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The role of political advocacy in building momentum
COM/ENV/EPOC/IEA/SLT(2022)1 37
5. Leveraging political moments to maintain attention on the GST
Political attention within and beyond the UNFCCC process will be needed to achieve the desired outcomes of the GST. This is acknowledged in Decision 19/CMA.1 which “recognises that other related events within and outside the UNFCCC can contribute to the global stocktake and the implementation of its outcome” (UNFCCC, 2018[2]). This section discusses the role of political advocacy in building and maintaining political attention and pressure around the GST. It also identifies potential political moments that could help to shine the spotlight on the GST, strengthening political will behind the process so that recommendations from GST1 are acted upon in 2024-2025 and used to inform and enhance national and international actions. Given the formal time available for discussions during the GST process, leveraging opportunities outside the UNFCCC process will be important for realising the full potential of the GST (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 2022[54]).
The extent and intensity of political advocacy efforts can be important for establishing an environment that can maintain pressure behind a particular issue. This can be an important factor for increasing climate action by all countries, and can be a particularly relevant consideration for certain countries, such as larger emitters (Charles et al., 2021[40]). Previous examples of the role played by global political advocacy include efforts in the lead up to the 2015 COP in Paris when world leaders were invited to announce their climate ambition in advance of the COP at the UN General Assembly and again at the Leaders’ Summit at the start of the COP. These efforts helped build political momentum for more ambitious climate action in the lead up to COP21 and contributed to the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Global political advocacy efforts can have positive impacts on national processes, although outcomes will also be influenced by domestic imperatives and politics as discussed in section 4.1. For example, political advocacy efforts, especially at the level of the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) and his team as well as the COP Presidency (UNFCCC, n.d.[55]), were among the factors influencing the second round of NDCs (new NDCs or updated NDCs) submitted by Parties ahead of COP26. This political advocacy effort included visits by the COP President to different regions, one-on-one meetings with leaders of major emitting countries, outreach by minister-led delegations on behalf of the COP Presidency, calls by the UNSG at multiple fora for all countries to take urgent climate action, and the inclusion of climate change on the agenda at the G20 and the G7. Parallel discussions in different multi-lateral fora and co-ordinated political advocacy efforts can help to keep an issue on the political agenda and increase media coverage. Over time, co-ordinated advocacy efforts can help to galvanise support behind a particular issue and can lead to tangible outcomes. For example, advocacy efforts involving various actors around the phasing-out of public financing for coal, was critical for maintaining momentum on the issue in the lead up to COP26 and led to a series of announcements including commitments by some countries, banks and financial institutions to end
