May 2019: The coalitions established in preparation for the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit have issued their respective workplans, outlining the Summit’s expected outcomes under each of the nine tracks. The nine tracks focus on: mitigation; social and political drivers; youth and public mobilization; energy transition; industry transition; infrastructure, cities and local action; nature-based solutions; resilience and adaptation; and climate finance and carbon pricing.
The workplan for Track #1: Mitigation Strategy notes that the key objective of the mitigation stream, aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC (SR15), is “to secure political will leading to ambitious 2020 commitments” and “a clear and bold vision of what a carbon-neutral world should look like in 2050.” The expected outcomes under this track include: countries with sizeable emissions announcing their intention to update, enhance and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with a “concrete increase” in mitigation ambition; countries announcing their submission of long-term strategies (LTSs) outlining concrete steps and interim targets towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050; and countries and other key actors entering new supportive and cooperative partnerships to enhance implementation and increase ambition of NDCs.
The workplan lists Chile, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner and Vice-Chair of the Board of the UN Global Compact, Paul Polman, as the coalition members.
The Track #2: Social and Political Drivers workplan formulates the track’s objective as to ensure that “the economic, environmental and social aspects of the transformation of economies and societies towards greater sustainability” are managed by maximizing opportunities of decent work for all, reducing inequalities, promoting social justice and enhancing country efforts to improve people’s health.
The document highlights two sets of expected outcomes on just transition and on health. On just transition, the workplan envisions, inter alia, that at least 50 countries include just transition policies in their enhanced NDCs through national strategies “for a just transition and jobs to raise climate ambition.” The expected outcomes on health include commitment by mayors and governors to build climate-resilient cities and meet the World Health Organization (WHO) standards on clean air by 2030 and by multilateral development banks (MDBs) and philanthropic organizations to increase their investments in health, air pollution monitoring and climate change by 2020.
The coalition on Social and Political Drivers is co-led by Peru and Spain, with Nauru and Poland as country members. The International Labour Organization (ILO), WHO, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Global Compact and The B team are listed as supporting institutions. Greece is a partner country, and the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) are partner stakeholders.
According to the workplan for Track #3: Youth Engagement and Public Mobilization, the track’s objective is to respond to “unprecedented mobilization of people worldwide who are demanding ambitious climate action” and ensure that those outside the “climate bubble” are reached, with the expected outcome of convening a People’s Climate Action Summit (+Festival) on 21 September.
The coalition is co-led by the Marshall Islands and Ireland, with support from the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Nigeria and Namibia are coalition country members. The coalition is engaged in ongoing consultation with civil society, youth groups, trade unions, faith groups and the private sector.
The workplan for Track #4: Energy Transition identifies four sets of expected outcomes on: 1) mobilizing investments for the clean energy transition, including concrete commitments by public and private actors to increase clean energy investments and support planning and financing for alternatives to coal; 2) market-driven public-private partnerships (PPPs); 3) challenging sectors such as aviation, shipping, cooling, buildings and oil and gas; and 4) leaving no one behind.
Denmark and Ethiopia co-lead the coalition, with support from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll). Coalition country members are Palau, Italy, Indonesia, Colombia and Morocco. Partner stakeholders include the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), private sector organizations and others.
Among expected outcomes under Track #5: Industry, the coalition workplan highlights: 1) initiatives to reduce emissions from key heavy-industry sectors accounting for about 30% of global emissions such as shipping, aviation, transport, petrochemicals including oil and gas, iron and steel, cement, and aluminum; 2) initiatives enabled by collaboration between the public and private sectors; and 3) initiatives accelerated by innovation partnerships bringing faster solutions at a bigger scale.
India and Sweden are the co-leaders of the coalition, supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Partner stakeholders include the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the We Mean Business coalition, the Energy Transitions Commission and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The expected outcome identified in the workplan of the coalition on Track #6: Resilience and Adaptation is a ‘Resilience and Adaptation Pact’ or a political declaration “shift,” which “demonstrates cross-sector commitment at the highest level to adaptation and resilience with concrete outcomes that will bring adaptation action to global scale” on resilient people, resilient economies, resilient food and land use to reduce land degradation and provide food security, and disaster response and preparedness.
This coalition is co-led by Egypt and the UK, with support from UNDP. Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Malawi are its country members, and Germany and the Governments of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS) are partner countries. Partner stakeholders include the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and other UN entities, the World Bank and regional development banks, the NDC Partnership, private sector organizations and others.
The workplan for Track #7: Infrastructure, Cities and Local Action includes five categories of expected outcomes: 1) commitments from subnational entities to ensure carbon neutrality by 2050; 2) decarbonization of the transport sector; 3) localized/decentralized finance; 4) resilient and zero-carbon buildings standards and codes; and 5) urban climate resilience for the most vulnerable.
The co-leading countries of the Infrastructure, Cities and Local Action coalition are Turkey and Kenya. The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the supporting institution, and Germany, Mexico, Canada and Singapore are its country members. The coalition’s numerous partner stakeholders include international organizations, MDBs and academic and research institutions.
In its workplan, the coalition on Track #8: Nature-based Solutions recognizes that such solutions necessitate a “more systemic understanding about the harmonious coexistence between man and nature” and “better recognition of the ecological value of our planet for the sake of human survival.” Expected outcomes under this track relate to, among other issues: restoration and conservation of land, wetlands and marine ecosystems, including the ocean; sustainable forest management (SFM); climate-compatible agriculture and sustainable food systems; greening food supply chains; prevention of desertification and rocky desertification, including comprehensive treatment of soil health and erosion; and climate-resilient infrastructure and connectivity, including eco-corridors and protection of biodiversity.
The coalition is co-led by China and New Zealand and supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and David Nabarro, 4SD. It includes Norway, Fiji, Costa Rica and Portugal as country members. Partner stakeholders include the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UNDP, DESA, FAO and other UN agencies, as well as MDBs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other partners.
The workplan of the coalition on Track #9: Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing outlines expected outcomes in line with the following three goals: 1) deliver on the climate finance commitments, including scaling up climate financing to reach USD 100 billion by 2020; 2) align private and public finance with the Paris Agreement goals through PPPs; and 3) expand existing and build new ambitious initiatives and coalitions.
The coalition is co-led by France, Jamaica and Qatar, with support from the World Bank. The Republic of Korea and Senegal are the coalition’s country members. Partner stakeholders include Bloomberg Philanthropies, international organizations, civil society and youth.
The Climate Action Summit 2019 convenes in New York, US, on 23 September 2019, the same week as the SDG Summit, which meets from 24-25 September and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development (FfD), taking place on 26 September. [Climate Action Summit Action Areas] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Summit’s Objectives and Timeline] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Summit’s Nine Coalitions]