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Barrier 3: Imbalanced Attention to Resource Distribution and Discovery Across Subfields
Courtesy of Cynthia Ong / Forever Sabah
SETTING THE GLOBAL STAGE
Just over three decades have passed since the United Nations took its first steps to assess climate change, its risks, and potential solutions by forming the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1989.
2021 has the potential to be the year we implement climate solutions on a new level through cross-collaborative dialogue with world leaders. Several climate talks and events are slated for this year, the biggest being the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). Scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November 2021, COP26 will focus on building towards a global zero-carbon economy.
30,000 delegates including heads of state, climate experts, and campaigners are expected to attend with the aim to agree on coordinated action to tackle climate change.8 COP is inviting diverse stakeholders to play a role in the talks, including governments, businesses, civil society, and young people. The conference organizers report there will be new opportunities for system-wide collaboration, marking an evolution from previous years and providing a valuable chance to scale up climate action.
8GOV.UK. (2020, February 18). Alok Sharma Appointed COP26 President. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alok-sharma-appointed-cop26-president
NEXT STEPS
Climate is a growing focus for Ashoka as we continue building a global ecosystem of climate changemakers, including social entrepreneurs, young leaders, and partners across sectors. Over the next five years, we aim to elect 50 Ashoka Fellows directly working on Planet & Climate issues. By identifying climate innovations, accelerating action, and sharing knowledge, Ashoka is committed to restoring humanity’s relationship with nature by collaborating for systemic change.
Sharing Knowledge
After mapping the climate changemaker ecosystem and identifying guiding insights for the future of the Planet & Climate field, Ashoka is continuing to engage with Fellows to deepen our collective understanding of the historic paradigm shifts this moment demands. Anticipating COP26, we will share these expanded insights with the international community. We will publish a complementary report in which we will identify additional principles for future work in the field of Planet & Climate.
We continue to be committed to electing visionary Fellows in the Planet & Climate field. Our goal is to elect 50 Fellows over the next five years, specifically embodying the values laid out in our emerging insights section: (1) Everyone in the ecosystem has a role to play; (2) Environmental sustainability is not one field, it is every field; (3) Unexpected allies make powerful partners. We will continue learning from Ashoka Fellows’ innovative models, amplifying the voices of social entrepreneurs working on the ground in their communities, and advancing the impact of systemic change through connecting diverse stakeholders and Fellows who are working on Planet & Climate issues around the world.
Anticipating COP26, we will share these expanded insights with the international community through a complementary report that identifies additional principles for future work in the field of Planet & Climate.
To follow our work on climate including articles and upcoming events, you can visit the NextNow Planet & Climate page here. Read more about the Our Planet, Our Purpose challenge here.
6464 June 2021 CLIMATE CHANGEMAKERS
