The 2016 Paris Agreement is an international agreement on climate change binding every country that has signed to act on the climate response. Countries are required to outline their climate actions through “Nationally Determined Contributions,” with developed countries leading on mitigation and finance. This 2-sider explains what the Paris Agreement is and how to get involved in
making sure that countries are responding to it. 

The climate negotiations under the UNFCCC are the main form of international climate action. Yet, there are many international and local initiatives outside of multilateral negotiations that push forward ambition and creativity on climate action. This 2-sider features a couple of these projects, offering insight into actions being taken below or beyond the state level by both state and non-state actors.

The different organizations and committees that make up the international human rights system work to promote and protect what individuals and communities need to be safe and well. This 2-sider explores how climate change is addressed within the human rights framework and how to get involved in advocating for climate action that addresses human rights and social inequality.

Human Impacts of Climate Change Representative, Lindsey Fielder Cook reflects on the outcomes of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

On Wednesday, 30 November 2022, delegates met in plenary to discuss key topics relating to the creation of a new convention to reduce plastic pollution. This was the third day of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee – first session (INC-1) towards the creation of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, taking place in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

As part of the COP27 side event on climate justice in the Arctic co-hosted by QUNO, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Friends of the World Consultation Committee, British Yearly Meeting, and Quaker Earthcare Witness, a crysophere expert shared about the latest effects of climate change in the Arctic. Pam Pearson, director of the International Crysophere Climate Initiative, shared the latest cryosphere science, growing losses, and global impacts. Access her powerpoint here. 

"We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice."

QUNO contributed to the substantive finalization of a comprehensive report carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF South Africa), which makes a case for mainstreaming the informal waste sector towards an inclusive circular economy across African cities. The focus was on the work reclaimers and waste pickers do in cities of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda.

Following the decision at COP27 for new funding arrangements to be established in order to address the loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, QUNO offers this working paper. It is focused on innovative and fair sources of finance for addressing loss and damage. This is a working paper that is open to receiving comments (see end note on how to share comments). It is offered in the spirit of the polluter pays principle without endorsement of any arrangement.