Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment

Decision 18/CP.26

Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment

Theme
Tags 
Event 
COP26
Year 
2021

Gender reference

Reaffirming the key role that a broad range of stakeholders, such as national, regional and local governments, educational and cultural institutions, museums, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, decision makers, scientists, the media, teachers, youth, women and indigenous peoples, play in ensuring Action for Climate Empowerment,

I. Guiding principles

3. The Glasgow work programme shall be guided by:

(d) A gender and intergenerational approach;

IV. Implementing the six elements of Action for Climate Empowerment

A. Parties and non-Party stakeholders

1. Education

18. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate on, promote, facilitate, develop and implement formal and non-formal education and training programmes focused on climate change at all levels, targeting the involvement of women and youth in particular, including by organizing exchanges or secondments of personnel to provide training for experts.

B. Parties

3. Public awareness

27. Parties are encouraged to:

(g) Create communities of practice, knowledge and learning that are available and accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, including women, children and youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

4. Public access to information

28. Parties are encouraged to:

(f) Improve public access to information on climate change at the national and local level using a range of methods and tools, taking into account the different ways particular communities, groups and individuals, including women and children and youth, may be impacted by climate change.

5. Public participation

29. Parties are encouraged to:

(a) Seek public participation and input, including from youth, women, civil society organizations and other groups, in formulating and implementing efforts to address climate change and in relation to preparing national communications, and encourage the involvement and participation of representatives of all stakeholders and major groups in the climate change negotiation process;

(b) Foster the participation of all stakeholders in ACE implementation and invite them to report thereon. In particular, enhance the active participation of youth, women, civil society organizations and the media;

Elaborated language

The Conference of the Parties and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement,

Also recalling decisions 15/CP.18, 19/CP.20, 17/CP.22, 15/CP.25 and 17/CMA.1,

Further recalling decisions 17/CP.22 and 17/CMA.1, in which it was decided that efforts related to implementing Article 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement should be referred to as Action for Climate Empowerment,

Reaffirming the importance of all six elements of Action for Climate Empowerment – education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and international cooperation on climate change – to achieving the objective of the Convention and the purpose and goals of the Paris Agreement,

Recognizing that Action for Climate Empowerment plays a key role in promoting the changes in lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours needed to foster low-emission, climate resilient and sustainable development,

Reaffirming the key role that a broad range of stakeholders, such as national, regional and local governments, educational and cultural institutions, museums, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, decision makers, scientists, the media, teachers, youth, women and indigenous peoples, play in ensuring Action for Climate Empowerment,

[...]

Annex

Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment

I. Guiding principles

1. The Glasgow work programme on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) sets out the scope of and provides the basis for activities related to implementing ACE in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. The work programme serves as a flexible framework for country-driven action that addresses the specific needs and circumstances of Parties and reflects their national priorities and initiatives while building long-term capacity and expertise in developed and developing countries for implementing ACE, including by promoting strong domestic enabling environments.

2. The Glasgow work programme builds on work undertaken in response to relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). 

3. The Glasgow work programme shall be guided by:

(a) A country-driven approach;

(b) Cost-effectiveness;

(c) Flexibility;

(d) A gender and intergenerational approach;

(e) A phased approach that integrates activities under Article 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement into climate change programmes and strategies;

(f) The promotion of partnerships, networks and synergies, in particular synergies among conventions;

(g) An interdisciplinary multisectoral, multi-stakeholder and participatory approach;

(h) A holistic systematic approach;

(i) The principles of sustainable development.

IV. Implementing the six elements of Action for Climate Empowerment

A. Parties and non-Party stakeholders

17. As part of their national programmes to implement the Convention and the Paris Agreement, and taking into account national circumstances, Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to undertake activities under the six ACE elements, which are listed in paragraphs 18–23 below.

1. Education

18. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate on, promote, facilitate, develop and implement formal and non-formal education and training programmes focused on climate change at all levels, targeting the involvement of women and youth in particular, including by organizing exchanges or secondments of personnel to provide training for experts.

2. Training

19. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate on, promote, facilitate, develop and implement training programmes focused on climate change for groups with a key role in climate action, such as scientific, technical and managerial personnel, journalists, teachers and community leaders at the international, national, regional, subregional and local level, as appropriate. Technical skills and knowledge are required to adequately address and respond to climate change issues.

3. Public awareness

20. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to cooperate in, promote, facilitate, develop and implement public awareness programmes on climate change and its effects at the national and, as appropriate, subregional, regional and international level by, inter alia, encouraging individuals to contribute to and take their own action to address climate change, supporting climate-friendly policies and fostering behavioural change, including through the use of popular media, noting the important role that social media platforms and strategies can play in this context.

4. Public access to information

21. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to facilitate public access to data and information by providing information on climate change initiatives, policies and results of actions that enables the public and other stakeholders to understand, address and respond to climate change. This should take into account such factors as quality of Internet access, level of literacy and language differences.

5. Public participation

22. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to promote public participation in addressing climate change and its effects and in developing adequate responses by facilitating feedback, debate and partnership in relation to climate change activities and relevant governance, noting the important role that social media platforms and strategies can play in this context.

6. International cooperation

23. Parties and non-Party stakeholders are encouraged to promote subregional, regional and international cooperation in undertaking activities within the framework of the Glasgow work programme, which has the potential to enhance the collective ability of Parties to implement the Convention and the Paris Agreement. Intergovernmental organizations and NGOs can also contribute to its implementation. Such cooperation can further enhance synergies of action under different conventions and improve the effectiveness of all sustainable development efforts.

B. Parties

24. As part of their national programmes and activities in implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement, and within the framework of the Glasgow work programme, Parties could undertake the activities listed in paragraphs 25–30 below, as appropriate.

1. Education

25. Parties are encouraged to:

(a) Integrate climate change learning into the curricula of schools and other institutions that provide formal education, and support non-formal and informal education on climate change, including respect for and inclusion of indigenous and traditional knowledge;

(b) Strengthen education, training and skills development in national institutions to deliver action on climate change learning.

2. Training

26. Parties are encouraged to:

(a) Develop tools and methodologies for supporting climate change training and skills development through collaboration, and provide training programmes for groups with a key role in climate change communication and education, including journalists, teachers, academics, youth, children and community leaders;

(b) Enhance the capacity of teachers and academics to integrate climate into their curricula by developing materials and promoting training focused on climate change at the regional and international level, where appropriate;

(c) Train government officials from different ministries and departments, including those working in local government, on how climate change relates to their respective areas of work with a view to strengthening institutional and technical capacity.

3. Public awareness

27. Parties are encouraged to: (a) Inform the public on the causes of climate change and sources of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as on actions that can be taken at all levels to address climate change;

(b) Encourage the public to contribute to mitigation and adaptation actions as part of public awareness programmes;

(c) Develop strategies for communicating on climate change on the basis of targeted sociological research with a view to encouraging behavioural change;

(d) Conduct surveys, including of knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and practices, to establish the level of public awareness of climate issues, which can serve as a basis for further work and support the monitoring of the impact of activities;

(e) Develop criteria for identifying good practices for ACE and disseminate information thereon, at the national or regional level according to national circumstances and capacities, and promote the sharing of such practices;

(f) Conduct government campaigns to inform the public on issues such as climate change, climate action and vulnerabilities, including through social media, electronic communication, festivals and cultural events, or by partnering with urban and rural local communities;

(g) Create communities of practice, knowledge and learning that are available and accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, including women, children and youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

4. Public access to information

28. Parties are encouraged to:

(a) Increase the availability of copyright-free and translated material on climate change, in accordance with laws and standards relating to the protection of copyrighted material;

(b) Seek opportunities to widely disseminate information on climate change. Measures could include translating information into other languages, as appropriate, and distributing simplified versions of key documents on climate change, including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports;

(c) Include accurate information on climate change science and mitigation on national and subnational government websites;

(d) Make scientific information on climate change mitigation and adaptation freely available and accessible to the public; 

(e) Make national climate reports available in local languages for vulnerable communities, including people with special needs;

(f) Improve public access to information on climate change at the national and local level using a range of methods and tools, taking into account the different ways particular communities, groups and individuals, including women and children and youth, may be impacted by climate change.

5. Public participation

29. Parties are encouraged to:

(a) Seek public participation and input, including from youth, women, civil society organizations and other groups, in formulating and implementing efforts to address climate change and in relation to preparing national communications, and encourage the involvement and participation of representatives of all stakeholders and major groups in the climate change negotiation process;

(b) Foster the participation of all stakeholders in ACE implementation and invite them to report thereon. In particular, enhance the active participation of youth, women, civil society organizations and the media;

(c) Establish public–private or public–non-profit partnerships between national ACE focal points for implementing ACE activities (e.g. university partnerships);

(d) Hold frequent, inclusive civil society consultations on climate decisionmaking, including follow-up processes with specific outcomes such as feedback surveys that enable participants to express how they feel their input was used;

(e) Develop guidelines for enhancing public participation in climate change decision-making and the inclusion of children and youth, and for assisting local governments and the public in climate change decision-making.

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