12 December 2017: On the two-year anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change, global leaders representing states, cities, businesses and civil society came together again in Paris to demonstrate their collective resolve to fight climate change, with renewed commitments towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Jointly convened by President of France Emmanuel Macron, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and organized by France, the World Bank and the UN in partnership with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the We Mean Business Coalition, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, the European Commission, the C40 Cities Network, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the One Planet Summit took place on 12 December 2017 in Paris, where the climate change agreement was adopted in December 2015. In advance of the Talanoa Dialogue that will take place throughout 2018 and culminate at the 24th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC in December 2018, the One Planet Summit was the last international climate meeting of 2017.

The Summit’s key areas of focus included: strengthening resilience and adaptation to protect the most vulnerable from climate impacts; accelerating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies; scaling up public and private financial flows; and working with the financial sector to integrate climate issues into financial decisions. The Summit convened: four discussion panels; a ‘Climate Agora’ addressing low-carbon transition, adaptation and resilience, and solidarity and capacity building; and a plenary session featuring announcements and presentations from Heads of State and other global figures.

Throughout the Summit, statements were made on current activities being undertaken, as well as on several new initiatives, including:

  • The World Bank Group announced that it will end finance for upstream oil and gas projects after 2019 in order to align its support to help countries meet their goals under the Paris Agreement;
  • France, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are launching a coalition of large sovereign funds in support of climate action;
  • Mexico launched a regional collaboration on carbon pricing in the Americas, including Canada, Colombia, Chile, México, and the states of California, Washington, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec;
  • China announced the unification of its carbon market through the launch of a national cap and trade carbon market;
  • Sixteen countries committed to publishing a carbon neutrality pathway to 2050, by 2018 and no later than 2020, through joining the Towards Carbon Neutrality coalition, led by the Marshall Islands and New Zealand;
  • Insurance and asset management firm AXA announced that it will completely divest from the oil sands industry and associated pipelines, and will no longer insure any project to build a coal-fired power plant or any operation for oil sands mining or associated pipelines;
  • The Caribbean Climate Smart Coalition was launched, aiming to make the Caribbean the first “Climate Smart Zone,” through the mobilization of US$3 billion in a public-private partnership within a US$8 billion investment plan to catalyze low-carbon investment to energy grids and infrastructure;
  • The Gates Foundation, the European Commission, France and other countries announced the initiation of a US$650 million financing programme to support farmers in developing countries;
  • The European Commission announced investments in sustainable cities, sustainable energy and connectivity and sustainable agriculture, expected to generate up to €9 billion in investments by 2020.

These commitments and others are highlighted in the Summit’s list of “the 12 #OnePlanet commitments.” [One Planet Summit Website][Video of Summit] [List of Commitments and Announcements] [World Bank Press Release] [European Commission Press Release] [Axa Press Release] [UNFCCC Press Release]