26 March 2014: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that his Climate Summit 2014 will include: a plenary for national announcements of ambition and action; action platforms for announcements by government, finance, business and civil society leaders; thematic sessions for sharing innovative practices and policy solutions; and an outreach and engagement platform.

The Secretary-General has further specified that deliverables announced through the action platforms must meet certain criteria. Deliverables should be: new, substantive, scalable and/or replicable actions that reduce emissions or strengthen resilience; incentives aimed at creating a low-carbon economy; instruments that address economic risks or advance economic opportunities; inclusive in their approach, engaging governments, finance, business and civil society; and complementary to existing efforts, initiatives or programmes.

Themes currently under consideration for the thematic sessions are: economic case for action; co-benefits for action; science and innovation; and sustainable lifestyles and livelihoods.

Ban has invited Heads of State and Government to the Summit, which is being held at the UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 23 September 2014, with the intention of spurring political will and raising ambition ahead of UNFCCC negotiations on a 2015 climate agreement. The Summit is intended to complement the negotiations by encouraging stakeholders to embrace “new, substantial, scalable, and replicable commitments” to address climate change. [UN NGLS Press Release] [Climate Summit 2014 Website]