What is Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE)?
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) is a term adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to denote work under Article 6 of the Convention (1992) and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement (2015). The over-arching goal of ACE is to empower all members of society to engage in climate action, through education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation on these issues. (source: https://unfccc.int/topics/education-youth/the-big-picture/what-is-action-for-climate-empowerment)
Non-Party Stakeholders Engagement
In its essence ACE is all about non-party stakeholders engagement in the implementation of global climate goals, a topic which did not have high priority in the UNFCCC agenda till the Paris Agreement (source: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/introduction-climate-action/history-non-party-stakeholder-engagement). With the Paris Agreement, signed in Paris in December 2015, parties formally recognized the value of non-party stakeholders’ climate action and opened up the governance space for enhanced non-party stakeholder’s engagement in the UNFCCC process.
Rethinking and Reorganizing ACE in the run-up to COP26
Many Party and non-Party stakeholders have recognized the key role that ACE can play in enhancing the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to promote changes in lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours needed to foster low-emission, climate-resilient and sustainable development. However, gaps remain in the implementation of ACE at the national level and in the understanding of the scope and relevance of ACE at the international level, including linkages to other UNFCCC processes that engage non-Party-stakeholders, such as Global Climate Action (GCA).
At COP26 parties are going to adopt a new work programme on ACE (source: https://unfccc.int/topics/education-and-outreach/the-big-picture/education-and-outreach-in-the-negotiations). This is a unique opportunity to envision and reorganize ACE in a way so that it will deliver more effectively on its promise of being the main UNFCCC rooted framework for parties and non-party stakeholders collaboration towards action for climate empowerment of everyone everywhere.
The Action for Climate Empowerment Innovation project ACE_AT
The Project ACE_AT is a collaborative global effort towards strengthening Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) within and beyond the UNFCCC process. The goal is to empower all members of society to engage in Climate Action and to change the perception on ACE.
The ACE_AT Project is funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, (BMK, https://www.bmk.gv.at/en.html), in the context of its international climate finance program. With ACE_AT the BMK aims particularly to build on the momentum that has been generated with the Pamhagen ACE Symposium/the High Level Event and the launched Burgenland Declaration in 2019 and to support the efforts of ACE ambassador for the UNFCC Talieh Wögerbauer and other engaged activists in this regard. (see also: https://unfccc.int/news/burgenland-declaration-champions-action-for-climate-empowerment)
Thematic focus and Consortium of ACE_AT
- Changing the perception on ACE and its effective delivery by parties and Non-party-stakeholders
- ACE as a hub for party and non- party-stakeholder engagement on climate action
- ACE as a tool for making the efforts of Non-Party Stakeholders more visible
- Rethinking and Reorganizing ACE for All of Society Climate Action Empowerment (empowering and engaging parties and non-party stakeholders to enhance ACE action)
- Resource Mobilization Innovation for ACE – New Thinking and New (Digital) Tools for Action for Climate Empowerment Financing
- Thematic focus on youth, gender and Africa
Members of the ACE_AT project consortium are
- the UN Climate Change secretariat, who is the lead partner of the BMK for ACE_AT and
- following Non-Party Stakeholders (as associated partners),
- ECOS (Education, Communication and Outreach Stakeholders Community https://climateecos.org/, informal grouping of UNFCCC accredited observer organizations, recognized by the UN CC secretariat in October 2016), as ECOS does not have the status of a legal entity, the ECOS representative in Austria, UNFCCC accredited civil society organization IAAI (International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches to Global Challenges, www.glocha.info) is the formal legal partner on behalf of ECOS in ACE_AT, leading in particular efforts to leverage digital innovation for ACE_AT success
- ICLEI (https://iclei.org, focal point of the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency within the UNFCCC process, signatory to 2019 Burgenland Declaration).
Party and Non-Party Stakeholders Collaborating towards the Development of Self-Sustaining ACE Support Structures (including “Youth Climate Action Reporting” flagship initiative)
The main task of the non-party stakeholder partners of ACE_AT is
- to contribute non-party stakeholders’ perspectives and ideas to ACE_AT activity area 1 – “Rethinking and Reorganizing ACE” (i.a. in the context of the ACE Activity Series led by SBI Chair Marianne Karlsen, https://unfccc.int/topics/education-youth/events-meetings/ace-activity-series-2021) and
- to envision in the ACE_AT activity area 3 (led by IAAI/ECOS) a self-sustaining ACE non-Party stakeholders support structure/office(potentially in the institutional setting of a quasi-international Organization as offered by Austrian legal system: https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/european-foreign-policy/international-organisations-in-austria/ngos-and-quasi-international-organizations/) with a corresponding business plan, resource mobilization innovation and digital tools and a digital global ACE platform.
Details about the ACE innovation proposals and initiatives that are going to be developed by the ACE_AT associated partners IAAI/ECOS and ICLEI over the next 2 years are going to be published on this homepage:
action4climate.support
(Note: the information provided on action4climate.support is under the sole responsibility of the ACE_AT non-party stakeholders IAAI/ECOS and ICLEI and does not represent official positions of the UN Climate Change secretariat or Austria in the UNFCCC process)
Further resources:
Presentation of ACE_AT in the context of the #All4Climate ACE webinar of Climate Reality Italy, 26th of March 2021: https://www.facebook.com/ClimateRealityItaly/videos/814057732654576/ (slides)
Presentation of ACE_AT at the European Climate Pact Satellite event: Youth Climate Action Empowerment Innovation, the European Climate Pact and its Global Dimension (https://europa.eu/climate-pact/events/satellite-event-youth-climate-action-empowerment-innovation-european-climate-pact-and-its_en) – video
presentation of ACE_AT at the Paris Agreement Anniversary Webinar of the Climate Chain Coalition “Building the Digital Infrastructure for Action for Climate Empowerment”, December 2020: