Talanoa Dialogue - Cop23 · 2019-03-28 · negotiations as President of COP23 determined to make the process more inclusive and more ambitious. As the acronym suggests, COP is a formal

Talanoa Dialogue: From Ambition to Action

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TALANOA SUMMARY TALANOA SUMMARY

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

I WHERE ARE WE? 9

II WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO? 21

I I I HOW DO WE GET THERE? 33

IV CONCLUSION 57

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INTRODUCT ION

Fiji became the first Small Island Developing State to lead the global climate

negotiations as President of COP23 determined to make the process more

inclusive and more ambitious. As the acronym suggests, COP is a formal

Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change — some 195 nations around the world. But while the formal

negotiations are confined to national governments, the Fijian COP23 President,

Frank Bainimarama, has consistently argued that governments alone cannot

solve this crisis. So he brought to our Presidency the idea of forging a Grand

Coalition for climate action, which has transformed the process and opened up

more space for states, regions and cities, the private sector, civil society and

faith-based organisations, and billions of ordinary people around the world.

Fiji has also consistently advocated that the scale of the climate threat can only

be confronted by adopting the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement of

2015 — to cap global warming at no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above that

of the pre-industrial age. And by 2020, for all countries to raise the ambition

of their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Agreement — their

NDCs — so that the world achieves net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Fiji has become one of the first two nations — with The Marshall Islands — to

commit to raise its own NDC and has appealed to the rest of the world to do the

same. And to encourage more ambition, we introduced the Talanoa Dialogue

into the climate action process, including a year-long process that concluded

with a Ministerial Talanoa Dialogue at COP24 in December 2018, chaired by

Fiji and Poland.

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Based on a Pacific concept of inclusive decision-making through respectful

and positive engagement, this has triggered a global conversation in which

ideas and best practices for climate action have been exchanged at hundreds

of Talanoa sessions around the world.

The idea of Talanoa is to

build trust and empathy

through meaningful, blame-

free engagement. It takes

us beyond the usual

reluctance and mistrust

that has characterised

climate talks for too long.

By sharing stories and

listening to each other,

participants in the Talanoa

Dialogue have been able

to learn from each other's

climate journeys. And it has

captured the imagination

of the world, with high praise for the process from governments and all the

elements of our Grand Coalition, plus climate leaders as diverse as the UN

Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron and

“The Terminator” and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Over the past year we have brought together countries, communities, companies

and other organisations to answer three key questions: Where are we? Where

do we want to go? How do we get there? The Talanoa Dialogue sessions have

created the space for a positive exchange of ideas and is already transforming

the global climate debate.

Talanoa can be inspiring. In addition to stories of the challenges being faced

by people in climate vulnerable nations, including Fiji and the Pacific, we have

heard some amazing success stories from which other communities and nations

can learn. And these examples can be the seeds for more ambitious action or

the introduction of mitigation and adaptation projects in other places around

the world.

So Talanoa is not merely a talkfest. It is about encouraging practical action

and ambition to overcome the climate threat — because as Prime Minister

Bainimarama has continually stressed, it is only by working together as One

World and with all 7.5 billion global citizens on the same team that we have any

chance of meeting the climate threat. Our current NDCs are woefully short of

the mark. Instead of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees, they will produce

warming of at least 3 degrees by century’s end, with devastating results the

world over. The UN says we need a fivefold increase in our current NDCs — five

times more action, five time more ambition — if we are to meet the 1.5-degree

warming target. So we have no time to waste.

This report brings together some of the most important, interesting and surprising

things Fiji has learnt from the Talanoa Dialogue, which we want to share with

you as we work together to transform ambition to action. We have drawn from

hundreds of stories that participants told in person at the Talanoa sessions

around the world as well as from the stories that participants submitted in

writing. We trust that these examples will inspire and assist us all in working

together on behalf of our people and the planet we all call home.

COP23 Climate Ambassador Deo Saran

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KEY LESSONS:

• Climate change is no longer a threat on the far horizon; it's here and

it's getting rapidly worse.

• We are not on track to keep warming within the limits the world agreed

to in Paris. We need immediate, transformative action if we are to

avoid global disruptions to food and water supplies, mass migration,

and the accompanying security implications.

• There are causes for optimism, but much more still needs to be done.

Already, there are tremendous examples of projects that are reducing

greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience, and many

of these can be quickly replicated around the world if robust and

predictable international finance and other means of implementation

are provided. Even better, these solutions save and make money.

• Small island developing countries are, in many cases, leading the way.

Many states spoke of the devastation already occurring because of higher

temperatures, erratic rainfall, deadly storms and disease. No country is

unaffected by climate change.

Argentina's wine industry is already suffering severe droughts. Located

in the Andean region, these droughts also hit rural communities and

growers of other agricultural products.

I . WHERE ARE WE?

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Micronesia also voiced anguish about rising seas. “Today, the airport

in the capital city of Pohnpei, which was built far from the shoreline,

regularly has waves lapping at its runways. There are sacred cemeteries

on various islands that are under water, and saltwater is intruding into

the water table in the center of islands, killing staple food crops like

taro, and other kinds of plants that we depend on for our livelihoods.”

Chad described itself as a “house on fire.” Like many African nations,

the country is facing temperature increases that are higher than the

global averages. “Currently, the world recognizes Chad as one of the

hottest countries, where temperatures exceed 45 degrees in the shade

as early as April. One of the impacts of climate change is that Lake Chad

is drying up. Its surface has shrunk from 25,000 km2 in 1963 to 2,500

km2 today.” The lake has provided water to millions of people in West

Africa, but is now known as the “vanishing lake.”

California faced yet more unprecedented fires, making this the third

straight year of catastrophic fires that have ravaged that state.

Extreme water shortages are already affecting Palestine, Saudi Arabia and

the Arab States, whose millions of citizens already live in the most water-

poor region of the world. Climate change will make these shortages even

worse, with water availability expected to drop by 30–70 percent for

each person by 2025. To make matters worse, salt from rising seas will

poison groundwater. Water shortages also directly threaten health and

security, requiring states to import more food, leaving them vulnerable to

fluctuating exchange rates. As temperatures soar, more deadly heatwaves,

and dust and sand storms will afflict the region.

And earlier this year, the world watched in horrified anticipation as Cape

Town, Africa's southernmost city, came close to being the first major city

to run out of water. "I had to wake up every morning and say, 'I will not

allow a well-run city to run out of water,'" said Executive Mayor Patricia

De Lille.

The costs of inaction now outweigh the costs of action.

Austria pointed out that the key question about costs has changed: In

light of these realities, no longer should states focus on the costs of

taking action to stop climate change, but rather, on the costs of inaction.

"Climate change is here. It is real and we are already feeling its impacts.

The costs of inaction are staggering."

For Saint Lucia, the death of coral reefs through bleaching puts their top

industry, tourism, at risk. Tourism makes up nearly 42 percent of the

country's GDP.

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THE CURRENT STATE: CLIMATE ACTION SUCCESS STORIES

Many countries, both large and small, have made tremendous progress in

adopting renewables.

Already, Argentina is working on the Cauchari Solar Plant. The plant is

expected to open at the end of 2020 and will have 1.2 million solar

panels, making it the largest solar plant in Latin America.

Belize already generates 90 percent of its domestic energy consumption from

renewables and is now banning petroleum exploration in its maritime zone.

Denmark and Portugal are both well on their way to transforming their

energy consumption to renewables. Denmark said: “The dance of the

steady wind in our country has proven to play a crucial role in the transition

of our energy sector. Renewable energy currently accounts for more than

half of our total electricity generation, and wind plays an important role

here. Last year we beat our old previous world record with on average

43 percent of our electricity consumption being supplied by wind power

alone. Just seven years ago it was only about 20 percent.”

Portugal said: “We are currently already achieving close to 100 percent of

renewable power in significant periods of the year. Last March and for the

first time, Portugal produced enough renewables to satisfy its domestic

consumption and to export to our neighbor country Spain.”

Huge solar plants are either running or under construction in many

places, including Dubai, Argentina, and Spain. And fascinating microgrids

are being implemented at home in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, to name

just two places.

China is also making great strides to transform its energy sector, leading

it to meet its 2020 pledges under the Copenhagen Accords early and

positioning it to meet its nationally determined contribution under the

Paris Agreement. "Our plan is to complete our pledges by the year 2020,

and we plan to achieve our targets to that even ahead of schedule," said

H.E. Xie Zhenhua at the High Level Talanoa held in San Francisco in

September. China has already met its goal of reducing its carbon intensity

by 40–45 percent. "That means we have reduced the emission of 4

billion tons of coal in China and we have successfully raised the portion

of non-fossil fuel in our energy mix to 13.4 percent, which is very close

to the targeted 15 percent," Xie said. "We plan to achieve our nationally

determined contribution goals through industrial restructuring, raising

energy efficiency and increasing forest sinks."

Economic growth and green transformation can take place rapidly if the right

policies are passed and implemented. Predictability and stability are crucial.

Since 1990, the United Kingdom has reduced its

greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent and has

grown its economy by 71 percent over the same period,

leading the way in G7 countries.

At the May Talanoa, the UK said:

The UK has a very well-known Climate Change Act, which was introduced

10 years ago. It was one of the first pieces of legislation in the world to

set out ambitious targets, put in place an independent Committee on

Climate Change and establish five-year carbon budgets that we are held to.

Our story has legislation at is core, both at a national and subnational

level — with Scotland as an example with its own legislation; but it

also involves consultation, to make sure legislation is right and can be

implemented effectively, and a focus on implementation.

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States can use their financial support to leverage much greater investment in

renewables and other climate actions.

Australia established the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), with a combined

AU$10 billion, to invest in clean energy innovation. The CEFC has

invested $5 billion in projects with total value of $14 billion.

In Fiji, we have used our

tax system to speed the

momentum of renewables.

We have introduced a five-

year tax "holiday" for taxpayers

implementing a new activity

in "renewable energy project/

power generation" and a 100

percent write-off (accelerated

depreciation) in the year that

a water-storage or renewable-

energy project is undertaken.

We have also issued a sovereign green bond — the first of its kind from a

developing market—with expected proceeds of F$100 million, to pay for

mitigation, adaptation and environmental protection projects.

Poland has created a National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water

Management that collects fees from licenses, recycling, exploitation of

certain resources and the use of various products, as well as from penalties,

based on the "polluter pays" principle. It its first 25 years of operation,

the fund — which can only be used for environmental projects — disbursed

more than €15 billion and leveraged an additional €20 billion. The fund

will provide assistance to local governments, companies and households

to meet Poland's Paris Agreement commitments. Already, more than

67,000 households have installed solar panels thanks to support from

the fund.

States can change the game by changing incentives without having to invest

directly.

For example, Fiji has wielded tax law to spur uptake of low-carbon

transportation. We saw an "exponential" increase in the registration of

electric and hybrid vehicles after removing duty on these vehicles.

Small Island Developing States are showing the way.

More than 25 nations, including Fiji, have put forward an Ambition

Declaration that calls on countries to step up their short-term goals to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to make long-term plans that lay out

how they will leap to the net-zero emissions future; and to work together

to unlock finance so that it can be unleashed on solving history's most

challenging "wicked problem."

At this year's UN General Assembly, Fiji and The Marshall Islands were

among the first to announce that we will deliver stronger new targets to

reduce emissions, and have, or are in the process of developing, long-

term decarbonisation plans.

Some of the most impressive and important action is happening at regional

and "sub-national" levels, including regions, states, provinces and cities.

At the regional level, Denmark noted: “With our Nordic neighbours, we

have created a good example of a well-functioning electricity market

Fijian Prime Minister Bainimarama at the launch of the Fijian Green Bond, 18 April 2018.

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where different renewable energy sources such as hydro and wind power

complement each other. And we believe these examples can inspire

other regions.”

C40, a network of the world's megacities that are committed to addressing

climate change, shared a vision of the future that emphasised the

transformative potential of cities. "Cities of the future will be compact,

connected, low-carbon and climate resilient. These cities will have multi-

purpose green infrastructure, energy-efficient buildings, sustainable

waste-management systems, and fossil-fuel-free streets and offer

accessible decarbonized mobility through clean public transportation

such as electric buses, cycling and walking. Through inclusive design

and implementation, mayors can ensure that benefits are shared with

all residents, including: better air quality, improved public health, job

opportunities, economic growth and many others. Opportunities for

national governments to support building low-carbon cities include

direct national policy interventions, enabling measures or the removal

of barriers."

California — a state that would be the world’s fifth largest economy if it

were a nation — has become known as a global climate leader, believing

that "sub-national governments have significant responsibility for

transportation, buildings and land use, which must be transformed to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions." The state recently established some

of the most ambitious targets, deciding in September that it would go

100 percent carbon-free by 2045.

David Hochschild, California Energy Commissioner, elaborated on California's

solar energy policies:

In California, in January, we're going to reach 1

million solar roofs. In addition, because we got to

scale — and this is what we are as a state, we're an

incubator, we get things to scale — it brought the

cost down globally.

In May, at my commission, we voted to mandate

solar in all new homes starting next year.

Incredible momentum. And to me, this is the

model. We have got to focus on challenges and I

think the next one is electric vehicles.

Of course, these examples are not limited to the

United States, or even to the developed countries.

Mexico City — a mega-city with a population of 9 million, and 21 million in

the Greater Mexico City area — is taking the lead on cutting greenhouse-

gas emissions.

In submissions to the May Talanoas, a representative from the city's

environment department said that, in 2008, Mexico City became the

first city in Mexico to develop and implement a local plan in response to

climate change, which will decrease the city's emissions by 30 percent

by 2020. The plan has already increased conservation of soil and has

saved around 20,000 million cubic litres of water. It has also modernised

public transport to save energy.

Private companies and non-governmental organisations have also made

impressive progress in switching to renewables. Renewables have the

potential not just to save money, but also to become new revenue streams.

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Karol Gobczynski, of the IKEA Group, said:

Since 2009, IKEA Group has invested €1.7 billion EUR in

renewable energy globally, and now we own and operate more

wind turbines than stores. Almost half of our stores have solar PV

installations, reducing our electricity costs and carbon footprint. By

2020, we will generate more renewable energy than we consume in

our operations. IKEA also offers customers affordable home solar

systems in five markets, giving people the opportunity to be part

of a low-carbon movement. Returning to my childhood hometown,

today my parents pay five times less for heating and electricity than

the average house owner thanks to energy efficiency, home solar

installations and zero-emission heating.

Ambitious companies are looking at their supply chains, requiring contractors

to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and thereby multiplying the impact of

their own climate goals. This has implications for companies that might not

yet have climate targets themselves, but who work for companies that do.

Gabrielle Giner of BT (formerly British Telecom) said:

In 2016, BT achieved our previous science-based target to reduce our

carbon emissions intensity by 80 percent four years early and in the

process saved £220 million through initiatives driving efficiencies

in our networks, data centers and buildings. The business case for

climate action is clear. Our new 1.5 degree science-based target

means that by 2030 BT will decarbonize our business by another

87 percent against a 2016/17 baseline. To reach the target, we

plan to change our fleet of 33,000 vehicles into low-carbon vehicles

and change how we heat our buildings. And let’s not forget one of

the challenges — supply chains. BT has 18,000 suppliers and an

annual supply-chain spend of over £14 billion. We have a science

based target to reduce our supply-chain carbon emissions by 29

percent by 2030. To help deliver this, we have just introduced a new

contract clause requiring our suppliers to reduce carbon emissions

and energy consumption over the term of their contract with BT.

And we are encouraging our suppliers to join us in buying renewable

energy.”

However, despite this progress, we are not on track to meet the commitments

made under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Saint Lucia pointed out that "there is an alarmingly large gap between

the emissions reductions needed to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius limit

and the emissions reductions contemplated by the current NDCs, which

take us to 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2100 — a very scary thought for our

country, and I dare say, for us all." China echoed that concern, calling the

gap "huge."

And as Belgium noted, "there is an urgent need for countries to accelerate

short-term action and enhance longer-term national ambition, if the goals

of the Paris Agreement are to remain achievable."

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Science tells us that we have just a few fleeting years to slow and then

reverse our greenhouse-gas emissions, or we will face catastrophic and

irreversible consequences, some of which we are already experiencing.

Bad as the effects of climate change already are, the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change's recent report on the effects of warming of

up to 1.5 degrees Celsius found that those consequences will be far

worse if we go to 2 degrees Celsius of warming. In other words, we now

know what our goal must be: We must find ways to prevent warming of

greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Doing so will require us to undertake

an unprecedented global moblisation, as dramatic as the industrial

revolution.

As California Governor Jerry Brown said at a Talanoa in San Francisco,

"This is not change, this is transformation."

We have to make a complete switch from where we are to where we need

to go… A zero-emission world is a completely different world than the

one we're in, and how we got here today. But we can see it. It's getting

closer, and the progress that's being made is quite incredible. Ten years

ago we could not have imagined we'd be this far. The risk of failure is

very real, but the opportunity and the possibility of success is equally as

real and it really depends on us — how we act, what we do and how we

motivate others.

2. WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

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Importantly, as money flows

to climate projects, it must do

so in a way that works toward

"climate justice." We have

listened to those of you who

expressed concerns that the

transformation to a net-zero

world could exacerbate global

inequality, and we have heard

you. In this section, we present

some projects and products

that strike us as ways to work

toward a just transition by lifting

up disadvantaged groups and

regions through climate action,

not despite it.

KEY LESSONS:

• Transformative change is needed, and we must start now.

• We need to formulate long-term plans to ensure that short-term policies

feed into building a zero-carbon economy and strengthening resilience

to existing impacts of global warming.

• Justice and equity must be central to our transition, because we must

ensure that the people of the world get behind these dramatic and

positive changes.

• There is a deep yearning to conserve cultures and traditions while

building a verdant, prosperous future.

• Developing countries could leap straight into climate-friendly

development.

Micronesia echoed sentiments expressed by many, including indigenous

representatives: They want to save their homes and preserve their

communities and cultures.

When presented with the question "where are we going?" It may surprise

you when we respond. We are going nowhere. We are staying put. Our

late Ambassador Nakayama — a climate champion in Micronesia — put it

simply: "We don’t want to go anywhere. We want to stay on our islands,

and this is what we want the international community to understand."

Many states worry that the Paris Agreement is too conservative and that we

must keep cooling to below 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid catastrophe. That

view was confirmed by the IPCC's report on the starkly different results of 1.5

versus 2 degrees of warming.

In Fiji, we voiced extreme concern that the collective commitments

of NDCs will lead to at least three degrees of warming. This would be

catastrophic for us in the Pacific and much of the world. Ethiopia also

worried that exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming would especially affect

vulnerable tropical countries, resulting in up to "86 million people having

to migrate in Sub-Saharan Africa and 40 million in South Asia by 2050."

California Governor Jerry Brown

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Resilience was a key theme of Mercy Corps' submission, which explained

their concept of "climate-resilient development."

And of course, for the Pacific, resilience is key. Fiji has several projects

geared toward resilience, including replanting our coastal mangroves to

make our coasts better able to withstand storms and looking at projects

that can ensure access to clean water.

Some states worried that climate change policy could aggravate disparities

between developed and developing nations.

Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Arab States said it is "important to build

trust and promote cooperation between developed and developing

nations, and this can be achieved by implementing the equity principles

enshrined in the Convention and in the Paris Agreement. Developed

country parties should take the lead, fulfill their commitments, scale up

their ambitions and support to developing country parties. It is crucial to

uphold developing countries’ right for development and take into account

that climate change policy should not aggravate existing disparities

between developed and developing nations."

China is one of several states that emphasized equity and the desire to

tailor goals to countries' circumstances. "Only an equitable mechanism

can attract universal participation, build mutual trust and inspire

concrete actions … national circumstances should be taken into account

in evaluation of ambitions, paying particular attention to developing

countries’ limited capacities and burden of poverty eradication, to avoid

conflict and promote synergy between climate and other development

agenda."

Adaptation must feature prominently in climate discussions.

Morocco said, "For our country, adaptation is as great a concern as

mitigation and therefore we call for the development of adaptation

investment strategies as well. Furthermore, the Adaptation Fund should

be fully operationalized so it can serve the goals of the Paris Agreement."

As climate change's toll mounts, we need to discuss loss and harm.

Emele Duituturaga, Executive Director of PIANGO, a regional umbrella

group for civil society in 21 Pacific countries and self-governing territories,

spoke at the Pacific Talanoa in Suva and said, "We also want to bring

into the conversation climate change-induced displacement. We know

that external migration is the last resort, but we are already witnessing

relocation as adaptive measures in our countries and we believe that this

should be looked at."

There is a common yearning for a future world that is green, resilient and

prosperous.

Argentina said it would like to see the establishment of the foundations

of a "climate-resilient global society."

Resilience is also vitally important to the nations of East Africa, who are

already seeing changed rainfall patterns and encroachment of the desert.

In their submissions, the Tanzania Traditional Energy Development

Organization listed several resilience measures, including "sand dams,"

water harvesting and "storage for crop farming and livestock/pastoralism."

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For a great number of states, development will go hand in hand with climate

response.

Many countries (Indonesia, China, Ethiopia on behalf of the Least Developed

Countries, Morocco, to name a few) stressed that, for them, climate action

falls within the broader framework of sustainable development, which

includes reducing poverty.

China has developed the concept of “ecological civilization,” which

underpins its policies.

In the Kubuqi desert of China, in the past 20 years, the government has

integrated carbon-sink increase with sand control, disaster reduction

and poverty alleviation … with the greening of the desert, income

increase of farmers and herdsmen, and the increase of carbon sinks.

The specific measures they took include planting cash crops that can

increase income and fix sand and improve soil quality simultaneously.

They also use abundant solar energy in the sand area to combine

photovoltaic power generation/solar energy with cash crop planting

and herbs breeding.

China says that this project has brought about 102,000 people out of poverty.

We have learnt of many projects that provide a "just transition."

Edem Adzogenu, co-founder of the civil society group AfroChampions,

pointed out that Africa need not follow the same "development" path as

the industrialised nations. "Africa cannot afford to try to copy those wrong

models," Adzogenu said. "Africa doesn't need to follow that model."

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, philanthropist and artist Akon, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Fijian Ambassador to the U.S. Solo Mara at the R20 Talanoa in California, October 2018.

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we could scale up decentralized power systems, particularly through

microgrids powered by renewables, we could transform lives. Many

of our unelectrified rural communities are indigenous; it is important

that modern energy services be provided to nurture, not destroy,

sustainable living and indigenous culture.”

Indeed, Africa is one of the continents showing some of the most

promising paths to leap-frogging over fossil fuel sources, while also

alleviating poverty and empowering women.

One of the most impressive examples is the Akon Lighting Africa project, led

by R&B singer and producer Akon. With a US$1 billion line of credit from

international banks, Akon has installed 100,000 solar street lights, 1,200

microgrids and 102,000 household solar kits throughout 15 countries.

Giving light to these communities has reduced crime and violence

because people are no longer traveling or working in the dark, which has

also made women safer and more able to earn an income. Workers can

keep longer hours, improving their circumstances and strengthening local

economies. Children can now study at night, enhancing their education

and life prospects. Health has improved because people no longer need

to use diesel or wood for cooking. And of course, this project shows that

economic and social development can continue apace without the need

to also increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Women's empowerment and engagement with indigenous communities can

play a crucial role in combatting climate change.

Chad cited several obstacles to climate action, including widespread

illiteracy and the disempowerment of women. Malawi also cited the

disempowerment of women as a challenge. But Chad’s near neighbour,

Burkina Faso, told a story about a program it had developed that used

those obstacles as opportunities. By training illiterate grandmothers

in household energy use, it empowered these women to pass on that

knowledge within their communities, resulting in the installation of solar

energy in 100 households that did not previously have electricity.

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Shalvi Shakshi was the Northern Division winner and national runner-up of the national climate change oratory contest in Fiji.

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use of coal for energy by 2029, and says the country might even achieve

this earlier. Denmark also said, “We have decided to phase out energy

production from coal-fired power plants before 2030.”

Phasing out unabated coal is the aim of the Power Past Coal Alliance,

which was launched at COP23 and has been growing rapidly over the

past year.

Founded by the United Kingdom and Canada, the alliance now includes

75 partner, including governments, businesses and organisations.

As part of the Talanoa process, the Alliance:

"call[ed] on government partners to phase out existing traditional coal

power and a moratorium on any new traditional coal power stations

without operational carbon capture and storage, businesses and non-

government partners to power their operations without the use of coal,

and all partners to support clean power policies and investments, as

well as restrict financing for traditional coal power without carbon

capture and storage."

In fact, there is a growing movement to eventually abandon use of all fossil fuels.

Sweden has a "Fossil-free Sweden" process, and Barbados aims to have

one, too. And the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform is an informal

group of non-G20 countries working to highlight the risks and harms of

subsidies to fossil fuels. The group has projects in countries including

Canada, China, Egypt, India and Nigeria.

The Philippines sees climate change action as an opportunity to protect

and support their indigenous populations:

“We have an estimated 246,000 megawatts of untapped renewable

energy capacity — mostly from sun, tidal ocean power, wind,

geothermal, biomass, and hydro resources, but renewable energy

accounts for only 32 percent of our country’s energy mix. If only

Importantly, indigenous peoples have knowledge and expertise that can be

invaluable in fighting climate change.

Australia's indigenous peoples have for millennia been using fire-burning

techniques to manage the land. They’ve combined those techniques

with satellite technology to come up with an emissions-reduction

strategy for vast amounts of land in the Northern Territory in a practice

called Savannah burning, which uses controlled burns to prevent much

larger fires that would emit much more carbon. This work has earned

Aboriginal communities AU$100 million in the last couple of years

through Australia's Emissions Reduction Fund. Now they are exporting that

technology to Africa. Australia hopes to build that technology into billions

of dollars of private investment to support communities around the world.

For an increasing number, dropping coal is a priority.

With 40 percent of the world’s electricity still generated from coal,

phasing out coal power is one of the most important steps countries can

take to meet their Paris Agreement commitments.

Several states have already cut their use of coal, or have plans to do so.

Ethiopia said, "…avoiding new coal-fired power plants and phasing out

existing ones is crucial." Finland is also committed to phasing out the

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3. HOW DO WE GET THERE?

OBSTACLES AND SOLUTIONS

There can be no doubt that the single greatest obstacle to climate

transformation is access to funding. Participants including nations,

groups of nations, states, and cities made clear that the amount and

availability of money to pay for climate action must improve. As Governor

Schwarzenegger said at the Los Angeles Finance Talanoa in October, "You

can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don't have the money,

you have nothing."

In part, the problem is historical. Christophe Nuttall, CEO of the R20-

Regions of Climate Action group noted that many of the financial institutions

that form part of the Bretton Woods system were established with nation-

states in mind. They are not set up to lend to the very places with the

greatest need and capacity to make climate transformations — regions,

states, provinces and cities. Mr. Nuttall also pointed out that many

climate projects fall into a funding twilight zone: too big for charitable

funding, but too small for traditional investors. Specifically, charities

and non-profits will typically only fund up to US$5 million, he said,

whereas the traditional international banks have difficulty making loans

or investments of less than US$50 million. Many climate projects need

an amount that falls into this gap.

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Climate finance is rapidly growing, but we need better ways to ensure that it

is accessible to those who need it and quickly disbursed.

Barbados explained the perversity of the current international financial

system, and how it is hampering their ability to take climate action

despite their being amongst the most vulnerable nations on earth, both

to rising seas and catastrophic storms.

"We aim by 2030 to be a fossil-fuel-free environment, but we can't do it

just so," said Prime Minister Mottley. "As a new government, we inherited

a situation where Barbados was the third most indebted country in the

world today. It means that our options for development and financing are

seriously constrained."

Ironically, Mottley said that Barbados is effectively blocked from borrowing

from the World Bank at its most favourable rates because its per capita

income is too high. "Yet within 48 hours, like Dominica, we could lose

200 percent of our GDP" due to a hurricane, she said. "That is the very

definition of vulnerability if ever there was one. And unless we change it,

we are going to see the obliteration of civilizations or we are going to see

problems morph into security and migration issues that the world does

not want to deal with."

Botswana said it did not benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism

because of "limited capacity, technology and resources."

"Botswana as a developing country is limited in what she can do," the

delegation wrote. The country said it needs support in the form of

adequate finance, technology transfer, capacity building initiatives and

infrastructure development.

Luckily, we are now seeing a flowering of funding and other solutions,

and the Talanoa process has enabled us to learn about many of them. It

is crucial that we get the word out about them so that they can be used

and replicated. In particular, the field of "impact investing" is growing,

and renewable energy is an excellent vehicle for these investments.

KEY LESSONS:

• There is an urgent need for climate financing, and it must flow to

developing nations as well as to sub-national entities, including those

with small markets like Fiji's.

• Many new financial products are arriving that can fill the gaps

identified in climate financing. We need clear guidelines, monitoring,

transparency, and consistency — all things that build trust and enable

massive investments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and

building resilience.

• There is a huge amount of money to be made.

• When a "climate change" message doesn't work, a "public health"

message might.

Climate change is a huge opportunity to make and save money.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that

US$6.3 trillion will be spent on infrastructure to meet global development

needs between 2016 and 2030. Adding just US$0.6 trillion will make

those investments "climate compatible." That additional investment

would pay for itself many times over by 2050, in fuel savings and the

avoidance of damages that are likely to be caused by climate change.

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Traditional financial institutions must also adapt to the realities of climate

change by showing greater willingness to lend to small and developing nations.

At the Global Climate Summit in San Francisco in September,

representatives of four large financial institutions in partnership with the

COP23 presidency held a "finance Talanoa." One surprising conclusion

was that multi-lateral development banks have become more conservative

when it comes to lending to climate-change

projects. Participants concluded that banks

should also find ways to lend to smaller

projects, not just very large ones.

This observation linked to another takeaway:

Small nations may have more success in

landing investment from banks if they can bring

together multiple projects to form a bundle.

Philanthropic groups are providing "seed" funding to launch climate-change

projects that can be self-sustaining and replicated.

Our Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, told the story of the small island

of Vio, a community of 250 people that had never been part of the country’s

electricity grid. Vio's residents had no access to electricity and had been

relying on kerosene lanterns for light, a dirty and inefficient source of

lighting. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation provided funding to build a

solar-battery hybrid energy system using a microgrid to connect each of

the homes with clean energy. It is a joint venture between a private solar

installer, Sunergise (Fiji) Limited, and the national electricity company,

Electricity Fiji Limited. The Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network is

providing engagement and training.

Mexico voiced a common sentiment when it said, "We must find ways

to unlock finance, to build capacity in all regions of the world, and to

accelerate technology deployment."

Germany’s state-owned enterprise Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale

Zusammenarbeit made a similar point, and called on the international

community to continue building up "efficient, transparent and corruption-

free climate finance institutions." A lack of these institutions hinders

uptake of climate projects by "many partner countries," as well as the

private sector.

Saudi Arabia and the Arab States were more explicit about what they see

as the shortcomings of the way climate financing has been distributed:

Flows of funds from developed to developing nations have not been

sufficient nor adequate or predictable, several Conference of Parties

decisions have called for scaling up of finance and enhancing

predictability and responding to developing countries' needs and

enhancing country ownership (such guidance saw very limited

implementation and as such developing countries were not able

to plan or enhance their efforts to tackle climate change specially

with the burden of adaptation). Existing climate-related funds, in

particular the GEF, Adaptation Fund, LDCF and SCCF, have not

provided any significant resources to assist developing countries to

transition to more climate-friendly technology. Accessing those funds

was a challenge, and predictability of the resources was a regular

concern by the COP.

German Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Barbara Anne Hendricks


38

LEDs, and then when that money gets repaid, it can be loaned to

the next city and the next city. There's 5600 cities in Brazil that can

now have access to that fund. So it shows there are ways by working

with national governments, with subnational governments, with

technology providers, if we're properly motivated, if we understand

what's at stake. And that we can do this especially with mechanisms

that are not just one-time finance, but are a gift that keeps on giving."

Caritas Aortearoa New Zealand worked with rural training centres in

Solomon Islands to help make young men and women "job ready" by

providing them with practical skills in mechanics, carpentry, and farming.

In their Talaona submission, they said:

Almost 90 percent of the Solomons is not on grid access. Most energy is

diesel-generated, which is far too costly for a regular supply of electricity.

We worked alongside the local community to set up a community-

based renewable energy pilot on Neggela Island at the Bishop Koete

Rural Training Centre. Since July last year, the Centre has had electricity

generated by a solar panel and wind turbine. As a result, the community

has gone from having three hours of diesel-generated energy per day

to having a 24 hour clean energy supply. It now has lighting, pumped

water, charging facilities for computers, phones, power tools and sewing

machines, things most of us take for granted. Our story is a positive one.

It is about how those with the least resources, the most limited funding,

and remoteness, are playing their part.

Venture Capital is beginning to fund green energy projects in underserved

markets.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation also provided seed funding to expand

the project to ten more communities. The revenue will be used by the

charitable trust established to run this program through a revolving fund to

expand to even more communities. The goal is to create a self-sustaining

model in which the initial donor funding builds the first systems and the

revenue generated supports the expansion of the program throughout

Fiji. This model, once proven, could be replicated in the Pacific region

and beyond.

Prime Minister Bainimarama said:

As we acknowledge the generosity

of Leonardo DiCaprio, we are also

seeking other donors to scale up

this program as quickly as possible

to reach the roughly 400 other

Fijian communities currently not

served by the grid. I commend it

to anyone who believes from little

things, big things grow.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is now working with Brazil on a much

larger project to replace streetlights with more efficient LED bulbs,

according to CEO Terry Tamminen:

The city of Rio Di Janeiro, and the R20, came and said, "Hey, we

want to replace our streetlights with LEDs that will save 70 percent

of the energy, and therefore reduce emissions, but we can't afford to

do it all at once." And so we put together a special purpose finance

vehicle, US$500 million, to help 13 cities replace their cities with

3939

4140


diesel generators that they use to supplement the grid, and that's the

equivalent of almost 30 million metric tonnes of carbon a year. And it's

very unhealthy, the particulates cause respiratory and other disease. So

it's a bad situation that can easily be turned into a positive one.

Investment managers are forming "impact" funds to steer money towards

climate projects.

Patrick Scheurle, CEO of BlueOrchard, talked about the creation of the

Sub-National Climate Fund for Africa:

We have put together an investment fund. It’s the sub-national climate

fund for Africa. It's a $350 million investment fund backed by the

leading global development funds. This will go live early [2019]. This

fund will not only invest US$350 million, it will unlock billions of co-

investment capital. It's scalable, it's replicable, and we will replicate

it for all the developing countries in the world.

These developments are exciting and encouraging, but Talanoa participants

over the year made clear that the green revolution will require trillions of

dollars. Unlocking those sums will require the participation of the world's

financial giants, and luckily, they are awakening.

One untapped source of trillions of dollars is pension and retirement

funds. Peter Damgaard Jensen, CEO of PKA (a Danish pension fund) and chair

of the International Investors Group on Climate Change, described his fund's

backing of green energy projects.

We started with climate-related investment back in 2011, and we

actually did it because our members wanted us to do a difference.

Nancy Pfund, a venture capitalist at a California fund called DBL, talked about

a potentially game-changing investment that her firm has recently made:

Five years ago, we decided to invest in Africa. We felt that the costs of

solar were coming down and were strong enough to address the need

for electricity in Africa where so many don't have access to electricity.

So we invested in a company called Offgrid Electric which is now called

ZOLA-Electric, and we also made a workforce investment… in Nigeria.

Today in Tanzania, Rwanda, Cote D'Ivoire, and Ghana there are over

a million customers now for solar and storage. Many of them never

had electricity before, and we have over 180,000 homes or small

businesses. There is not only a financing unity of purpose, there is also

a technology development. We are not sending tired technology. In fact

some of the most advanced technology in the world is going to be used

in the developing world, things like self-assembling grids, new inverter

technology that allows you to hook on and off the grid. This is not a case

of leftover technology, we need finance the most advanced technology

so the continent can really leapfrog and that is happening. So what we

decided to do to honour the pledge nature of this summit, was to work

with our company ZOLA, is to scale.

And to scale, we thought it's important to go into the largest country

in Africa, which is Nigeria, the largest economy and set to be larger than

the United States in population in 2050, and yet 45 percent of people

there do not have access to electricity. And so we pledge to bring clean

electricity, and storage and solar and efficient appliances to Nigeria.

We're on our way with this new technology that will allow for a more

modern approach. This is important in Nigeria 100 million people have

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The Environmental Defense Fund said:

The global use of carbon markets could allow the world to nearly

double climate ambition relative to current NDCs, meaning that we

could achieve almost double the emissions reductions at the same

total cost… Our modelling suggests that the lion's share of the gains

from global markets are due to international linking, with a much

smaller share coming from increased use of domestic carbon markets.

While this conclusion needs further analysis, it has potentially striking

implications, suggesting that carbon-pricing policies that encourage

international cooperation — such as carbon markets — may be able to

capture significantly more cost savings, and thus increased ambition,

than carbon-pricing policies that are less prone to linkage.

A global carbon market could also help reduce inequities, according to

Carbon Market Watch's submission, which argued that "polluting is too

cheap."

We started investing in offshore wind parks and [have] been building

that up since, and now have seven percent of our assets under

management in climate-related investments, and that's actually

US$3 billion. We started investing in the Nordics, and now we

are invested in many European countries, and 18 projects in the

developing world. We can see that this is a good area to invest in for

a pension fund: It's long-term, it's making a change for the climate,

and now we can see that the parks we have invested in are giving

clean energy to 3 million households. What's even better for the

pensioners, or the beneficiaries, is that these investment have given

a return of over 10 percent over the last six to seven years. So there

are opportunities out there if you look for them. and we would like

in the future to share our experience with other investors, but also to

work together with other stakeholders in this area because as both

good business and we can make a difference for the climate.

Julian Richardson, Founder of Parhelion, also explained that the insurance

industry — a giant pool of funds — can be enlisted in the climate fight by

removing the risk from green-energy projects. He gave examples such

as insuring electric battery products against battery failure, as well as

insuring against the risk of carbon credits being withdrawn. This appears

to be a field of massive, and largely untapped, opportunities to create

new products that will spur transformative uptake of new technologies.

And of course, putting a price on carbon and creating a market for carbon

credits is still a critical part of the finance solution for large economies.

Some countries said they have introduced carbon taxes or, like Singapore,

expect them to come online in the next year.

Opening of the Political Phase of the Talanoa Dialogue at COP24.

4544


Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, said, "We need to be clear on science-based

targets and a price on carbon. What we value, we measure, we treasure.

The second thing is disclosure and transparency. You cannot build trust

if you don't build it on transparency."

At the "finance Talanoa" in

San Francisco in September,

participants said, "We need the

data to show that 'green' isn't

more risky and that investing

in sustainable infrastructure

in developing countries is an

investable asset class."

The European Union said, "The

adequate, consistent, and

transparent tracking and reporting

of our results, as we progress, has

the potential to build trust for

more ambitious trajectories."

A new consortium between the University of Zurich and the University

of Southern California, among others, has recently launched, and they

will be attempting to develop methodologies and tools to better track the

impact and efficiency of climate-change projects.

We are seeing an increasing focus on disclosure.

A corollary to tracking carbon data is the global trend toward disclosure

of carbon emissions and the risks related to climate change posed to

companies across the economic spectrum, including those with assets

The big emitters currently get a free pass to pollute, while the society

at large, and disproportionately the most vulnerable groups such as

women, national minorities and indigenous communities in lower-

income countries, carry the largest burden of global warming… This

accounting error can be corrected by implementing the polluters-

pay principle. Putting an effective price on pollution can ensure that

the societal impacts of greenhouse-gas emissions on current and

future generations are incorporated in the price of goods, and thereby

incentivize behavioural change.

Long-term plans are essential to unlocking more investment.

Investments rely on certainty, and long-term planning is an essential

component of building certainty. The Marshall Islands is one of the

states that has already undertaken long-term planning to transition to a

zero-carbon economy, and its environment minister explained why such

planning is integral to the climate fight, saying:

The Marshall Islands is in the process of producing a long-term strategy.

That strategy will set out a vision of how we intend to achieve a 2050 net-

zero target and 100 percent renewable energy target. By asking ourselves

the fundamental questions of what kind of country we want to live in by

2050, we will be more proactive in our policy making. Our strategy will

provide a critical context and compass for short-term decision making,

including for the formulation and finalisation of a new and more ambitious

NDC by 2020 and every five years after that.

There is an urgent need for more transparency and better ways to monitor and

measure climate-change projects to ensure accuracy in their effects. More

data is needed to prove the business case for green investments.

President of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine and Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announce plans to enhance climate ambition at the One Planet Summit, 26 September 2018.

46


1.5 or well below 2 degrees would not be possible without a functioning

ocean.

The ocean is severely impacted by climate change at the same time it

plays a critical role in regulating climate and sequestering carbon at a

global scale. The Ocean Pathway will now: (1.) Work with parties and

partners to establish a “Friends of the Ocean” process that will provide

a safe space for parties to discuss, debate and implement the various

options for the ocean in the UNFCCC starting in Bangkok and in each

UNFCCC conference until 2020; and (2.) support the work of parties and

partners to raise the role of the ocean in existing processes within the

UNFCCC and for action for a healthy ocean in the Global Climate Action

agenda. Willing parties are invited to join the “Friends of the Ocean”

process that starts in Bangkok that can advocate and support an effective

work programme and potential agenda item on the ocean for COP25.

While most of the focus has been on renewables, some participants said

that the majority of their emissions do not come from the energy sector, but

rather, from sectors such as industry, transportation, construction, forestry

and food. This presents an opportunity because there might be novel ways to

tied up in fossil fuel. There is now a mix of voluntary and mandatory

disclosure occurring, which is being pushed by the Taskforce on Climate-

Related Financial Disclosures.

CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, provided a perspective on the

trend toward greater disclosure of carbon risk:

Investors with assets of $87 trillion, 6,300 companies, 570 cities and

100 states and regions use CDP’s global disclosure platform. Disclosure

leads to insight, which in turn leads to action….

Since 2016, CDP has released annual analysis on the climate actions

of a sample of global, high-impact companies. Our research shows

that business is picking up the pace. Spurred by the Paris Agreement,

and the signals of future legislation, more leading companies are

taking action and embedding low-carbon goals into their long-term

future business plans. We’ve seen an increase in companies reporting

emissions reductions targets, setting them to at least 2020 and

mapping out actions to 2030 and beyond.

Oceans are severely damaged by climate change, but the Paris Agreement

framework has not yet placed enough emphasis on them.

The Ocean Pathway group, co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, said:

The reality of ocean change and climate change is obvious for those whose

livelihoods depend on the ocean. For islanders and those living on the

coasts, the change in the ocean is reflected in shifts in weather patterns,

extreme ocean and -weather events, rising ocean temperatures and the

impacts on fisheries and livelihoods… The Ocean Pathway recognises

that achieving the ambition of the Paris agreement of limiting warming to 47

4948


Costa Rica and Guyana are both carbon-sink nations, meaning that they

absorb more carbon dioxide than they produce, largely due to their

forests. Both are developing programs that appear to help facilitate

REDD+ investments.

Indonesia noted that forestry, not energy, is its main source of greenhouse

emissions. Preserving forests and preventing peat fires are therefore top

priorities in meeting its NDCs.

Poland also mentioned its extensive forests: “Forests also play an

important role in the Polish landscape — they cover almost 30 percent of

our territory, but, above all, they also play an important role in mitigating

climate change, as they store over 800 million tons of carbon in biomass

in Poland alone. Yet forests not only store a lot of carbon, but have a

large mitigation potential, which can be further increased through the

implementation of additional activities in sustainably managing them.

Poland has taken on this challenge: the State Forests have launched the

Carbon Forests pilot project, which has already started in 2017 and will

go until 2026 in its pilot phase.

Senegal is working to increase access to clean and sustainable domestic

fuel in order to reduce deforestation.

Agriculture and food production are a focus for some countries.

In their submissions, New Zealand said:

For New Zealand, the “how to get there” story includes the facts that

agriculture makes up half of our emissions and we produce almost as

much methane as carbon dioxide. Agriculture accounts for 10 percent

dramatically reduce emissions by focusing on these areas.

Singapore pointed out that its main source of emissions is industry:

As a city-state with a small domestic market and no natural

resources, we have developed an export-oriented economy that is

highly dependent on international trade to support the livelihoods

of our people… As a result of our export-oriented economy, the

industry sector accounted for about 60 percent of Singapore's overall

greenhouse-gas emissions in 2012, with 70 percent coming from

our refining and chemicals cluster.

Singapore introduced the Energy Conservation Act in 2013 and

strengthened it in 2018. The law "mandates energy-intensive companies

in the industrial sector to appoint a qualified energy manager, monitor

and report their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and to submit

energy efficiency improvement plans on an annual basis."

Many states see the Paris Agreement process as an opportunity to protect

their forests.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, on behalf of the 52 members of the

Coalition for Rainforest Nations, said:

Our future must be defined by two shifts — removals and renewables

…Thankfully, nature can help with removals. And we have the

REDD+ mechanism as a foundation. With proper support, the REDD+

mechanism can help humanity slow, stop and reverse forest loss.

Scaling up forest areas will become increasingly critical and are a

bridge to a world of renewables.

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I'm personally very passionate about the food- and land-use system

because it's about 37 percent of the climate-change solution. It was

Hubert Reeves, a Canadian philosopher, who said, "Man is the most

insane species. He worships an invisible god and destroys a visible

nature, not realising that the visible nature he destroys is the invisible

god he worships." Food and land use is 37 percent of the climate

solution, it only gets three percent of our attention. It is a natural

solution that restores our biodiversity of the forests, and it preserves

the species on which we depend.

Transportation is another crucial sector when it comes to greenhouse-gas emissions.

The Transport Decarbonization Alliance said in their submission:

“Transport is responsible for 25 percent of CO2 emissions due to fuel

combustion. It is the only sector which has growing greenhouse gas

emissions.… Countries have to step up. Only around 8 percent of

countries have sectoral GHG emission-reduction targets for transport,

and few have comprehensive sustainable mobility plans. The TDA

country members Costa Rica, Finland, France, Luxembourg, the

Netherlands and Portugal aim to be front runners and scale up the

national ambition for the transport sector. Cities have to increase

action as well, as they are the major growth centers and they host

the majority of people. There are many success stories of cities

implementing sustainable transport, and the TDA city members Gaia,

Lisbon, Matosinhos, Porto and Rotterdam will contribute to better

and cleaner transport systems. We see many companies introducing

new mobility services and products, for example the bike-sharing

revolution in China, various new transport solutions and clean vehicles

for passenger and freight transport.”

of our GDP. The primary

sector produces 70 percent

of our exports. That means

it has to be part of our

climate response… Now, you

can replace fossil fuel with

sustainable energy, but there

isn’t an obvious substitute for

food. It has a life cycle that

inevitably emits greenhouse

gases. We know that global demand for food will increase between

20 and 30 percent by 2030 and the world may need 60–70 percent

more food production by 2050… So we initiated the Global Research

Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. It has 49 member countries

covering 69 percent of global agriculture emissions and 17 international

partners. The aim is to leverage leading international researchers

to achieve a triple win: improving agricultural productivity, lowering

greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience. Scientists

in the Alliance are working on paddy rice, livestock and cropping, and

they cover a wide range of climates… New Zealand has made large

investments in agricultural research because we believe it’s possible to

crack this challenge and that it will lead to major opportunities.

Switzerland and Japan are also investing in agriculture as a way to reduce

greenhouse-gas emissions, both with hopes of generating international

markets for their products and services.

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, agreed that more attention needs to go to

food and land use.

Talanoa participants at the UNFCCC May Sessions.

5352


of us, and we all are looking for solutions."

Many participants are pursuing research aimed at creating more breakthroughs

in science and technology that will contribute to the clean-energy revolution.

Australia has worked with other nations on Mission Innovation, a global

initiative to increase public investment in clean-energy research and

development to accelerate breakthroughs in clean energy technologies.

Australia has pledged to double public expenditure on clean energy

research and development between 2015 and 2020.

Singapore is working with other nations to create much more efficient

photovoltaic cells.

Messaging is key. "Health" may persuade where "climate" fails.

One of the most important messages we heard was about branding. Governor

Schwarzenegger was among several participants who stressed the importance

of talking about health when building public support for climate action:

I remember back when I was governor, we could not convince the

people of California when we talked about global climate change to

move in our direction. And the way we started convincing [people],

and the poll numbers [on climate action] changed, was when we

started talking about the health aspect of pollution, and we talked

about their kids getting asthma early on. And this is what I'm trying to

tell the rest of the world: You can talk about climate change and you

can talk about what is going to happen in the future if you continue

… relying so much on fossil fuels, you can talk about that, but don't

forget to talk about the health aspect, and don't forget to talk about

the aspect that many people die every year because of pollution.

Singapore also spoke about their focus on transportation:

We were the first city to introduce the road-usage charges during peak

hours as early as 1975, and bidding of a limited pool of certificates

to own cars and use limited road space for ten years in 1990. Most

recently this year, we imposed a cap on the growth rate of our private

vehicles permitted on the roads, to 0 percent (from 0.25 percent

previously). That means that for every new car that is permitted to be

on the roads, an old car would need to be scrapped or exported.

Building construction has been somewhat overlooked.

The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction wrote in its submission:

Accounting for 36 percent of global final energy use and 39 percent of

energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, the Building and Construction

sector is a high-impact sector for climate mitigation. Current energy

efficiency improvement rates of 1.5 percent are encouraging, but do not

keep pace with the 2.3 percent of floor space added every year. We need

to improve the energy intensity of the global buildings sector on average

by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2015, to be on track for the Paris

Agreement ambition. With the urbanisation trends over the next 15 years

and the existing housing deficit, we have a unique window of opportunity

to climate-proof the large investments that will be made in this sector.

132 NDCs mention the buildings sector, but many lack reference to

building energy codes, certification and high-efficiency technologies.

Some countries also made this point. Following its own national Talanoa

series, Finland found that "electricity production is not the problem; that

sector is decarbonizing nicely through renewables. The challenge is with

the other industries, such as cement production. This is not easy for any

5554


they start projects on their own and this energy should be leveraged

by countries through climate education. Of course, in the future, the

children you educate today will take this education to their future jobs.

There's a lot of potential in educating young people, also because young

people do see possibilities, where one might see obstacles. Young people

naturally think out of the box and believe in change."

Civil society can play an important role in spreading the message of climate

urgency and building public support for the radical and immediate changes

that are required.

Emele Duituturaga, Executive Director of PIANGO, said:

Transformation is about changing hearts and minds. We may have

agreements, policies, many of sessions, but [we must] change hearts

and minds, and I think this is where civil society can assist.

The Pacific has a very rich fabric of civil society. The Pacific Council

of Churches has been at the forefront of nuclear-free Pacific. Faith-

based organisations. Community based organisations. Women. Youth.

Disability. Sport. Human rights and advocacy. Pacific climate warriors.

Prayer warriors. Civil society may not be visible at this level, but we

are active at the local level, and at the global level. We are active

in New York. We are active in Brussels. We are active around the

world…We affirm the grand coalition. Ten years ago when nobody was

talking about 1.5, civil society campaigned for "1.5 to stay alive. “We

joined leaders in keeping this ambition high. We can play the outside

strategies while you are negotiating on the inside.

We believe that this idea applies across the world, just as it does in the

Pacific.

Participants in the Finance Talanoa agreed. “Focusing more on health

impacts of climate could result in broader support and open new doors

for funding for climate actions and appeal to cities and their scope of

jurisdiction," they concluded.

Good governance also has an important role to play.

ParlAmericas has been working to integrate climate science in national

parliaments to inform their decision-making processes better and engage

in dialogue with government, the private sector, academia and civil society

in order to understand the challenges and the opportunities presented by

climate change that will shape their countries’ future.

Education/Youth leadership and inclusion is also important.

Luja von Köckritz from YOUNGO said:

I wanted to share a short story on that with you: I've been to Fiji last

October, through a German-Fijian youth exchange, and I stayed with

a family on a small island in Fiji. One day, the mother of that family

came to me and asked me if I could help her little daughter with her

homework. I was wondering, how I could be able to help an eight-year-

old Fijian girl with her homework, but I discovered the topic was actually

climate change. There were a lot of questions like “what kind of impact

is Fiji going to experience”, and “what is Fiji doing to combat that?” That

is a really nice example of what we should do on education. We need to

start with it already in primary school. Many young people who attend

UNFCCC conferences go to schools and talk about these conferences. By

doing so, they connect people with our discussions here. I also did that,

and we all feel that both the students and the schools are very open.

They are very curious. This way the students get very inspired, get energy,

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We hope that these stories from our Talanoa sessions throughout the world have

given you a fresh perspective on our response to the climate challenge, as they

did for those who took part. There was a great deal of scepticism, even cynicism,

when the Talanoa concept was first floated. Yet when they began to get underway

and people began to Talanoa — to listen as well as speak — those present could feel

the atmosphere in the room changing. As the exchange of ideas and best practices

progressed, a distinct feeling of empathy and unity against a common challenge

emerged. This is because more than anything else, climate change is a threat to

the only planet we all call home — our precious Planet Earth. And we must all do

whatever we can to protect ourselves and each other.

As COP23 President, Prime Minister Bainimarama has referred many times to

the whole world being in the same canoe when it comes to climate change. And

it is only by all of us paddling together in the same direction that the global

community can overcome this challenge — what the Prime Minister has described

as the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.

We hope these stories have, as they have for us, not only broadened your

understanding of the experiences of others confronting the same challenge, but

inspired you to more ambitious climate action yourself. For no matter how old we

are, we can all make a difference.

Finally, we hope that you are as inspired as we are to continue the Talanoa

journey and support the Talanoa Call for Action. This call for Action from the

COP Presidencies of two very different countries, Fiji and Poland, recognises the

urgency and opportunity in taking action now.

CONCLUSION

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Climate action is on the rise, but not at the speed and scale we need.

Actors in all countries, including Parties and non-Party stakeholders at

the national, regional and community levels are already taking action.

Pre-2020 action is vital for putting the world on a path towards achieving

the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. But it is not only governments

that must act. Non-Party stakeholders can and should join in pre-2020

action and complement action by states.

According to the science, global emissions continue to rise. This leaves a

significant gap in the effort needed to limit global warming to well below

2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to

limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The IPCC Special

Report on 1.5 degrees highlights, among other things, the benefits of

holding warming to below 1.5 degrees. It also concludes that to keep

global warming within 1.5 degrees, global emissions need to be halved

by 2030. And according to the Paris Agreement, in the second half of the

century, we aim to achieve net-zero emissions, on the basis of equity, and

in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.

The window for action is closing fast — we need to do more and we need to

do it now. We may have already caused warming of 1 degree Celsius and we

can no longer push significant and effective action further down the road.

Existing possibilities to limit global warming must now be matched with

the necessary will and engagement of all levels of government and society.

The key messages emerging from the Talanoa Dialogue and synthesis

report can show the way forward. They can inform Parties’ Nationally

Determined Contributions by 2020, as well as their participation in the

2019 Secretary-General's Climate Summit, the High-level Political Forum

on Sustainable Development and other important processes.

We must fulfil the goals of the Paris Agreement.

FROM AMBITION TO ACTION / LET'S TALANOA FOR CHANGE

TALANOA CALL FOR ACTIONBy the Presidents of COP 23 and COP 24

In the Pacific tradition of Talanoa, the world came together this past year

to share experiences and help make wise decisions to inspire a global

response to the threat of a changing climate. People shared stories of the

widespread devastation already inflicted on our communities by climate

change, and the increasing risks for human and food security. They also

shared stories of ambitious action already being taken all over the world

in response to these threats.

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COP23 President and Fijian Prime Minister Bainimarama and COP24 President Michał Kurtyka with youth champions Timoci Naulusala and Hanna Wojdowska at the close of the Political Phase of the Talanoa Dialogue at COP24.

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• Many solutions already exist and more can be developed. They can

take us forward and we must act now to start the transformation.

Climate action brings opportunities for economic growth and gains in

productivity. We must demonstrate bold leadership.

• Climate action must remain at the top of the political and strategic

agendas of world leaders. They must now translate the global vision of

the Paris Agreement into national and local action, provide the necessary

resources, and motivate and mobilize all stakeholders to help support

and deliver a net-zero emission and climate-resilient future. We must

act together.

• Multilateralism and cooperation will enable us to address problems

together, find solutions, and build consensus for the common good.

Only a global coalition of actors — including Parties, national and

sub-national governments, private sector companies, the investment

community, civil society and all non-Party stakeholders — can take

us there. We call upon Heads of State and Government to maintain

climate action at the top of the political agenda. Governments must

continue to strengthen national policies and regulatory and institutional

frameworks that deliver action and support until 2020 and beyond;

provide grounds for bold, integrated and coherent policies; and, create

a stable environment that stimulates investment in and action on

adaptation, mitigation and building climate resilience.

We recognize governments must anticipate and address any negative

effects, particularly on workers. We call upon Parties to work closely

with non-Party stakeholders to enhance global ambition by 2020 and

to develop long-term, low-emission development strategies. Together,

• We saw overwhelming support for the Paris Agreement and its goals.

We agreed to hold temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and

to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees. We must achieve a just

transformation towards a better world.

• We celebrate a vision — shared by many — of a better world. A world

with universal access to sustainable and affordable energy sources,

emissions-neutral infrastructure and buildings, zero-emission transport

systems, energy efficient industries, and the elimination of waste by

reducing, recycling or reusing all materials. A world of productive and

efficient carbon reservoirs and sinks. A world of clean air, climate-

resilient food production; healthy lands, forests and oceans; an end to

ecosystem degradation; and, sustainable lifestyles worldwide.

• In this transformation, based on nationally defined development

priorities, no one should be left behind. The benefits of this journey

must be spread across society and, in getting there, a just transition

must be available for all. We must unlock the full potential of technology.

Talanoa Talks speakers at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, 29 November 2018.


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We call on everyone to engage with the concerns that climate change poses

for youth, and to take decisive action that leads to better opportunities,

security and wellbeing for young people, today and in the future. We

call upon decision-makers to adjust education systems to help young

people understand, address and adapt to global warming. We call upon

everyone to take forward a clear signal from the Talanoa Dialogue. We call

upon everyone to act with urgency and recognize that we are in a race

against time — we must act now to ensure sustainable development and

the preservation of life on earth as we know it.

Parties, working with non-Party stakeholders including sub-national

governments, should pursue efforts to strengthen mitigation and

adaptation commensurate with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

They must work together in the planning and pursuit of low emissions

and climate-resilient development.

We call upon government and international agencies to step up financial,

technical and technological cooperation. We must ensure the resources,

technology and capacity for climate action are widely shared, and the

barriers in the way of unlocking potential are removed. We also call

upon governments and non-Party stakeholders to scale-up cooperation

and resources for research and development, and transfer technologies

for achieving low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient

development. We call upon private sector leaders to be drivers of change.

We call upon the business community — from large, medium and small-

sized enterprises, investors and entrepreneurs — to establish technology

and science-based targets and transition plans, provide leadership in

their sectors and supply chains, cultivate innovation and creativity, and

invest in pursuit of the goals of the Paris Agreement. We call upon civil

society leaders to marshal the public and political will needed to drive

action. We call upon them to engage political leadership, influence and

challenge norms, enhance awareness, and mobilize action at the regional,

state and local levels. We call on spiritual leaders to unlock spiritual

pathways for addressing climate change. We call on them to help their

followers reconnect with the wonders of nature and creation, nurture love

for the planet and foster compassion and reconciliation. We call on the

youth of the world to mobilize at a larger scale to ensure that their future

is secure.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel,and UN Secretary General António Guterres with youth champion Timoci Naulusala at the opening of the High-Level Segment at COP23.

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COP23 Presidency Secretariatwww.cop23.com.fj/talanoa-dialogue

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Talanoa Dialogue - Cop23 · 2019-03-28 · negotiations as President of COP23 determined to make the process more inclusive and more ambitious. As the acronym suggests, COP is a formal