High level panel V: Sustainable Energy and Climate Change – Road to COP 21

 
Two major events will make 2015 a landmark year that will influence the development agenda for decades to come: the UN General Assembly session in September that will take decisions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP 21) that will take place in December. This session will explore the implications of these historic negotiations and their pre-requisites for success.
The COP 21 will be the culmination of the process launched in Durban, South Africa in 2011 – the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, with the ultimate objective, “to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention.” This new international climate agreement will be applicable to all Parties of the Convention and will enter into force in 2020 aiming to establish a “broad, balanced and durable agreement” that will strengthen global climate efforts. One of the novelties of the process is the tacit agreement that climate efforts require a broader framework that encourages more extensive participation by companies, cities, regions and civil society, and more comprehensive and accelerated action by all parties. This emerging framework combines the ‘top-down’ process to be ruled by the established legal agreement, and a ‘bottom-up’ approach that invites and encourages broader participation from all stakeholders for scaled up action on the ground.
Specifically, the session will delve into the ultimate objectives of these key negotiations, outlining the key prerequisites for both the SDGs and the COP 21 to result in action-oriented, measurable and achievable indicators and targets that include and engage a broad spectrum of partners.