As we mark the 5th anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement, and on the road to the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow less than a year from now, we need to demand governments dramatically increase their ambitions for meaningfully engaging their citizens with climate change.
There are positive signs – but if we are realistic about the challenges of reducing emissions, we need to be realistic about what will be required from people.
The Paris Agreement was a landmark text, the culmination of a gruelling two year process described by the lead UN negotiators as the “most complex, comprehensive and critical international climate negotiation ever attempted”. It reiterated the right of people to be informed and involved in climate policy, but it failed to recognise that building a public mandate would be essential for the success of the whole agreement.
Continue reading “Citizens are central to achieving the Paris Agreement”
