27 June 2014: Selwin Hart, Director of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Change Support Team, briefed Member States on the preparations for the Climate Summit 2014. He outlined the Summit’s agenda, as well as the main focus areas for governments, the private sector and civil society organizations.

The Climate Summit, which will take place on 23 September 2014, in New York, US, will start with an opening ceremony led by the UN Secretary-General, followed by National Action and Ambition Announcements delivered by Heads of State and Governments, which should provide a vision for placing the world on a less than 2°C pathway, and make announcements on new or scaled-up ambition and action through national efforts. Examples of such efforts could include: visions for a transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy; national action frameworks that demonstrate the drive towards low-carbon development, investments in resilience, the pricing of pollution, the involvement and mobilization of private actors on climate action, or scaled-up efforts to meet the target of US$100 billion per annum; and multilateral and multi-stakeholder high-impact coalitions.

These National Announcements will be followed by a Private Sector Lunch, organized by the UN Global Compact, which will focus on private sector deliverables and carbon pricing for CEOs, Heads of State and Government, and Civil Society leaders.

The afternoon Multilateral and Multi-stakeholder Action Announcements will bring together Heads of State and Government as well as leaders from finance, business and civil society who will deliver statements on multilateral, multi-stakeholder initiatives and updates on work underway on: energy efficiency; renewables; short lived climate pollutants; transport; cities; forests; agriculture; adaptation; resilience and disaster risk reduction (DRR); and public and private climate finance, including carbon pricing.

The four parallel Thematic Sessions that will also take place in the afternoon will be high-level thematic policy and practice discussions on: science; co-benefits; the economic case for action; and voices from the frontlines.

The Summit’s closing ceremony will take place in the UN General Assembly (UNGA). While the Climate Summit 2014 will not cater any side events, a Climate Week in New York City will take place from 22-28 September to provide an alternative platform for governments, businesses and civil society’s public engagement.

The outcome of the Summit will be a Chair’s Summary by the UN Secretary-General, which will capture all the announcements, actions and any joint statements delivered. The outcome document will not be a negotiated outcome.

Participants will also be able to engage with wider audiences through significant media opportunities comprised of outreach and engagement platforms.

Convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Summit aims to raise the level of ambition, catalyze action on the ground and increase political momentum towards a climate agreement in 2015. [The Climate Summit 2014 Website] [IISD RS Sources]