Climate diplomacy

We provide strategic, technical and real-time negotiations support and capacity building to countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in international climate forums including the UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, IPCC and the Green Climate Fund.

Our demand-driven support includes the provision of briefings, reports, capacity building, training, and strategic advice, underpinned by the latest climate science and policy analysis. We provide support to the Chairs of the Alliance of Small Island States and LDC Group, UN Ambassadors, ministers and climate negotiators.

With our teams embedded in SIDS and LDCs, we also work with regional partners and networks to indigenise the Paris Agreement and enable its implementation in line with regional priorities.

Our work in this area focuses on:

strengthening sustained institutional capacity in SIDS and LDCs to engage in multilateral climate processes
supporting efforts to deliver on the mitigation, adaptation and finance ambition needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals, and to adequately address loss and damage
thought leadership on climate issues to inform key political moments and emerging priorities in the international climate agenda
supporting the development of regional legal and policy frameworks on climate action for both domestic implementation and international engagement

Our experts

Manjeet Dhakal

Head of LDC Support Team and Director, Climate Analytics South Asia Office

Rueanna Haynes

Head of Diplomacy (Acting) and Director of Climate Analytics Caribbean

Kristin Qui

Climate Diplomacy Advisor - SIDS Support

Publications

Article 6.4 progress update: work of the Supervisory Body on the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism

What does a just transition look like for Caribbean Small Island Developing States?

What good looks like: G7 climate policy 2024 update

Unabated: the Carbon Capture and Storage 86 billion tonne carbon bomb aimed at derailing a fossil phase-out

No change to warming as fossil fuel endgame brings focus onto false solutions

The effects of political knowledge use by developing country negotiators in Loss and Damage negotiations

De la CDN 1.0 à la CDN 2.0: qu'est-ce qui a changé dans les CDN des PMA de l’Afrique de l'Ouest?

EU’s role in the world: how can EU climate diplomacy stimulate greater ambition?

Research agenda for the loss and damage fund

Advancing multilateral cooperation on climate action

Glasgow’s 2030 credibility gap: net zero’s lip service to climate action

Using the Global Stocktake to Improve National Climate Policy Ambition and Implementation

The value of climate cooperation

Analysis of options for determining OMGE, SOP and Transition within Article 6: implications of policy decisions for international crediting under the Paris Agreement

How do we limit warming to 1.5°C: informing the Talanoa Dialogue question, “How do we get there?”

Input to the Talanoa Dialogue from Climate Analytics

Projects

Climate ambition support

Supporting climate-vulnerable countries in strengthening their roles and voices in international climate negotiations.

IMPACT

IMPACT is a cross-cutting, multi-faceted project that aims to strengthen the connections between the scientific assessments of climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to help enable access to finance and help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) implement concrete projects.

Implementing the Paris Agreement in the Caribbean

The Climate Governance Initiative for the Caribbean (CGIC) aims to support the development of governance structures to allow equitable and just national climate action to implement the Paris Agreement in Caribbean countries.

High-Level support for LDCs and SIDS on climate change

The HLSM High-Level Support Mechanism for LDC and SIDS on Climate Change project creates a support mechanism for high-level political representatives and their advisors from LDCs and SIDS that is demand-driven, responsive to ongoing needs and firmly rooted in the respective regions.

SURVIVE

SURVIVE, a joint project between Climate Analytics and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) supports Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the international climate change negotiations.

PREVENT

PREVENT is built around a team of experienced climate scientists and analysts, whose objective is to provide science, policy, strategic and analytical support for delegations of the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Regional climate champions in the Caribbean

The Regional Climate Champion Project aims to build a regional coalition for ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement.

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Climate Action Tracker

The Climate Action Tracker is an independent science-based assessment, which tracks the emission commitments and actions of countries.

Support for preparing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions

We assisted the Governments of a number of countries in their domestic preparation for the formulation of their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), in the context of the 2015 climate agreement.

The IEA just published its 2024 World Energy Outlook: what does it say?

Our experts pull out the key messages from the International Energy Agency's 2024 global update on the energy sector and its implications for the climate.

Delay tactics at IPCC-61 could put science inputs to the UNFCCC at risk

The latest Plenary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just concluded in Sofia, Bulgaria. Despite days of deliberation, delegates were not able to agree on delivering the next round of reports in time for the second global stocktake, despite a request to do so from governments in the first global stocktake outcome agreed in Dubai last year.

COP28 made strong progress on mountains – here’s what to expect in 2024

In 2024, mountains will feature strongly in a number of climate processes, such as the the expert dialogue on mountains at the climate talks in Bonn this June.

"The only GST that matters for 1.5°C": key takeaways from the first global stocktake at COP28

We breakdown the key takeaways from the first global stocktake (GST) since the Paris Agreement and how it sets the stage for the next two years in climate.

Safeguards and exit points for the World Bank as host of the Loss and Damage Fund

An agreement was reached to establish the World Bank as the interim host of the Loss and Damage Fund. Developing countries signed up to this on certain conditions. We unpack the safeguards put in place and look at the three points at which the Fund could exit the World Bank.

Flooding during a heavy monsoon in the Philippines in July 2021

Second Glasgow Dialogue: lessons from latest Committee meeting on loss and damage finance

Key takeaways from the Transitional Committee’s second meeting on operationalising the new loss and damage fund and funding arrangements.

Climate COPs are working, but follow-through on pre-2030 climate ambition is a must this year to keep the faith

The UN-led climate response has achieved a great deal, but time is not on our side. International diplomacy and climate action must move faster than ever before, or we risk losing public faith in the process.

2023 will shape the Loss and Damage fund for years to come – have your say now

Final decisions on a new Loss and Damage fund to help vulnerable countries recover from climate impacts will be made at COP28 in December. Here’s what you need to know about how the fund will be designed over the coming year.

West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Stijn Dijkstra, Pexels

What does the IPCC say on losses and damages?

A robust assessment of losses and damages was featured in the recent IPCC Working Group II report, representing a major step forward in recognising existing negative impacts and future risks of climate change. The assessment provides strong support for increased action and support for loss and damage, urgent mitigation to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and more extensive adaptation.

New pathways to 1.5°C: interpreting the IPCC’s Working Group III scenarios in the context of the Paris Agreement

In total, the IPCC's Working Group III report assessed 97 pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C, adding to our understanding of the options and conditions for achieving the necessary emissions reductions. We take a closer look at how 1.5°C compatible pathways are defined in the IPCC AR6 report and why this matters.

COP26. UNCCC 2021. Flickr/UNclimatechange

Facing the facts – the need for loss and damage finance can no longer be denied

This article takes stock of the Loss and Damage negotiations at COP26, concluding that the need for developed countries to provide Loss and Damage financial support can and will no longer be ignored.

Zagtouli solar power plant, Burkina Faso ©Erwan Rogard for AFD 2017, courtesy ID4D

How West Africa can expand power supply and meet climate goals

Expanding renewable energy and cross-border cooperation could allow developing countries in West Africa to leapfrog or at least minimise the commitment to a climate-damaging future of fossil-fuel energy generation while powering sustainable development. Our new research shows that combining smartly selected, sustainably managed hydropower projects with an expansion of solar and wind energy is a no-regrets way forward for this region.

(Also available in French)

Key Messages for Small Island Developing States from the IPCC 1.5°C Special Report

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have been advocating for at least a decade for the establishment of 1.5°C as an upper limit for global average temperature increase - due to their high vulnerability to increased climate impacts. This latest IPCC 1.5°C Special Report provides the scientific assessment that supports the long-established cry of SIDS to limit global temperatures and the risks that threaten these small island nations.

En route to Katowice: Negotiators from Least Developed Countries prepare for COP24

Earlier this month around 30 ministers and high-level representatives from LDCs met in Addis-Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, to prepare for the upcoming climate talks to be held in Katowice, Poland (COP24) in December. They prepared main messages.

Climate change loss & damage — an urgent, cross-cutting issue

Ever more intense climatic events are rapidly pushing Small Island Developing States to the verge of their coping capacities, beyond which they will experience irreparable loss and damage. These risks threaten the socio-economic stability and undermine already limited abilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. A recent event hosted by the Government of Belize looked at ways of increasing understanding and international cooperation to address this urgent issue.

COP23. The voices of vulnerable nations should be represented in IPCC authorship

Authors from vulnerable nations in IPCC reports

Just as the voices of vulnerable nations were critical in including the 1.5°C limit in the Paris Agreement, it is also critical that experts from these states play an active role in authorship of IPCC reports. It's encouraging to see that the composition of the body of experts selected to put together the Special Report on 1.5°C and the Sixth Assessment Report increasingly reflects this.

About us

Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

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