At the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, COP 21, governments agreed that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action is urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Action must come from governments, cities, regions, businesses and investors. Everyone has a role to play in effectively implementing the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement formally acknowledges the urgent need to scale up our global response to climate change, which supports even greater ambition from governments. The commitments from all actors are recognized in the decision text of the Paris Agreement, including those launched through the Lima–Paris Action Agenda.
Action for Climate Empowerment
Credit: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska
Climate Neutral Now
The Climate Neutral Now Initiative is one of several initiatives launched by the UNFCCC secretariat to increase climate action by engaging non-Party stakeholders (sub-national governments, companies, organizations, individuals). It was launched in 2015 based on a mandate to promote the voluntary use of carbon market mechanisms recognized under the Convention.
It has evolved to become a much wider tool for awareness-raising, capacity building, partnership development, promoting and facilitating the estimation of carbon footprints, the reduction of those footprints, and voluntary compensation (offsetting).
An organization can become a participant by signing the Climate Neutral Now Pledge, following the three steps (Measure, Reduce, Contribute) and reporting on its actions and achievements annually.
There are many benefits in becoming a participant of the Climate Neutral Now Initiative, including:
Sectoral Engagement for Climate Action
Sectoral engagement aims to enable an effective collaboration within an industry in order to enhance climate action in support of the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. Relevant actors are brought into the global dialogue on climate action to identify challenges and create a forum where these are discussed and addressed collectively.
Currently, UN Climate Change has initiated climate action initiatives in collaboration with two sectors: the fashion industry and the sports community. Both sectors’ voluntary stakeholders convene to develop a coherent, unified position on climate. Their work programmes aim to connect the diverse stakeholders within their respective industries, to identify new areas for action and to scale up existing initiatives that connect the value chain.
