Planet: Why did you co-found Climate Chance, a newcomer on the international climate summit scene?
Ronan Dantec: Because there was the Paris Agreement. It reflects the global community’s extreme concern about the seriousness of climate change. We absolutely must stabilize the average temperature curve below 2°C, with a longer-term goal of 1.5°C. Because the effects are already making themselves felt in our everyday lives. Faced with a stabilization goal of this nature, only action counts.
P: There are already a host of alliances that have emerged from civil society to combat climate change worldwide, such as Climate Alliance, Global Compact and WBCSD, to name just the most prominent. What is new about Climate Chance?
R.D. Climate Chance is the only place that brings all the players in civil society together. Up to now, there have been summits for local authorities and businesses. Climate Chance is the first event organized by the actors in civil society, with the participation of the nine major groups* recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Nantes declaration at the conclusion of the summit is to date the most widely signed in the history of climate negotiations. This first event has been a success with 3,000 participants of 60 different nationalities.
P: In concrete terms, what did you offer during this summit, which took place from September 26 to 28?
R.D. Over 300 speakers from all over the world presented their actions: a way of learning from one another. We also had coalition meetings that brought together players according to major themes (transport, energy, decentralized cooperation, etc.). For example, the meeting devoted to regional planning demonstrated that implementing more low-carbon mobility solutions in the major cities of the global South is profitable over the long term: first of all, because they reduce energy expenditure, but also because they avoid long-term environmental and sanitary costs. This is the principle that we are going to defend to climate funds, especially the Green Climate Fund, to encourage them to fund this type of project.
P: Can you specify the role of these coalition meetings?
R.D. The role of the coalition meetings was to bring together those involved in the sector and draw up road maps until 2018. The employment commission, for example, co-chaired by Global Compact and certain trade unions, discerned an essential issue at stake: professional training on the energy transition in countries of the South. Theme by theme, we came up with dozens of proposals to be made on an international level. A summary document will shortly be sent to States and the “climate champions” Dr. Hakima El Haité and Laurence Tubiana. It will also be made public.
P: How is this work funded?
R.D. It is funded by the actors grouped together in these coalitions. Climate Chance relies on these coalitions, which are themselves involved in international networks. Some still need to be reinforced and we are seeing to this.
P. For Climate Chance, the next focus is COP24 in 2018. Why?
R.D. The contributions** by States currently correspond to a trajectory of a 3°/3.5°C average temperature rise, a far cry from the goals of the Paris Agreement. They are therefore utterly inadequate and will be reassessed in 2018. All of our work over the next two years will consist in uniting non-state actors so that they can make proposals making it possible to fall in line with a credible “2°C” scenario. We will be working on this during the next two Climate Chance summits in fall 2017 and in 2018.
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*Environmental NGOs; business and industry; governments and local authorities; indigenous peoples; research and independent NGOs; trade unions; young people of the world; women and agriculture. Source UNFCCC
** The intended nationally determined contributions are drawn up within the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They collate the actions envisaged by the States to fight climate change.
