February 2018: The UNFCCC High-Level Champions Inia Seruiratu, Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, National Disaster Management and Meteorological Services, Fiji, and Tomasz Chruszczow, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Poland, have published a letter addressed to non-Party stakeholders with the aim of facilitating inputs to the Talanoa Dialogue.

Launched at the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the UNFCCC, and scheduled to be jointly led by the COP 23 and COP 24 Presidencies throughout 2018, the Talanoa Dialogue is a mandated process requested by Parties, the aim of which is to take stock of the collective progress towards the long-term goal contained in Article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement on climate change and to inform the preparation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). As outlined in the approach contained in an annex to decision 1/CP.23, the Talanoa Dialogue will be conducted, inter alia, in a manner that promotes enhanced ambition, and structured around three key questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

The High-Level Champions encourage both submissions on relevant analytical and policy inputs, and cooperation between actors to convene local, national, regional or global events in support of the Talanoa Dialogue.

The letter from the Champions details the two opportunities for online inputs via the the Talanoa Dialogue Platform, noting that submissions must be received by 2 April 2018 for discussions in conjunction with the Bonn Climate Change Conference in May, and by 29 October 2018 for discussions in conjunction with COP 24. The Bonn Climate Change Conference is scheduled to take place from 30 April to 10 May 2018, and COP 24 will be held in Katowice, Poland, from 3-14 December 2018.

Recognizing that input from non-Party stakeholders is essential to enable a full understanding of the potential to further enhance climate action, the Champions invite the active participation of non-Party stakeholders in the process, encouraging both submissions on relevant analytical and policy inputs, and cooperation between actors to convene local, national, regional or global events in support of the Talanoa Dialogue. In their letter, the Champions convey their readiness to participate in such events, as well as their intention to create opportunities for discussions among non-Party stakeholders under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (GCA).

Specifically, the High-Level Champions provide advice to guide action from non-Party stakeholders in relation to the Talanoa Dialogue, including a recommendation to ensure that inputs are provided in a clear, concise and actionable manner. On submissions related to the third question (How do we get there?), the Champions suggest that submissions focus on innovative solutions and best practices, as well as recommendations to enable further action and sustainable economic transition that can lead to economy-wide climate neutrality in all countries. In order to ensure that messages coming through the Talanoa Dialogue have as much impact as possible, in their letter, the Champions also encourage non-Party stakeholders to develop input collectively, to enable as many entities as possible to convey consensus messages across stakeholder groups and sectors. [High-level Champions’ Letter to non-Party Stakeholders] [Talanoa Dialogue Platform Submissions Portal] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on Approach to Talanoa Dialogue in First Half of 2018]