The COP25 Presidency met virtually this morning with the 9 UNFCCC Constituencies and NGOs to hear their views on how civil society can contribute to improving ambition in the NDCs of Parties.
To date, 11 countries have submitted their updated or improved NDCs, and an additional 150 nations are expected to join.
On the occasion, The UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, started this meeting and made a strong call for participation.
“Now, more than ever, we need to ensure that we address the most pressing challenge for us and future generations: climate change. The urgency of recovering from the current pandemic cannot be an excuse to adopt policies that would lock societies in a high emissions trajectory. In this regard, the work of civil society is key: from providing technical solutions to advocating for the right policies and voices of the vulnerable, and for that, spaces need to be created for them to contribute all their expertise”.
COP25 President and Minister of the Environment of Chile, Carolina Schmidt, chaired this meeting, making a strong call to make the relationship between the Parties and civil society more fluid, both in demanding urgent action and ambition by governments and also in offering solutions.
“The Chilean Presidency has strongly favoured the interaction with Non State Actors, and will continue to do so, by highlighting the importance of their contribution in the debates; the expert view of many in technical issues, the relevance of traditional and indigenous knowledge in climate solutions, and the centrality of science and the inputs from the science community to monitor and understand climate processes and projections”, said Schmidt.
Representatives of Business and industry non-governmental organizations (BINGO), Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO), Farmers, Indigenous peoples organizations (IPO), Local government and municipal authorities (LGMA), Research and independent non-governmental organizations (RINGO), Trade Unions non-governmental organizations (TUNGO), Women and Gender, Youth non-governmental organizations (YOUNGO).