Expert Group Meeting on Citizen Engagement in Climate Change Governance: Citizens for a Sustainable Future Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5-8 May 2009

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1 UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Public Administration and Development Management Socio-Economic Governance and Management Branch Aide Memoire Expert Group Meeting on Citizen Engagement in Climate Change Governance: Citizens for a Sustainable Future Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5-8 May 2009 I. Introduction ECOSOC Resolution 55 of 2005 acknowledged the need to deepen the participatory processes of government to ensure citizen s engagement to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration. In recognition of this necessity, the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) under the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) emphasizes its work on the analysis and promotion of approaches, methodologies and tools to advance participatory governance. More specifically, DPADM works to promote the roles of civil society in public governance processes, such as policy development, service delivery, and public accountability. Towards these goals, DESA-DPADM is supporting Kyung Hee University (Republic of Korea) in its World Civic Forum 2009 initiative, to be held from 5 to 8 May 2009 in Seoul, Korea. The overall theme of the forum is Building Our Humanitarian Planet, which espouses three key sub-themes: 1) Civic Values for Global Justice; 2) Civic Engagement in Public and Global Governance, and 3) Civic Action for the Global Agenda, including Climate Change. The World Civic Forum is designed as a biennial event linking a network of universities and other partners for civil society engagement and action. As the main convener for the third abovementioned theme, DESA-DPADM is organizing an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) entitled Citizen Engagement in Climate Change Governance: Citizens for a Sustainable Future. This component event of the World Civic Forum will be held from 5 to 8 May 2009, and its outputs will feed into the final declaration of the World Civic Forum The meeting will serve as a platform for laying out the current governance framework for dealing with climate change impacts, and for identifying specific channels for citizen engagement in the governance processes. As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has declared 2009 the Year of Climate Change, and has urged the organization s different units to integrate climate change into their respective work programs, this meeting is expected to develop the comprehensive work of DESA-DPADM on public administration, participatory governance and climate change. II. Background 1

2 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urges that a global climate change deal be sought by the close of a deal that is to be balanced, comprehensive and ratifiable by all nations. With the global meltdown of the financial sector, closing this deal becomes an even tougher challenge, and simultaneously presents opportunities for all stakeholders involved to participate in and integrate policy instruments for economic, social and environmental development. Preventive and adaptive responses to climate change have tended to focus policy debates on such measures as the imposition of carbon taxes, implementation of a system of tradable carbon permits and technology transfers to developing nations. These policy tools emphasize the need to internalize the monetary costs of climate change, yet fail to sufficiently recognize the social dynamics that impact and will be impacted by the economics of climate change policies. Climate change debates and discussion need to engage a broad spectrum of actors, from ordinary village residents to corporate executives and public servants, who engender the social implications for climate change governance. The Kyoto Protocol s core target of reducing countries greenhouse gas emissions has been translated through a variety of policy recommendations at the international and national levels. These recommendations espouse the necessity of cooperation in climate change mitigation, adaptation and preparedness from the formulation, implementation, information dissemination to the assessment of the proposed programs. There is, however, a need to outline the stakeholders in general, and to detail in particular, the modalities in which each stakeholder can participate and contribute to decision-making. More recently, both the climate change conferences in Bali (2007) and in Poland (2008) have reiterated the centrality of cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions, and have thus presented an opportunity for the global community, in general, and UN DESA, in particular, to provide a platform for knowledge-sharing on cooperation and partnership-building for dealing with climate change. Knowledge-sharing can produce significant inputs into the preparations leading to December s UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where commitments to a global green revolution are expected to be reinvigorated. The responses to climate change strive to cover both the current and projected future consequences. For this, the prevailing responses promote mitigation, adaptation and preparedness. A major challenge for governments, civil society and international development organizations is how to best link climate change initiatives to the wider global development agenda that runs the thematic gamut of poverty, health and education, and in the process, ensure space for citizen participation. Especially with the current economic crunch, dwindling financial resources need to be maximized through harmonized approaches. Knowledge-sharing would then be a crucial step that goes beyond amassing a body of scholarly information, to include fortifying the relationship among representatives of governments, civil society and international organizations within the climate change governance framework. From this exchange, the different modalities for partnership-building can be identified, and subsequently elaborated. It is undeniable that citizen engagement cannot and should not be de-linked from any possible solutions towards climate change. It has become more apparent that in recent years, development is not merely an output-based endeavor, but a process-oriented one as well. The participation of 2

3 citizens in the multi-layered stages of development processes is thus imperative - in fighting poverty, delivering basic social services, and of late, in adapting to a future shaped by climate change. This human right should be realized by all stakeholders so that the positive returns from policy-making and program implementation for responding to climate change are pluralistic and sustainable. The outcome of the EGM is expected to feed into the final declaration of the World Civic Forum In addition, the outcome of the meeting is a prospective input to the preparations leading to December 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where commitments to a global green revolution are expected to be reinvigorated. Moreover, the EGM is expected to contribute to the subsequent meeting of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (April 2010) informing of the outcome, and proposing language for a UN resolution. Finally, it is expected that the outcome of the EGM will feed into the Summit on Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs) including the MDGs, to take place in III. Objectives The objectives of the Expert Group Meeting are: 1. To briefly assess the global situation of civil society participation in climate change policy-making and action implementation processes 2. To highlight both the available assets and the capacity needs of governments and civil society to engage citizens in the processes of planning, budgeting, implementing and evaluating climate change responses 3. To recognize innovative practices at the international, regional, national and local levels that advance civil society participation in climate change governance 4. To emphasize the lessons learned and obstacles faced in experiences of citizen engagement in policy-making for climate change governance 5. To craft a framework that puts forward recommendations for enhancing citizen engagement in climate change governance IV. Possible Sub-themes: The Expert Group Meeting shall examine the pressing issues relevant to citizen participation in climate change adaptation and preparedness processes, with knowledge-sharing especially directing attention to the following themes: The Importance of an Enabling Framework The preconditions for responding to climate change may exist variably, or not at all, in different countries. Public servants and civil society members, especially at the local levels, may be unaware of the policy intricacies and requirements for adaptive and mitigation measures. What should the shape of the political, legal and administrative environment be to enable citizen engagement towards climate change adaptation and preparedness? Environmental Governance and Citizen Engagement The limited resources of governments for managing and protecting their immediate natural environment have warranted stakeholder engagement. How can local fisherfolks, 3

4 farmers and residents participate in environmental governance? What are the capacities needed for such initiatives as resource co-management and local sustainability planning, including sustainable forest management? Food Security and Climate Change Climate change is expected to have the gravest impact on the agriculture sector. How can local governments respond to this threat and consequently reshape their local economic development plans and local disaster management plans? How can citizens participate in this? Technology Development and Transfer The development and transfer of climate-friendly technologies are key to responding to the adverse effects of climate change. How can participatory processes be included in the financing and capacity-building processes for climate-friendly technologies? What roles can citizens play after post-technology development and transfer? How can modern information and communication technologies also be used as a tool for climate change preparedness, and be included in the technology-transfer dialogue? Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Futures Human activities that aggravate climate change conditions are concentrated in urban areas. How then can urban citizens participate and contribute to pluralistic responses to climate change? Growing a Green Economy The economy-environment link is now, more than ever, being underscored by various analysts and advocates. The market sector is keen to urge industries to adapt to the climate change adaptation revolution, emphasizing a greening of both their businesses and their internal organizational processes. What are the incentives for corporations to reduce their climate change impacts? How can they engage in the wider national and global actions to adapt to, mitigate and prepare for climate change? Public Education for Behavior Change Most ordinary citizens lack the information about climate change to make decisions on how best to respond as an individual. Data-churning and policy-making bodies can make use of different platforms to reach the ordinary man or woman on the street. The media, most especially, can help to popularize the climate change language and inform individuals of small daily steps to adapt to climate change. Can national information campaigns be promoted and instituted as a basic climate change adaptation tool? How can ICT investments be optimized for this? Emerging Economies and Climate Change The regional responses to climate change have progressed at varied degrees of commitment and implementation. How do the emerging economies fare? What are their advantages, disadvantages and opportunities? How have these countries citizens participated in decision-making processes, if at all? V. Expected Outputs At the conclusion of the EGM, it is expected that the participants will have: Briefly outlined the conditions, challenges and incentives of citizen participation in responding to climate change Reviewed the status of citizen engagement in policy-making processes towards climate change adaptation and preparedness at the international, regional, national and local levels 4

5 Discussed and learned from existing best practices, approaches and tools that engage citizens in climate change adaptation and preparedness policy-making Enumerated policy recommendations that can be later reviewed and adopted by stakeholders in their own capacities Produced a substantial body of information that will be the basis for an on-line and print publication which digest the EGM discussions and complement them with additional analytic points VI. Working Language English VII. Participants The Expert Group Meeting shall invite key experts from the academia, research institutions, national and local government levels, the United Nations and its network of agencies, and representatives from civil society organizations and the business sector. VIII. Contact for Further Information Ms. Angela Capati-Caruso Phone capati-caruso@un.org Mr. Bruno Bastet Phone bastet@un.org Ms. Flor Velazco-Juarez Phone velazco-juarez@un.org Ms. Aerin Park Phone parka@un.org 5