About
Human-induced climate change is real, it is happening now, and it affects us all—from the poles to the tropics, and from the mountains to the oceans. We all have a part to play in addressing this urgent problem. And it is urgent.
We have roughly ten years to transform the global economy, so that global emissions are cut in half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The science is clear and paints an alarming picture of what lies ahead if countries don't step up. Fortunately, the science is also clear on the actions required and, together, we have the resources and technology to make the necessary changes.
While the Paris Agreement gave the world hope that humanity can address the global climate challenge, national governments cannot solve the climate crisis alone. More bottom-up climate action is urgently needed to accelerate nationally-determined processes of transition towards decarbonized, climate-resilient societies. "Crowding in" more companies, local government leaders and many others at the national level is essential to implement current national pledges and advocate for more ambitious ones.
Unifying subnational actors at the national level faces three main barriers. First, there is still a limited number of companies, investors, local governments, academic institutions and civil society groups focused on climate action, public awareness, and advocacy in most countries. Second, domestic climate champions have not been publicly visible about their work, nor vocal about the urgency and opportunity of the low-carbon transition within their countries. Third, subnational and non-state actors have tended to step up either individually or along constituency lines. This siloed approach has limited their impact.
Well-organized, influential and credible multi-stakeholder alliances in support of climate action do not exist in most countries and are critical to creating both strong market signals and political space to speed up the low-carbon transition.
Delivering on the Paris Agreement will require the full mobilization of the global community. ACA seeks to nurture a new form of climate leadership and realize global ambition locally by articulating domestic constituencies of business, local government, academic and civil society leaders in key countries around the world into national multi-stakeholder alliances committed to driving decarbonization in their countries.
The Power of Alliances
While each domestic alliance is designed to fit the individual country’s national circumstances, they share key common attributes.
As a global Network, Alliances for Climate Action connects member alliances to broaden and deepen the collective knowledge and capacity for collaborative climate work. As this shared knowledge grows, it is encouraging further creativity and innovation in climate action.
The Alliances also come together on the global stage to showcase the actions that their members are taking, inspire more climate action across the world and encourage national governments to be more ambitious.
Alliances for Climate Action is an Accelerator Partner of the UN Race to Zero Campaign. ACA amplifies the campaign in countries with member alliances to expand the number, geographic representation and diversity of institutions that commit to 1.5C aligned interim and net-zero targets and join the Race to Zero Campaign. ACA also grounds the campaign in key countries by providing a national platform for institutions to work together to drive an inclusive net-zero transition in their countries.