6. June 2019

Until 2020 all parties that ratified the Paris Agreement must revise their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and develop long-term goals to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Since the first NDCs are not ambitious enough the revision of the targets is absolutely necessary. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all over the world criticize the current lag of ambition and fulfil an important role as “watchdogs” as well as catalyst for a transparent and ambitious climate policy that keeps tracks of the 1.5°C target. The “Global NDC Conference” that takes place in Berlin from 12th-14th June 2019 wants to contribute to the implementation and updating of the NDCs. It aims to inspire and enable policy makers and practitioners to accelerate the pace and scale of transformational change via NDC implementation in order to reach the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. The question is how rapid action can be achieved.

UfU and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) will offer answers to that question during a breakout session at the conference. On June 13, 2:15 pm – 4:00 pm they will present first results of their current project “Strengthen civil society for the implementation of national climate policy”. The aim of the project is to enhance the possibilities of participation for civil society organizations in national climate policy in Georgia, Ukraine and Colombia. While BUND strengthens in close cooperation with the partner organizations their climate-political profiles and activities, UfU gives scientific support to the project, e.g. by taking a closer look to questions related to civil society participation in climate policies. As a result, a study on the Status Quo and good practices of civil society participation will be published, while for each partner country, measures leading to the improvement of civil society participation in climate protection strategies will be defined.

The breakout session will highlight the importance and potentials of civil society participation in the NDC process. Representatives from CSOs of Georgia, Ukraine and Colombia will present good practice examples where active engagement of civil society organizations leads to more transparency, higher ambition, stronger acceptance and faster implementation of climate action. Participants will learn about, analyse and discuss different approaches to civil society participation, as well as challenges to it, during planning and implementation phases of climate policies.

More information on the workshop:
June 13, 2019, 2:15 pm – 4:00 pm: “Civil society – forgotten and underestimated potentials for ambitious climate action”

Conference programme:
Global NDC Conference 2019