Slide deck from collectively iterated 'vision document' for the future of the ecosystem of global climate action

1. Cooperative
Climate
Action in
the Decisive
Decade
Driving a systems approach for
sector-wide cooperative climate
action after COP26
1
June 2021

2. 2
We are
entering a
new era of
climate
cooperation.
COP26 marks a turning point for the UNFCCC
process in the shift towards the implementation
of the Paris Agreement.
As this happens, a coordinated approach linking
together state, sub-state, and non-state actors
becomes fully necessary in effecting the sector-
wide transformations required to achieve the
goals of the Paris Agreement.
The last decade has seen a proliferation of such
multi-stakeholder cooperative actions, both
inside and outside the UNFCCC process and
across different sectors, geographies, and
constituencies.
As we pivot towards aiming for the wholesale
transformations in the current decade as
demanded by science, this global ‘ecosystem’ of
sectoral climate action requires strengthening to
ensure it can deliver on the great challenge of this
decisive decade.

3. Understanding the ecosystem of global
sectoral climate action
3
The global ecosystem of sectoral climate
action includes a wide array of actors and
cooperative institutions, operating within
and across different sectors, who perform
a variety of interlocking functions.
There is no single way to map the
ecosystem, as each sector requires a
different arrangement of actors and
functions.
Yet having a general overview of its
constituent parts can help identify areas of
strength and areas of improvement, helping
coordinate the direction of the overall
ecosystem.

4. Actors
Sectoral action requires an ‘all of
economy’ approach, engaging a
plurality of actors across different
constituencies (public, private,
and civil society) levels (global,
regional, national, and local) and
geographies.
4
Subnational
governments
(cities, states,
regions)
National
governments
Inter-
governmental
organizations
+ agencies
Companies
(public, private,
state-owned)
Philanthropic
funders
Non-
governmental/
non-profit
organizations
Social
movements +
consumers
Investors +
financial
institutions
Research
institutions +
academia
Public sector
Private sector
Civil society

5. Cooperative
Institutions
Many actors are organized
around a variety of different
cooperative institutions. Some
are formal intergovernmental
organizations, others are looser
networks and coalitions
organized under specific
initiatives. These institutions differ
according to their:
5
Composition of actors
e.g.
Cooperative arrangement*
Sectoral focus
Geographic scope
! Global ! Regional
! General ! Multi-sectoral
! Multi-stakeholder ! Single-actor (multilateral, plurilateral,
business, civil society, research, etc.)
! Collaborative (platforms, networks,
coalitions, alliances, partnerships,
forums, initiatives, etc.)
! Target-based (goals, targets,
pledges, campaigns, declarations,
principles, initiatives, etc.)
*(not mutually-exclusive)
e.g.
e.g.
e.g.
! National
! Single

6. Sectors
6
There is no universally agreed
comprehensive typology or
categorization of sectors, with
different elements of the
ecosystem instead organizing
around a definition that makes
sense for their own work.
Land use +
nature
food + agriculture | forestry + restoration |
fisheries + oceans | metals + mining | water
Energy renewables | hydrogen | oil & gas | coal
Human
settlements
buildings | infrastructure + planning | cooling | waste
Transport cars | trucks | shipping | aviation
Industry steel | cement | aluminum | chemicals | plastics
Services +
consumption
consumer, retail + apparel |
FMCG | mobile + ICT | tourism
Crosscutting finance + investment | policy, regulation + trade |
research + data | resilience | circularity | supply chains
efficiency | offsets + CCUS | social well-being + equity

7. Functions
A range of actors and
cooperative institutions perform
different – and often multiple –
functions in the ecosystem.
Ideally, all functions will be well
covered by an appropriate array
of actors and institutions,
distributed in an efficient and
impactful manner.
7
Goal-setting + roadmaps
Providing a guiding star and outlining pathways for getting there.
Orchestrating, connecting + coordinating
Finding and delivering opportunities for coordination, identifying gaps and
weaknesses to fill, resolving redundancies.
Scaling
Diffusing and contextualizing innovations, sharing learning, capacity building,
mobilizing new actors, and driving demand for new products and services.
Rulemaking
Regulating to set the right incentives and standards, creating the enabling
environment.
Experimentation, pioneering + financing
Pushing forward and financing the technology/market/policy frontier in
order to change what is possible.
Data + metrics
Providing information to track the transition and enable accountability.
Advocating ambition + action
Ensuring fidelity to science, strengthening credibility, and advancing an
equitable transition.

8. Current
challenges
facing the
ecosystem
Though elements of the current
global ecosystem do drive
significant progress on climate
action, multiple challenges
remain across the landscape that
continue to hinder cooperation
and limit the effectiveness of
sectoral action.
8
Narrative + vision
! Lack of unifying narrative that also allows for local/sectoral specificity
! Ongoing polarization of climate change + low prioritization + perceptions of irrelevance
Coordination + division of labor
! A complex and fragmented landscape leading to overlap/duplication + ignorance of roles
! Lack of coordinated strategy; many efforts taking place in sporadic, ad hoc fashion
! Shared, intermittent, and sometimes contested leadership among major players
Scale + impact
! Uneven maturity, ambition, and impact of institutions/initiatives across different sectors
! Lack of systematic engagement and coordination on finance
! Gap between global networks and national contexts/policymaking (line ministries + NDCs)
! Insufficient number of sectoral institutions having right mix of ambition and capacity
Continuity + resourcing
! Insufficient financial resources provided to support and maintain cooperative initiatives
! Inconsistent continuity of ownership/leadership over lifespan of initiatives
Inclusion + accountability
! Uneven participation of Global South/emerging economies; inadequate engagement with
adaptation/resilience and development
! Tracking progress on delivery and implementation is often slow, incomplete, or fragmented
of global climate action

9. How to steer
complexity?
9
It would be impossible – and undesirable – to
attempt to ‘plan’ the global low-carbon
transition across all sectors, as the system
operates according to principles of
complexity.
Instead, an approach of open communication
and cooperation, productive competition, and
adaptiveness is required in order to rapidly
steer the ecosystem towards catalyzing
transformations at the speed and quality
required to achieve a resilient net-zero and
nature-positive world by mid-century.

10. Common goals + roadmaps
! Goals, targets and pathways will follow the best-
available science, and be regularly updated to
reflect new realities as they unfold.
! Outline collective goals, pathways and standards
that can be tailored to suit diverse needs while
still remaining credible (the Race to Zero provides
a promising model).
Operating principles to
guide this collective work
10
Broad + narrow focal institutions
! Within sectors, converge around a mix of two
kinds of focal institutions: narrow institutions,
which focus on pioneering and innovation + broad
institutions, which focus on scaling and diffusion.
! The productive tension of this mix aims to create
synergies across and within specific sectors at
differing scales of specificity.
! Each piece of the ecosystem commits to set
specific goals and to release information to
assess progress toward those goals, ensuring
coordination and promoting accountability.
! To the maximum extent possible, follow an ‘open
source’ approach to information, to allow
diffusion and scaling.
! Collaborate on knowledge-sharing, capacity-
sharing and co-ownership where needed, in the
interest of realizing common goals.
! To achieve balance between long-term adaptability
and short/medium-term continuity, review the
whole ecosystem and its components (strategy,
design, functions) at least every 5 years.
Collaborative + adaptive approach
Robust data + transparency
Aligning around certain ‘operating principles’ can
help address current challenges of the ecosystem
and manage complexity more effectively.

11. Vision of the optimal ecosystem
Coordination +
division of labor
Inclusion +
accountability
Continuity +
resourcing
What is needed to drive and sustain breakthroughs for 2030 and beyond
Narrative +
vision
11
Scale + impact
Actors unite around a
compelling narrative of
climate action as wholesale
systems transformations,
where sectoral and multi-
stakeholder cooperation is
seen as an essential part of the
broader climate regime;
There exists clarity of
vision of what is needed by
2025, 2030, etc. in each sector
to reach 2050 goals, and what
modalities of cooperation are
most suited for scaling change.
There is a clear division of
labour understood by all,
informed by an ethos of radical
collaboration;
Multi-leveled
coordination takes place
nationally, internationally and
transnationally, unblocking
barriers and ensuring scaling
effects;
There is a productive
tension between
cooperation and competition
that encourages
experimentation but avoids
fragmentation.
There is comprehensive
engagement with under-
engaged actors, especially
among emerging economies;
Efforts establish pathways of
holistic transformation
that align with the SDGs and
address root causes for
vulnerability and risk to climate
impacts;
Actors adopt science-
based goals with verifiable
outcomes, and a robust
tracking system exists to
enhance disclosure and
reporting, ensuring credibility.
Successful experiments
developed by pioneers are
scaled up through cooperative
institutions to trigger critical
tipping points;
Financial flows and regulations
are directed to create a
strong enabling
environment for
experimentation, diffusion, and
systems reconfiguration;
The ambition loop
between national governments
and sub/non-state actors is
fully activated to drive the
implementation loop.
Existing and future cooperative
efforts have sustainable
governance
mechanisms which ensure
continuity of resourcing
and ownership to mitigate
against ‘boom’ and ‘bust’
cycles of ambition and interest.
of global
climate action

12. Priority areas for action
12
Narrative + vision
! Establish a shared vision for the ecosystem to organize around and guide action moving forward.
! Mainstream the importance and value of multi-stakeholder sectoral work as key mode of climate
cooperation and primary component of the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
! Support national governments to leverage the benefits of multi-stakeholder sectoral cooperation
for the design and implementation of NDCs and NAPs.
! Promote co-benefits (e.g. health, job-creation, etc.) arising from sectoral transformation as motivator
for climate action among businesses, governments and publics
! Ensure transition pathways align with achieving the sustainable development goals and the
biodiversity goals emerging from the post-2020 Aichi Framework.
Coordination +
division of labor
! Ensure more effective communication and coordination among actors in the ecosystem:
understanding how the landscape stands and one’s role within it; identifying leverage points and how
to utilize them; coordinating to reduce duplication and respond to gaps; establishing greater trust
among actors and institutions; mainstreaming radical collaboration as an organizing principle.

13. 13
Scale + impact
! Ensure all sectors have structures both for pioneering and scaling, with the right blend of actors and
ambition in each.
! Promote regulatory coordination to scale enabling conditions for the policy environment; ensure
strong ministerial support of climate action in the real economy.
! Apply all-of-government approach to domestic climate policy, coordinating across ministries;
coordinate across international regulatory and intergovernmental organizations, creating more effective
forums for focused government-to-government cooperation within sectors.
Continuity +
resourcing
! Ensure sustainability of existing and future initiatives through sufficient resourcing and governance –
most critically following high-profile launches at international summits.
Inclusion +
accountability
! Expand existing and planned sectoral initiatives to engage new actors (e.g. state-owned enterprises),
geographies (e.g. emerging economies) and constituencies (e.g. labour and marginalized
communities).
! Create a robust, comprehensive and coordinated global tracking system for sub/non-state climate
actions and sectoral transformation; ensure linkage with Global Stocktakes.

14. 14
Game-
changers
Key areas which can radically
scale and accelerate the work of
this ecosystem.
These areas require attention and
leadership in order to realize their
potential for shifting the system.
1. Net zero finance aligning on a common vision and approach for
sectoral transformation
2. Labour driving sectoral transformation to ensure a just transition
3. Operationalizing China’s 2060 net zero target sector by sector
4. Climate-alignment in global trade rules
5. Others?

15. 15
Acknowledgements
In addition to drawing from existing research material, the content presented in this
document results from a consultative process involving conversations, workshops,
and other inputs gathered from key stakeholders over the period of winter 2020 to
summer 2021. This work has been led by the Future of Climate Cooperation, a
joint project by Mission 2020, ClimateWorks Foundation and Oxford University.