Rådet medverkar
The climate negotiations at COP29 in Baku concluded overtime. Ultimately, the parties reached an agreement on extended financing until 2035, which was one of the key issues. While many had hoped for a more ambitious outcome, the agreement forms an important foundation for advancing global climate efforts and for the next COP meeting, to be held in Brazil in 2025. The Swedish Climate Policy Council was present to strengthen the global contribution of independent national climate councils.
The Climate Policy Council’s chair, Åsa Persson, participated during the first week and greatly benefited from the panel discussions and meetings organized by the International Climate Council Network (ICCN).
She participated in two ICCN-initiated sessions. One was a panel discussion at the opening of Sweden’s official pavilion, which focused on the role and contributions of climate councils in the climate transition. The other was an expert dialogue in Ukraine’s pavilion about priority areas for investment in decarbonisation in Ukraine.
ICCN currently brings together 25 independent climate councils that provide recommendations to their respective governments and monitor climate policies.About ten of them were represented at COP29, including those from Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, and Belgium.
Anna Volckerts from the Swedish Council’s secretariat also participated in meetings with these representatives and shared information about the platform panorama-sverige.se, which attracted interest among several network members. Panorama was also showcased in the Swedish pavilion, managed by Business Sweden.
A Growing Global Network for Climate Councils
ICCN was founded in 2021, with Sweden as one of the initiators. The network aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among climate councils worldwide. It meets regularly and is in the process of establishing dedicated working groups focused on emissions reductions, climate adaptation, governance, and participation in international meetings. Since this spring, ICCN has a secretariat in London, run by the think tank E3G, which also works to inspire and support more countries in establishing independent advisory institutions for climate issues.
”I look forward to expanded exchanges with other climate councils, and there is real momentum within ICCN to make independent advisory climate councils a global norm. The network is particularly committed to supporting the establishment of such institutions in low- and middle-income countries,” says Åsa Persson.
At COP29, ICCN also organized meetings with leading representatives from organizations such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in which Åsa participated.
New Members: Nigeria and Ukraine
During a networking event, the Nigerian Council was welcomed as a new member of the network, as was Ukraine’s Green Transition Office. Despite the challenges Ukraine is facing, the country, with support from among others the UK’s Climate Change Committee, has developed an exemplary and ambitious national energy and climate plan, showing strong commitment under the motto “build back better.”
COP29 clearly demonstrated that independent climate councils play a central role in promoting scientific advice, increasing ambitions and long-term strategies in climate policy, and contributing to global climate efforts.
More information about ICCN and its members:
http://www.climatecouncils.org/