements and submissions of UNFCCC parties and observer organizations regarding these topics over the last two years. Read more.
Galvanizing the groundswell of climate actions in developing world
Sander Chan and Thomas Hale
As the UN climate negotiations move to a critical inflection point, a growing number of cities, companies, civil society organizations, research organizations and other groups are shifting toward a low-carbon and climate resilient pathway. This groundswell of climate action is often perceived as a Northern-based, mitigation-focused phenomenon. In truth, there is a huge amount of climate action in the global South... Read more.
Accelerating the action agenda through robust and credible climate commitments from non-state actors
GGCA
How can UNFCCC member states encourage robust initiatives from non-state actors to ensure the credibility of commitments under the Lima-Paris Actions Agenda? This memo summarizes findings and recommendations from Galvanizing the Groundswell of Climate Actions, a collaboration of organizations supporting climate leadership at all levels. Read more.
Introducing the Global Aggregator for Climate Actions (GAFCA)
DIE and LSE
The Global Aggregator for Climate Actions (GAFCA), created by the German Development Institute and the London SChool of Economics, aggregates data on initiatives by non-state and subnational actors ("climate actions") that address aspects of climate change, including mitigation and adaptation... Read More.
Cooperative actions as a catalyst for the UNFCCC process
GGCA
As Parties negotiate the next climate agreement due in December 2015, there is growing attention to the actions and initiatives that countries, cities, regions, companies, and civil society groups are taking now to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects. This groundswell of climate action offers an extraordinary opportunity to both complement and catalyze the intergovernmental negotiations and nationally-determined contributions... Read more.
Assessing the missed benefits of countries' national contributions
NewClimate Institute
This report elaborated by NewClimate Institute with support from Climate Action Network (CAN), investigates the co-benefits associated with countries' Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. This report provides an overview of the general co-benefits that climate action may have and how they could be used to incentivize further ambitious greenhouse gase reductions. Read more.
Galvanizing a groundswell of solutions to support COP21 by galvanizing the groundswell of climate actions
GGCA
How can governments engage with non-state and cooperative actions to support the Agenda of Solutions and a strong outcome at COP21? This memo summarizes findings and recommendations from a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues on supporting the "groundswell" of climate actions. It makes three points... Read more.
Key elements of success on climate change mitigation for COP21 in Paris
Sustainable Development Solutions Network
In December 2015, the Government of France will host the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris. The stakes could not be higher. Twenty-three years after the signing... Read more.