The meeting, held under the framework of the joint regional workshop EUROCLIMA+ LEDSLAC 2020 IDB UNDP, highlighted the importance of incorporating the approach for
Action for Climate Empowerment in national public policies and NDCs, to address the climate challenge with greater ambition from the capacity of transforming the citizenry.
Action for Climate Empowerment – ACE, is the agreed name for Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, reflected in Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, which addresses six interdependent and interrelated dimensions: education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation.
ACE is a cross-cutting proposal in public policies that aims to generate and articulate capacities and commitments that promote transformative action against climate change, with the depth and urgency that this challenge requires. This requires common work among all sectors, areas and institutions, and at all scales, so that it becomes a consolidated work tool to reduce climate change impact on the planet and on humanity with the proactive and collaborative capacity between organised civil society and the public sector.
ACE promotes the articulation of transformative actions that transcend the institutional sphere, and it is aimed at promoting the empowerment of the citizens, and their ability to make proposals and solutions to common problems and generate change. This objective is essential for achieving the appropriation of the challenge that intends, in each context, to address the causes and consequences of climate change.
Several Latin American countries have already committed to include Action for Climate Empowerment in their revised NDCs, as well as in their National Long-Term Climate Strategies. In order to carry out policies on Action for Climate Empowerment, promoting joint processes for change and social transformation in common spaces in a sustained way is crucial to incorporating this participatory, collaborative, and transformative approach.
To address these issues, the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy, under the framework of the Joint regional workshop organised by the EUROCLIMA+ programme, the LEDSLAC platform, the UNDP and the IDB, held on November 13 the virtual meeting “Climate Empowerment: Education to drive ambition”. Education as a tool to generate critical thinking, citizen knowledge about Climate Change and capacity to act to generate changes and commitments in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The event was attended by Cecilia Castillo -Director of Climate Governance at EUROCLIMA+ from FIIAPP-, Yayo Herrero -expert in Action for Climate Empowerment at EUROCLIMA+-, Pedro Coss Sanz -analyst for the inclusion of Action for Climate Empowerment in the Dominican Republic-, Johanna Arriagada – representatives of the Ministry of Environment of Uruguay-, Carlos Saavedra -representative of the Ministry of Education of Colombia-, Cristián Bravo -Education for Sustainable Development Consultant at UNESCO-, Carlos de Miguel -Head of the Policies Unit for Sustainable Development - Escazú Agreement (ECLAC)- and Elena Oliveros -Project technician at FIIAPP for EUROCLIMA+-.
The meeting allowed the sharing of experiences that from Latin American countries are being carried out in educational and training programmes, social awareness campaigns, policies of access to information, promotion of citizen participation and international cooperation, aimed at addressing Climate Change. The exercise allowed to highlight the importance of the ACE approach in the design of public plans and policies for the strengthening of the so-called "climate competencies" - knowledge, critical and reflexive thinking, as well as networking for climate action - among public institutions, private entities and civil society in general, with the capacity to propose changes and act. Special attention was given to the relevance of education as a space for building and collaborating in the training of citizens in creative democracy - the capacity to design public policies with the citizenry -, where social innovation to provide alternative solutions to common climate issues, and direct dialogue with governments, public institutions and decision makers, becomes important in advancing the commitment to the fight against climate change.
Also presented were the future spaces for exchange of both learning, called Learning Communities of Practice, and relevant experiences on ACE that will be available to practitioners in the framework of the EUROCLIMA+ programme.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme financed by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), and UN Environment.
Contact
Daniel Fernández: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.