POST 2020 CLIMATE CHANGE RESOLUTIONS

Climate change is one of a set of inter-linked environmental, economic and social challenges we are currently facing. It has the potential to exacerbate other threats to our economic well-being, such as biodiversity loss, diminishing access to freshwater, degradation of agricultural land and growing risks of resource-related conflicts. Urgent action towards combating these climate changes is therefore an ultimate requirement for a healthy future.

In consideration of the sweeping climate catastrophes happening around the world, I will slightly borrow from the Global Youth Climate Action Declaration (GYCAD) a number of potential measures in form of resolutions that should be taken to mitigate the effects of climate change as we come close to the projected 2030 to achieve the set sustainable development goal 13.  

v  Economic, political and social drivers; Urge the international community to construct and implement a framework for binding environmental legislation that defends human rights, maintains ecosystem integrity, holds corporations accountable, and balances conflict-of-interest, and, Adopt participatory, bottom-up, and inclusive approaches to engage citizens and civil society organizations in policy-making and projects at all social and political levels, allowing them to take ownership as stakeholders. Frontline communities and grassroot groups should especially be included in this multi-actor social dialogue.

v  Infrastructure, cities and local action; Allocate at least one-third of the urban space in each city for green space through the planting of street trees and the creation of parks, community gardens, green roofs, urban agriculture, vertical farming, and other innovative solutions, while prioritizing indigenous species over imported plants, and edibles over ornamentals, and, Establish plans at all governmental scales for future infrastructure aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets and surpassing the aspirations of the Paris Agreement — passing necessary laws and regulations to ensure compliance.

v  Youth and public mobilization; Create a sustained and transparent dialogue at all levels between youth and decision makers so that ideas generated by youth are both heard and implemented, and, Support initiatives to amplify the voices of young people in their respective communities, cultivate leadership capacities, and enhance communication of youth across the globe in order to foster the form of collaboration that is imperative in addressing global crises as this among others.

v  Capacity-building, education and awareness; Establish compulsory, solutions-oriented climate change curricula throughout educational institutions in order to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to adequately tackle the climate crisis, and, Give access to and develop user-friendly tool-kits, manuals, and other practical knowledge-sharing methods for global dissemination of climate change advocacy tools.

v  Nature-based solutions; Ensure that nature-based solutions are prioritized as a key climate solution alongside the reduction of emissions and that they are implemented in a manner that ensures the long-term protection and restoration of the environment and of natural ecosystems as a priority ahead of short-term economic gain, and, Catalyze a global transition to ensure sustainable and just agricultural systems based on the principles of agroecology, ecologically regenerative agriculture techniques, permaculture, climate-smart agriculture, organic farming, and a myriad of other practices that minimize the use of fossil fuel-based machinery or hazardous chemicals, empower communities, and improve resilience to climate impacts by breaking the barriers of intellectual property rights and corporate hegemony over food and seed systems.

v  Resilience and adaptation; Build a resilient society inspired by nature’s adaptive skills and ecosystem services and promote reforms of agricultural institutions, subsidy allocations, and programmes which are more climate change adaptive and resilient, and, Establish an international fund to tackle health risks and humanitarian crises resulting from climate change which directly and fully supports populations that are most at risk.

v  Mitigation; Condemn and restrict all forms of natural resource extraction taking place without local consent or engagement, and, Hold States, private maritime vessels, corporations both producing and utilizing plastics, and global industrial stakeholders accountable for current and future damages to oceans, seas, and other bodies of water, and, Develop effective, carbon-neutral land, air, and water transportation systems by setting stringent targets to be achieved by 2050.

v  Energy transition; Support technology transfer and promote the development of environmentally sustainable technologies through adequate investment and tax subsidies for renewable energy, and, End subsidies for fossil fuels and industrial-scale bioenergy, rejecting any unsustainable and extractive industries which put short-term gain over the well being of people and nature.

v  Industry transition and accountability; Increase commitments to combat the climate crisis by enhancing incentivization for Eco-friendly industries, reducing tariffs on foreign goods that are Eco-friendly, prioritizing carbon-positive programs, and ascribing score and accreditation systems to industries acting in accordance with the encouragement of a societal shift, and, Promote and support the participation of women, youth and vulnerable groups in agro-processing and value addition.

v  Climate finance and carbon pricing; Ensure that climate finance is gender-inclusive, protects workers and communities impacted by climate change, puts in place urgent measures to address displacement and migration due to climate change, and builds the resilience of the vulnerable through addressing issues of poverty, inequality, and justice, and, Strengthen accountability and monitoring mechanisms on climate funding to ensure progress, as well as steering committees including local youth constituents, and, Increase developed UN member states’ commitments to the Green Climate Fund in order to meet the 100 billion USD goal, while ensuring that these commitments are tracked to guarantee that nations are held accountable for providing funds in a timely manner.

The Earth’s climate system is entering uncharted waters. In June 2013, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 exceeded 400 ppm (parts per million) for the first time in at least the past 800,000 years or so. In order to avoid large and potentially irreversible changes to our climate system, anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gas emissions should decline steeply. Due to the long atmospheric lifetime of some GHGs such as CO2, the actions taken in the coming decades could have impacts on the state of the climate system for centuries to come. Therefore, early action on climate change is likely to be significantly more cost-effective than delayed action, and inevitably an important component of the broader post-2020 political agenda, alongside other processes.

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