In light of IPCC report on climate scenarios, UN Climate Change has made it clear that the 1.5 degree scenario cannot be achieved without ‘raising ambition’ at different levels of development.
Raising ambition is about joining forces and building consensus at strategic and operational levels, from international to local communities. The Raising Ambition Day fostered dialogues on enhancing inclusiveness and mainstreaming interdisciplinary approaches in climate actions. Co-organizers of this day were representatives of international coalitions and networks who believe in collective action for effective change. They presented examples of their actions, as well as pathways foreseen for higher ambitions.
2020 marks a historical milestone for the implementation of climate pledges under the Paris Agreement, as well as actions aimed at achieving sustainable development goals, set by Agenda 2030. In the decade ahead of us, business as usual is not an option.
Programme Overview
The day started with a panel discussion on the importance of capacity-building for climate action under the Paris Agreement, to be understood in the context of sustainable development agenda.
The floor was then opened for discussions around raising ambition on ‘climate finance’, ‘gender empowerment’, and ‘nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement’.
The last panel focused on the role of private sector in enhancing synergic actions between the implementation of the NDCs and the SDGs.
The day concluded the exchanges with some food for thought on how to proceed towards 2020 and beyond.
The Raising Ambition Day in the 2nd Capacity-building Hub was designed to, among other topics, touch upon:
Raising climate ambition
Gender Just Climate Solutions
Raising ambition for climate finance
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Raising ambition for NDCs
Private sector, NDCs and SDGs
All interested individuals and organizations were welcome to join the debate and contribute to the discussion!
Objectives
The purpose of Raising Ambition Day was to foster a shared vision of progressive and systemic change towards higher climate ambition, and coherent action for sustainable development. The Raising Ambition Day accentuated the inter-linkages between nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in climate pledges under the Paris Agreement with actions undertaken in regional, national, and subnational levels for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Some of the key objectives of the sessions were:
Highlight synergies between capacity-building for climate change under Paris Agreement, and sustainable development goals under the 2030 Agenda,
Emphasizing the significance of partnerships, international cooperation, and good governance in enabling a just transition for sustainable development,
Share cases of innovative capacity building solutions for climate action across sectors, and different locations, and by different actors
The impacts of climate change transcend borders and sectors, affecting millions of lives for years to come. Building consensus on climate action as an umbrella strategy encompassing a wide array of actions towards more sustainable state of development is what Raising Ambition Day aimed to emphasize. This day also brought together representatives of international partnerships and networks materializing the notion of collective action for higher ambitions.
All actors involved in capacity-building for climate action, contributing to the attainment of sustainable development goals; national and local government officials, policy makers, researchers, INGOs, IGO, CSOs, and private sectors.
Hosted by the PCCB, and led by the UNFCCC, the 2nd Capacity-building Hub Raising Ambition Day provided a platform for different stakeholders to share knowledge and exchange experiences through interactive panel discussions and forums, designed to:
Exchanging knowledge on available and demanded areas of collaboration for cross-sector projects and partnerships
Exploring lessons learned from and recommendations for multi-stakeholder collaborations on climate mitigation, adaptation and knowledge management
Increased capacities of participants on mainstreaming gender issues and indigenous knowledge in the design of climate policies and projects
Exploring innovative pathways and arrangements for multi-stakeholder, multi-level international partnerships
From words to climate action: climate projects in Latin America with innovative capacity-building solutions to promote gender equality, women’s empowerment