Draft Paper for a UN Secretary General hosted Earth Summit in 2019

In 2014, Secretary-General Ban hosted a Climate Leadership Summit in New York. The aim was to put climate back on the radar of heads of state ahead of Paris. Leaders who were willing to make new commitments were invited to come and do so. The pull of world leaders in New York also made possible the largest single mass public mobilization on climate change -- the People’s Climate March -- creating a much needed sense of momentum. 

This paper suggests we repeat that formula, but with a broader base, to drive forward political leadership across three key agenda: climate, biodiversity and sustainable development. There is already an SDG summit planned with Head of State engagement, but a rebranding and expansion of that meeting could create an opportunity for greater media and public engagement.  

Specific goals of the summit would be: 

1. Establish a political environment that rewards and incentivizes leadership on short-term ambition for the Paris agreement. And create a platform where countries can tease their net zero plans and other UNFCCC commitments to build critical momentum ahead of 2020’s landmark UNFCCC meeting.

2. Make Biodiversity a Head of State issue and signal support for a post-Aichi regime with a Long-Term Goal for nature, building momentum ahead of the Convention on Biodiversity COP15.

3. Link two big crises with the solutions agenda of the SDGs, emphasizing the need to rapidly end extreme poverty without destroying our planet in the process, and creating space for governments to update the world on their progress towards those critical goals.

4. Bring world leaders to New York -- creating a media hook and public organising hook for the climate, SDG, and biodiversity agendas. 

2020 is a moment of convergence for climate, biodiversity, and Sustainable Development, all of which require public and political momentum behind them.   

The world now has 17 goals to drive forward an agenda of eliminating extreme poverty through sustainable development. The global goals, are incredibly valuable, but they are so far reaching, it will take serious political will to ensure they are all met.     

On climate, governments agreed in Paris to keep warming under 2 degrees, aspiring for 1.5 degrees -- but current plans would still allow warming of 2.7 degrees. By 2020, not only must leaders prepare plans for Net Zero emissions, they need to raise their short-term ambition to show how they’ll close this dangerous gap.

For biodiversity scientists have a bold plan -- to set aside half the planet for nature and stop the next mass extinction. It would protect more than 85% of species, and allow our oceans and forests to recover and regenerate. We need this ambitious new Long Term Goal for nature to capture public attention and inspires all stakeholders to protect precious ecosystems. The next global targets will be agreed in 2020, but there’s one big challenge, compared to climate and the SDGs: the biodiversity issue is less famous, so there’s less pressure on governments to deliver. 

All three issues need a moment -- something to galvanize champions, drive up ambition, and inspire the public to push their leaders further and faster. However, with negotiations promising to be very technical the next few years, such a moment is hard to come by -- unless we make it. That is why the world needs an Earth Summit.  

Precision Politics from Palau

Two weeks ago, at a UN General Assembly special meeting on climate change, the small Pacific island state of Palau announced its intention to formally request the UN Security Council’s protection from climate change and rising sea-levels. Specifically, in the form of a Security Council Resolution calling for mandatory emissions reduction targets.  

It’s an incredibly smart move. The UNSC’s mandate is to maintain international peace and security, both of which will be under intense pressure as climatic impacts become more pronounced. Most of Palau lies barely above sea level (its highest point is slightly over 200m) making climate change a direct threat to this small nations physical and cultural existence. Could there be a clearer purpose for the UNSC than to protect the smaller nations of this world from annihilation? 

The Palauan UN Ambassador, Mr. Beck addressed the meeting: “It is the obligation of the Security Council to prevent an aggravation of the situation … Larger countries can build dikes, and move to higher ground. This is not feasible for the small island states who must simply stand by and watch their cultures vanish.” Fearing that the Resolution may get rejected the first time around,  he went on to urge other countries, “whose very existence is threatened, to utilize Article 34 of the Charter, which empowers each Member State to bring to the attention of the Security Council any issue which might lead to international friction.” He finished: “I think we can all agree that international friction is a mild term to describe the terrible plight in which the island nations now find themselves.” See the full text here.

The reality is that it is probably already too late for the 20,000 citizens of Palau and the other Pacific islands--as their governments stand before the world’s most powerful countries pleading for help, the wheels of devastating climate change are already in motion.  However, Palau’s UN mission is demonstrating a lesson in principles: how long can the world sit idly by as entire cultures vanish? Moreover, Palau is giving all small countries a course in precision politics: if you want to change the world; aim high. 

With luck, Palau’s call to action will trigger other low lying countries to take up the cause. It seems that their only hope is for global citizens and other low lying countries like Bangladesh and the Netherlands to join their call for a resolution. They certainly have my support.