Expert Preparatory Roundtable: Climate Governance

The 18 February expert roundtable on climate governance is one of a series of expert consultations that the HLAB Secretariat has held, several of which focus on different aspects of the environment. The event was organized with the support of the UN Foundation, Global Challenges Foundation, and the Stimson Center.

The18 February roundtable was guided by the following interrelated question areas:

• What can we learn from recent efforts to improve the governance frameworks for climate?
• Are there examples/models that offer a viable way forward?
• What makes each model unique in terms of intergovernmental mechanisms, norms, operational tools, participation, enforcement, and review processes?
• What specific recommendations on climate governance can be provided to HLAB for their consideration and possible inclusion in their final report (e.g., new legal instruments/operational tools/normative principles, ways to incentivize green technology investments/diffusion, rethinking the UNFCCC/COPs, and repurposing the Trusteeship Council to focus on global commons governance)?
• How can the climate governance field help to address other environment-related challenges, such as biodiversity and nature loss, pollution and waste, and support a rights-based approach to the environment that integrates intergenerational equity?

The event was chaired by Dr Adam Day (UNU-CPR) and co-moderated by Dr Mayesha Alam (UNU-CPR) and Maja Groff (Climate Governance Commission).