Whole-of-Society

What


The Paris Agreement’s success hinges on all countries’ ability to transform their economies and engage their societies in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Making this happen requires a whole-of-society approach that mainstreams climate considerations into all relevant decisions across government, and from a national to local level.  

NDCs act as vital entry points for a whole-of-society approach. By setting clear targets and objectives, they can provide a roadmap for governments to integrate climate priorities across relevant ministries, sectors, and budgets, and to mobilize wider society around transformative climate action. The NDC Partnership is working on key topics to make sure everyone is heard.

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1. Leaving No One Behind

Governments seek to ensure no one is left behind—especially populations often excluded from climate policies and strategies. These populations include women, youth, indigenous groups, farmers, people in remote areas, and others. To elevate the voices of these groups, governments conduct widespread consultations to engage all populations in NDC design and implementation. Policies that protect especially at-risk sectors, like health and agriculture, aim to safeguard their services so that they remain available to all. 

2. Engagement of the Private Sector 

A strong commitment from the private sector is crucial in the fight against climate change. Private companies face many challenges as they adapt their activities and products to new climate realities, develop low-carbon solutions, and support governments in their climate actions.  

Many local initiatives aim to reinforce interactions between the private sector and governments in the context of climate policies, which includes supporting NDC development and implementation. These actions allow further company engagement through policies covering fiscal incentives, investment guaranty, and others. Given limited government resources, these actions are essential; in parallel, the private sector has demonstrated its determination and engagement capacity on climate issues, through numerous initiatives and commitments. 

3. Subnational Climate Action

Local governments are key national policy implementers and have access to important policy information for local contributions to adaptation and mitigation, such as GHG emissions data, climate risk analyses, innovative adaptation measures, and of course, people’s climate policy expectations. The importance of local government in the climate arena is increasing but coordinating actions between local and national levels continues to be a challenge.  

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