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Press
Release
Alliances for Climate Action’s Global Call to Action
We are in the midst of a deep global transformation. Human society as we know it – the
way in which we
power our homes and industries, move around, and produce our food – needs to shift if we
are to give
every person around the world the chance of a dignified life while avoiding a collapse
of the biophysical
systems that sustain us.
The latest scientific reports confirm that we are at a pivotal moment for humanity. The
climate crisis is
upon us, as is a deepening crisis for nature, further exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic. The
harbingers of what will happen if we don’t act – growing fires from western Canada and
the United
States to Australia, floods from China to Europe, droughts from South America to Africa
– are all around
us.
We can no longer stay on the sidelines. The time to act is now, and we have the tools to
make it happen.
This coming decade, 2021-2030, is the decisive one if we are to meet the Paris
Agreement’s goal of
keeping global temperatures from rising above 1.5°C relative to preindustrial levels and
avoid the worst
impacts of climate change:
- This is the decade when we must decouple human
wellbeing from the burning of coal, oil, gas,
forests and grasslands, shift our reliance to sustainable forms of renewable energy,
clean
transport, regenerative agriculture, and reinvest in the natural ecosystems that
sustain life on
earth.
- This is the decade when we must cut global greenhouse
emissions in half, invest in our climate
preparedness, and usher an irreversible transition to net-zero, resilient societies
by 2050.
- This is also the decade when we must build a new
social contract to bring this transition to
fruition, with full recognition that everyone must take a part, and that no one may
be left
behind as we transition away from carbon-intensive industries and look to rebuild
from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
National governments have a critical role to play through their long-term signals,
policies and
investments. We – subnational, local and tribal governments, the private sector,
academic, faith and
cultural institutions, civil society organizations and so many others - are also
essential to reaching our
goals. Our commitments to date are significant. When accounting for the commitments of
all
subnational and non-state actors across the world to date, we could help bring the world
close to the
range of a 2°C compatible pathway. But science tells us that we need more.
If we are to keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5°C, we require an
unprecedented
mobilization across the world. We need a whole-of-society approach, in which national
governments,
subnational and non-state institutions and citizens, each joins in the challenge to be a
force for good,
helping each of our countries address our development needs and recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic
while solving the climate crisis. Everyone has a part to play, and each of us must step
up.
As national governments prepare to meet in Rome, Italy for the G20 meeting and in
Glasgow, Scotland
for the 26th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP26) at the end of this month,
we call on G20 and other
national leaders to demonstrate your resolve to address the climate crisis
by:
- Enhancing national
climate commitments in
line with the goals of reducing global emissions by
50% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions no later than
2050. We urge
national governments to come with such pledges to COP26, and if not aligned by then,
revisit
and strengthen your 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions and 2050 long-term
strategies in
time for the UNFCCC’s Global Stocktake (GST) in 2023.
- Aligning national
sectoral policies and
public investment, including COVID-19 recovery
spending, with these same goals. We call on national governments to
develop actionable
roadmaps and supportive regulatory incentives to phase out coal and expand renewable
energy
supply in alignment with net zero pathways and in the context of a just transition,
electrify uses
across the transport, building and other sectors, enhance the capacity of working
lands to
sequester carbon while ensuring food security, and protect natural ecosystems in
your
countries. We also call on G20 national governments to support national processes of
transition
in developing countries, including through the delivery of the commitment to provide
$100
billion in international climate finance per year by 2020 and its enhancement in the
post-2020
period.
- Harnessing the power
of subnational and
non-state institutions in your countries. We urge
national governments to involve us - subnational governments, private sector,
academia and
civil society - in the design of targets and sectoral policies with enduring
governance
mechanisms for participation. We call on national governments to recognize our
contributions,
and integrate our actions in national government plans to accelerate the
implementation of our
countries’ commitments. We urge national governments to create positive fiscal and
regulatory
incentives that enable our institutions to take even stronger climate actions,
thereby fostering a
positive ‘ambition loop’ in support of national commitments. Lastly, we call on
national
governments to support our role within the broader framework of the Paris Agreement,
by
endorsing the implementation of the High-Level Champions’ (HLCs) plan for improved
work
under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA), and our inputs as
part of
the Global Stocktake (GST).
We also call on our fellow subnational governments,
companies, investors,
academic, cultural and faith
institutions, civil society organizations and other institutions to do our
part to help deliver and
surpass our respective countries’ climate targets by:
- Taking action to
contribute to the goals of
reducing global emissions by 50% from 2010 levels
by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions no later than 2050. In line
with the UN-backed global
Race to Zero Campaign, we urge subnational and non-state actors to implement
immediate
measures to address our institutions’ carbon footprint and climate risk, improve
targets to align
with the goals above, and publicly disclose our commitments and progress.
- Publicly supporting
national targets and
sectoral policies that align with 50% global emission
reductions by 2030 and net-zero no later than 2050. We call on
subnational and non-state
institutions to engage with our national governments, offering our contributions,
sharing our
lessons learned, and providing recommendations for how policies can be improved to
accelerate national transitions to net-zero.
- Joining forces with
other subnational and
non-state institutions to accelerate the transition to
net-zero in our countries. We urge subnational and non-state actors to
collaborate with peers in
our countries, by aligning targets and tackling implementation bottlenecks jointly,
aligning
policy recommendations, and contributing to building public awareness and support
for more
ambitious national climate action.
Through Alliances for Climate
Action, over 6000 cities, state, regional and tribal governments,
companies, investors, faith, cultural and academic institutions and civil society
organizations have come
together in our respective national alliances to accelerate national transitions aligned
with 1.5°C and
net-zero in our countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Mexico,
South Africa, the
United States and Viet Nam. We are acting now.
The G20 and UNFCCC COP26 need to provide an unmistakable message that the world will
work together
to power the transition to net-zero, resilient societies by 2050, and deliver the
emission reductions and
climate preparedness by 2030 to make this transition unstoppable.
We stand ready to work with our national governments and other subnational and non-state
institutions based on the best available scientific knowledge to support the delivery of
nationally
driven transitions around the world. Join us.
