The Future of Global Climate Action in the UNFCCC

Over the past five years, climate action by cities, states/regions, businesses, civil society, investors, and other sub- and nonstate actors (hereafter “climate action”) has expanded enormously. Such action has also been increasingly institutionalized in the international climate regime. Broadly, the global climate action “architecture” in the UNFCCC, organized through the Marrakech Partnership Framework articulated in 2016, encompasses the High-Level Champions, NAZCA (Climate Action Portal), the Yearbook, the Global Climate Action sequence at COPs, and the regional climate weeks, as well as the work of the Global Climate Action team at the Secretariat.

However, the language authorizing these activities in the COP21 decision text, elaborated on at COP22, expires in 2020. The time is ripe to assess past experience and chart a path forward. The workshop is hosted by the French Foreign Ministry in collaboration with Galvanizing the Groundswell of Climate Action, the Stanley Center, and the University of Oxford Blavatnik School of Government and will thoroughly discuss past experience and generate ideas for global climate action going forward.