The world is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Climate change continues to pose an existential threat to humanity. Pollution is crippling air and water quality, exacerbating the inequality between wealthy and low- and middle-income countries, while biodiversity loss has the potential to collapse our food and water supply chains, putting further pressure on some of the most vulnerable countries in the world to manage the ever-growing risk of poverty, hunger, and harm to human health. Scientists have demonstrated that six of nine Planetary Boundaries have already been overstepped due to human activity, and we are running very grave risks of crossing irreversible Earth system tipping points. We are already within a planetary emergency, which urgently requires us to implement critical global governance reforms. At the same time, the emergency also offers a unique opportunity to pursue economic, business, and financial reform measures that can unlock the enormous potential of a global green, exponential, and just transition.

Following its landmark report ‘Governing our Planetary Emergency,’ the Climate Governance Commission (CGC) has been working internally and with partners to identify and refine high-priority near-term governance proposals. These proposals include (1) to declare a planetary emergency at the UN General Assembly and convene a Planetary Emergency Platform, (2) to enhance international Earth system scientific capacity, and (3) climate finance reform and reform of the international financial architecture.

We invite you to a strategy roundtable on addressing the planetary emergency and unlocking opportunities for an exponential just transition on Monday, September 23rd at 9am EDT. In this session, we will share and discuss perspectives and proposals to build “smart coalitions” to support high-priority governance reform proposals. Speakers will draw from the proposals of the Climate Governance Commission report ‘Governing our Planetary Emergency’ and parallel proposals from the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism and other civil society proposals. Emphasis will also be placed on the movement-building potential and networks of Mobilizing an Earth Governance Alliance (MEGA) and the Exponential Roadmap Initiative (ERI) and associated partners, progressive businesses, and like-minded stakeholder groups. The session will highlight the need for high-priority near-term proposals also to build momentum and support for deeper governance reform, ensuring that near-term proposals connect with the broader effort to implement a fair and just model of Earth system governance.

During the strategy roundtable, we will highlight and refine proposals which are feasible, equitable, and ambitious and identify how the CGC, MEGA, ERI, and associated partners can support the implementation of such high-priority proposals through the formation of smart coalitions and support broader advocacy and communication efforts. The roundtable will also include an open, facilitated discussion.

Objectives:

1. To explore the mandate, political process, expected timeline and advocacy needed to move the UNGA to declare a Planetary Emergency and convene an Emergency Platform in particular, linked to broader efforts towards enhanced international scientific capacity and priority economic transformations.
2. To highlight the opportunities presented by the planetary emergency to actualize the potential for sensible governance reform and an exponential just transition.
3. To identify, highlight, and discuss how MEGA, ERI, and like-minded partners and stakeholders can use/build their networks to support the implementation of high-priority governance reform proposals.
4. To identify critical near- and medium-term steps to ensure the full implementation of high-priority proposals.

Commissioners and experts include:

• Maria Fernanda Espinosa, 73rd President of the UN General Assembly, Co-Chair of the Climate Governance Commission
• Robert Johnson, President of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), Commissioner, Climate Governance Commission
• Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-President, Club of Rome, Commissioner, Climate Governance Commission
• Arunabha Ghosh, Founder/CEO, Council for Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) Commissioner, Climate Governance Commission
• Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, World Resources Institute, Commissioner, Climate Governance Commission (tbc)
• Maja Groff, Convenor, Climate Governance Commission
• Johan Falk, CEO and Co-Founder, Exponential Roadmap Initiative
• Sharmini Peries, Director of Resources and Strategy, INET President’s Office