I. Background and Objective
The annual Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) provides a regular forum for Parties and other stakeholders to share their experiences, exchange ideas, good practices, and lessons learned regarding the implementation of Article 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement through its six elements – climate change education and public awareness, training, public participation and access to information and international cooperation on these matters.
At COP 26, Parties adopted the 10-year Glasgow work programme on ACE (GWP), which requested the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) to continue to hold ACE Dialogues at its first regular session of each year with the participation of Parties, representatives of relevant constituted bodies, and relevant experts, practitioners, and stakeholders. The ACE Dialogue focuses on the progress of implementation of the Glasgow work programme, and its four priority areas: 1) policy coherence, 2) coordinated action, 3) tools and support, and 3) monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.[1]
The ACE Dialogue 2025 will discuss the priority areas of policy coherence and coordinated action, which are defined in the Glasgow work program on ACE as follows:
- Policy coherence: aims to strengthen coordination of work under ACE, recognizing that activities related to ACE are also carried out under workstreams that are part of the UNFCCC process, as well as under frameworks and processes of the United Nations system and in multiple sectors and strategies at the national level.
- Coordinated action: aims to build long-term, strategic, operational, multilevel, multi-stakeholder, intergenerational partnerships that bring together expertise, resources, and knowledge to accelerate the use of ACE elements in implementation.
This year, the ACE Dialogue includes two activities from the ACE action plan [2] under policy coherence:
- A joint session with representatives of the UNFCCC constituted bodies and all work programmes under the UNFCCC to discuss ways of enhancing understanding of the role of children and youth and Indigenous Peoples in accelerating ACE implementation and promoting intergenerational knowledge-sharing in the context of their work (Policy coherence, activity A.1); and
- An interactive workshop on developing and implementing national climate change policies, plans, strategies and action using a clear, inclusive, intergenerational and gender-responsive approach (Policy coherence, activity A.2).
II. Participation
The ACE Dialogue 2025 will be open for participation by a diverse range of stakeholders including Parties, representatives of relevant bodies established under the Convention and the Paris Agreement, relevant experts, practitioners, and other relevant stakeholders. No registration is required.
Virtual participation will be possible, with simultaneous interpretation into French and Spanish for on-site participants. The recordings of the event and the presentations will be published on the UNFCCC website.
III. Expected outcome
The outcome of the dialogue will be incorporated into the annual summary report, prepared by the secretariat, on progress in implementing activities under the Glasgow Work Programme for consideration by the SBI at COP30.
IV. Overall schedule
Joint Session – Thursday, 19 June, 10:00-13:00
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Thursday, 19 June 2025
10:00 – 13:00
Chamber Hall, WCCB
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10:00 – 10:30
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Moderators
- Tatenda Mutasa, National ACE Focal Point, Zimbabwe
- Mara Ghilan, Policy Co-Lead, YOUNGO
Welcoming remarks
- Marcele Oliveira, COP30 Presidency Youth Climate Champion
- Valery Salas Flores, YOUNGO
- Francisco Vera, UNICEF Youth Advocate
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10:30 – 12:00
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World Café – Working together across generations
This solution-focused, interactive session will generate practical ideas and opportunities for weaving intergenerational considerations throughout UNFCCC constituted bodies and work programmes, enhancing the collective well-being and meaningful engagement of children and youth, including those from local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
Opening presentation on weaving intergenerational considerations to enhance collective well-being:
- Great- Grandmother Mary Lyons, Ojibwe Elder
- Adela Tuy, Maya Kaqchikel People from Guatemala, International Indigenous Youth Forum on Climate Change (IIYFCC)
Thematic Areas:
- Policy Coherence and Coordinated Action
- Explore ways to incorporate intergenerational perspectives across the UNFCCC process.
- Foster partnerships that align and amplify the work of UNFCCC workstreams.
- Intergenerational Engagement
- Discuss mechanisms that ensure meaningful and culturally respectful engagement of children and youth, including those from local communities and Indigenous Peoples, in the work of constituted bodies and work programmes.
- Access to Relevant Data and Information
- Explore opportunities to improve child- and youth-specific data, including those from local communities and Indigenous Peoples, to inform UNFCCC workstreams and strengthen accountability.
- Discuss strategies to increase their awareness of, and equitable access to, relevant information from constituted bodies and work programmes.
Guiding questions:
- What are some existing practices and approaches that UNFCCC constituted bodies or work programmes have adopted under each theme?
- How can these approaches be expanded or adapted to enhance the impact within the three thematic areas?
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Group
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Facilitator
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Co-facilitator & Rapporteur
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English I
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Roberta Ianna, National ACE Focal Point, Italy
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Kalea Adrienne Aquino, Asia-Pacific youth representative
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English II
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Kavindu Ediriweera, ACE negotiator, Sri Lanka
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Joanna Broumana, UNICEF
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Spanish
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Massiel Cairo, ACE negotiator, Dominican Republic
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João Paulo Mello Amaral, Alana
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French
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Asma Rouabhia, UNDP
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Justin Ngabu Dz'Bo, YOUNGO
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On-line
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Marcia Tinto, national ACE focal point, Trinidad and Tobago
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Nadia Zaidi, UNICEF
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12:00 – 12:20
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Report back
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12:20 – 12:45
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Open Dialogue
Drawing on the insights generated during the World Café, participants will explore further opportunities to weave intergenerational considerations across UNFCCC constituted bodies and work programmes.
Interventions from constituted bodies:
- Hendrikje Reich, Standing Committee on Finance (SCF)
- Robert Karoro, Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (FWG LCIPP)
- Rita Mishaan, Adaptation Committee (AC)
- Gabriel Kpaka, Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG)
- Angelica Romero, Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures (KCI)
- Ephraim Shitima, CDM Executive Board (CDM EB)
- Gao Xiang, Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme
- H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma, Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB)
- Li Yoo, UNFCCC secretariat, Nairobi work programme (NWP)
- Valentin Rudloff, Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) (online)
Guiding Question:
- What additional or new steps can be taken to foster intergenerational consideration and collaboration, and ensure the voices of children and youth, including from local communities and Indigenous Peoples, help shape effective, inclusive, and equitable climate action?
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12:45 – 13:00
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Closing remarks
- Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UN Climate Change
- Julia Gardiner, Chair, Subsidiary Body for Implementation
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Interactive Workshop – Saturday, 21 June, 10:00-13:00
Tentative Agenda
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Time
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Details
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10:00 – 10:10
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Opening
Co-moderators will set the scene.
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10:10 – 10:50
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Panel discussion
The first segment of the workshop will look at how ACE, as a toolbox, can contribute or is essential to making national climate policies, plans, strategies and action more effective and successful.
The panel will be moderated by Isatis Cintron, ACE Observatory. The panellists include:
- Verania Chao, Programme Specialist, Climate, Gender and Inclusion, UNDP
- João Brant, Secretary for Digital Policies, Secretariat for Social Communication, Brazil and Charlotte Scaddan, Senior Advisor on Information Integrity, Department of Global Communications, UN
- Massimiliano Falcone, Special Envoy for Climate Education and Green Skills in the NDC 3.0, Climate Education Coalition/EARTHDAY.ORG
An online exercise (menti) will be run in parallel to collect participants’ response on the examples of six ACE elements being utilized in developing and implementing climate policies, plans, strategies and action.
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10:50 – 12:00
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Mini Clinics (Two rounds)
The second segment will allow the participants to converse with experts on integrating ACE elements into climate policies, plans, strategies and action, such as NDCs and NAPs. The idea is to spark ideas for various ways of approaching this integration – in terms of potential entry points, partners and some key considerations.
The groups will include:
Facilitators will encourage, in particular, Party representatives to share their examples. Participants will reflect on stakeholders needed in the integration process and how they can be more meaningfully engaged, making national climate policies, plans, strategies and action more inclusive, intergenerational and gender-responsive. Discussions will also centre around the barriers they face and solutions that can be replicated.
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12:00 – 12:50
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Interactive Exercise
The exercise will be facilitated by Andrea Ramirez, Senior Researcher and Lionel Muñoz Rosas, Research Associate, UNU-EHS.
An exercise that helps participants to strategize the way forward in integrating ACE elements in national climate policies, plans, strategies and action, through visioning, role playing and coalition building.
Special focus will be given to utilize gender-responsive and intergenerational lens.
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12:50 – 13:00
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Closing
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Closing Session – Monday, 23 June, 15:00-18:00
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Closing Session – ACE Dialogue 2025
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15:00 – 15:15
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Opening
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15:15 – 15:45
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Panel Presentations
This session serves to set the scene for advancing policy coherence and coordinated action, building on and amplifying the discussions from previous segments.
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15:45 – 17:00
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World Café
This World Café session provides a space for participants to exchange and explore opportunities to accelerate ACE implementation in the areas of policy coherence, through advancing action under the priority areas of coordinated action, tools and support, and monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
Group 1: Vertical and horizontal collaboration
This group will explore effective institutional arrangements that facilitate vertical and horizontal coordination and collaboration, creating synergies, fostering coherence, and reducing duplication of efforts in ACE implementation.
Group 2: Climate communication
This group will focus on fostering public trust and promoting meaningful, informed public engagement. Topics include countering climate disinformation and misinformation, ensuring information integrity, developing communications strategies, and enhancing access to accurate, timely climate information through digital tools and trusted messengers.
Group 3: Collaborative monitoring, evaluation and reporting
Effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems are essential to assess ACE implementation, identify gaps, and improve effectiveness. This group will discuss collaborative approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and reporting that involve diverse stakeholders and support climate reporting mechanisms.
Guiding questions:
- Share good examples and experiences
- Identify existing gaps and ways to address them
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17:00 – 17:30
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Report back
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17:30 – 18:00
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Closing
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