- ACEAT+ Activity area – ECOS/IAAI
Recognizing the potentials of ECOS to reach, mobilize and empower ACE non-party stakeholders all around the world, ECOS has been invited by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action to join the ACE_AT consortium in order to explore innovative approaches to the strengthening of ACE with following activities:
- Feasibility study and business plan for a global 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/)
- Preparation of a concept note and implementation of a two-phased international conference (first one virtual on 12th of December 2020 and second one as an in-person conference in summer/autumn 2021 in Austria) on Resource Mobilization Innovation for ACE in cooperation with the UN CC Resource Mobilization and Partnerships team
- Concept development for a Digital Global ACE Platform for social networking, management of shared intellectual resources and documentation and incentivization of ACE non-party stakeholders’ action
ECOS members are now working hard to develop concrete ACE support solutions and to present them in the context of the UNFCCC ACE Activity Series convened by the chairperson of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation, under which a decision on the future of the ACE program shall be adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow/UK in November 2021.
Tentative list of ACE Support Structure components under consideration by IAAI/ECOS & ICLEI members:
- ACE social network (digital identities management, facilitation of the creation of local ACE (digital) communities/hubs, validation of content, ..)
- ACE/Youth Climate Action Reporting initiative (data architecture, ontologies, taxonomies, key performance indicators, global registry connected with UN Climate Action data Portal NAZCA, digital platform and app for the creation of certified ACE/Youth action badges/digital collectibles)
- ACE marketplace (concept note by acting ECOS focal point Timothy Damon, founder and president of the Global Youth Development institute)
- resource mobilization innovation for ACE/youth climate action (e.g. tech support for voluntary (city level) carbon footprint compensation schemes / Carbon added tax and digital climate action bonds for local and global ACE infrastructure)
More details will be elaborated over the coming weeks and months and presented i.a. at a dedicated IAAI ACE_AT side event to the UN Science, Technology and Innovation Forum 2021 on “Science, Technology and Innovation for Youth Climate Action Empowerment” on 3rd of May 2021 and within several sessions of the UNFCCC ACE Activity Series 2021.
ACE_AT has a strong focus on climate action empowerment for and with youth. A flagship initiative within the “ACE Non-Party Stakeholders Support Structure” work package is therefore the formation of a “Youth Climate Action Reporting” consortium which will kick-start within the ACE_AT framework and later on scale integrated solutions for youth climate action reporting, aligned with the Global Climate Action portal NAZCA https://climateaction.unfccc.int/ and UN led climate action campaigns like Race to Zero https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign. With this youth climate action reporting initiative the ACE_AT consortium responds to a systemic need articulated by participants of the ACE Youth Forum 2018 in an dialogue with UN CC executive secretary Patricia Espinosa back in April 2018 (https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1743544115723073&ref=watch_permalink, min 31 sec 40 onwards).
