A virtual world summit on climate change will be fully online, Thursday, November 22, 2018, and will be the first international meeting zero carbon (no transport, no industrial processes and no waste).
This initiative is launched by Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, whose country is threatened by rising water levels as a result of global warming.
This summit would be the first international meeting to be held online with the participation of the leaders of 48 countries most threatened by climate change, such as Bangladesh and the Philippines and also leaders of developed countries, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in addition to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is an international partnership of countries that are extremely vulnerable to global warming. It will serve as a platform for South-South cooperation to enable participating governments to act together to address global climate change.
It is organised as part of the Talanoa Dialogue, which serves as an agreed mechanism for promoting strengthened national action by all the nations party to the Paris Agreement by 2020.
Indeed, more and more scientific evidence indicates that many states may face existential risks if the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement fails to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A significant increase in national efforts as soon as possible would be needed to ensure the survival of the most vulnerable nations.
The Marshall Islands initiative is an opportunity for all nations to show leadership and commit to raising their level of ambition in solidarity with the most vulnerable. Heads of State and Government and high-level representatives of other partners are invited to participate in this Summit and to express their intention to raise ambition, particularly with regard to the updating of their national objectives.
Participants will join the work of the summit through live or pre-recorded videoconferences. Everyone (public – governments, businesses, cities, states, civil society and media) can participate in an interactive way on the agenda of the Summit.
Several panels are on the agenda for this meeting, including a panel on the theme “100% renewable energy: A vision for decarbonisation, resilience and prosperity”.
The summit will open at 0800 local times (2000 GMT Wednesday) at this address: www.virtualclimatesummit.org.
TunisianMonitorOnline
