International
Governancefor Global
Commons
Stewardship
The role of international
initiatives in driving
system transformations
A discussion paper
December 2023

1

Contents
Acknowledgments

3

Foreword

4

Summary

5

1.

International initiatives for global commons stewardship
1.1

The role of international initiatives

8

1.2

Methodology

10

2. Driving system transformations
2.1

14

2.1.1

Shared goals and pathways

15

2.1.2

Policy and regulation

16

2.1.3

Finance, de-risking and investment

16

2.1.4

Behavior change

18

2.1.5

Innovation and new technologies

18

2.1.6

Data and monitoring, evaluation and accountability

19

2.2.1

Shared goals and pathways

20
21

2.2.2 Policy and regulation

21

2.2.3 Finance, de-risking and investment

22

2.2.4 Behavior change

23

2.2.5 Innovation and new technologies

24

2.2.6 Data and monitoring, evaluation and accountability

24

2.3 Sustainable production and consumption of materials
2.3.1

Shared goals and pathways

25
27

2.3.2 Policy and regulation

28

2.3.3 Finance, de-risking and investment29

2.3.4 Behavior change

29

2.3.5 Innovation and new technologies

30

2.3.6 Data and monitoring, evaluation and accountability

31

2.4 Sustainable cities and communities
3. Conclusions
3.1

14

Decarbonization of energy, industry and transport

2.2 Sustainable food, land, water and oceans

Findings

3.2 Recommendations
Bibliography

2

6

31
32
32
34
36

Acknowledgments
Lead authors:

We would like to thank the following
contributors who have shared their•

Naoko Ishii•

Guido Schmidt-Traub•

Felix Cornehl•

Hannah Audino•

Jakob Franke•

Scarlett Benson•

Astrid von Preussen•

Manuel Braun•

Sophia Boehm•

Leonardo Buizza•

Rob Campbell-Davis•

Nas Chia•

Marco Daldoss Pirri•

Ben Dixon•

Danielle Gent•

Ana González Guerrero•

Thomas Hale•

Jesse Hoffman•

Mike Hemsley•

Rachel Jetel•

Ita Kettleborough•Deeptanshu Kotru•

Stephen Naimoli•

Rebecca Nohl•

Elinor Newman-Beckett•

Julia Okatz•

Elizabeth Petykowski•

Morten Rosse•

Rupert Simons

expertise and insights:

3Foreword
In today’s interconnected world, the global

This discussion paper reviews thecommons are under increasing threat due toeffectiveness of international initiatives

human activities. These stable and resilientacross the three transformations identified

Earth systems—comprising several global

in Introducing the Global Commonscommons domains, such as the climate

Stewardship Framework, which we publishedsystem, the land biosphere and oceans—last year. We lay out a simple method forare the foundation for humanity’s current

assessing international initiatives and thenprosperity and future wellbeing. Our global

proceed to take stock of the impact that

commons are shared by all nations and must

international initiatives have had, identify

be collectively safeguarded.

gaps in each transformation and consider
lessons that might be applied from one

Traditional forms of governance, based ontransformation to the next. There are no

the authority of nation states, have provensilver bullets or copy-paste solutions toinadequate on their own in addressing

safeguarding the global commons; but our

the urgent challenge of safeguarding thediscussion paper identifies a number ofglobal commons. Increasingly, nonstate

actionable steps that can vastly improve theactors—such as civil society organizations,

governance—broadly understood—of thebusinesses and scientific institutions—are

global commons.

playing an important role in international
collaboration. A range of international

We hope readers will find the analysis andinitiatives involving nonstate actors haverecommendations useful, and welcome

emerged in recent years, which arecomments and feedback. The Center for

beginning to complement traditional forms of

Global Commons would be very pleased tointernational governance and collaboration

work with other organizations to sharpen

across national governments. In particular,

our understanding of how we can safeguard

they may offer innovative solutions, greater

the global commons through improved

flexibility and faster response times. But theirinternational collaboration and help driverole remains incompletely understood. We

action for their stewardship.

need to understand better what works andwhat does not work.

Naoko Ishii
Center for Global Commons4Summary
This discussion paper proposes aand change—especially in areas whereframework for understanding the role ofintergovernmental governance processes

international initiatives in safeguarding

may be slow or inadequate. The discussion

the global commons. Global commons

paper provides a qualitative assessment of

sub-systems such as the climate system,high-profile international initiatives underland biosphere and oceans provide theeach transformation. It also highlights

stable and resilient earth system on whichareas in which significant gaps remain

humanity’s current prosperity and future

and provides recommendations for action

wellbeing depend. The discussion paper

to fill these gaps and strengthen existing

outlines the roles of international actors—

international initiatives. The discussion

including civil society organizations,paper demonstrates the importance of suchbusinesses and governments—in driving

international initiatives in complementing

the necessary transformations. International

formal international governance to drive

initiatives led by these actors can play a

the transformations that can safeguard thecomplementary role in driving innovation

global commons.

51International initiatives for
global commons stewardship

Human activity is at risk of exceeding the

global commons—are the foundations ofscientifically estimated safe operating space

humanity’s current prosperity and future

for people and the planet, whereby the

wellbeing (see Box 1).

capacity of the planet to provide life-support
systems for humans is endangered.1,2 While

By breaching the planetary boundaries –the last 12,000 years constituted a uniquenine processes that regulate the stability andgeological period of stability that enabled theresilience of the Earth system – we risk

rise of human civilization, the recent explosion

reaching tipping points beyond which thein human activity has pushed us into a new

global commons will undergo massive changes

geological epoch characterized by humanthat will threaten human civilization and survival.4

degradation of critical Earth systems: theThis risk increases significantly within the

Anthropocene. The stability and resilience‘Paris range’ of 1.5-2°C of global warming andof interdependent Earth systems—ourbecomes even greater beyond 2°C.5

1 Rockström et al., 2009.
2 Wang-Erlandson et al., 2022.
3 Steffen et al., 2011.

4 Ishii et al., 2022.
5 Armstrong McKay et al., 2022.

3

6

Box 1 | Defining the global commons
The global commons refers to the stable and resilient Earth system, which provides the foundation forhumanity’s prosperity and future wellbeing.
The global commons consists of interdependent and interconnected sub-systems (e.g., the land
biosphere sub-system is made up of forests, freshwater, biodiversity and other ecosystems) andfunctions, and their interlinked processes (e.g., carbon, water, and nutrient cycles).
Safeguarding the ‘global commons’ is essential to ensuring the planet functions within ‘safe and just’earth system boundaries – a necessary condition for justice, people and planet – and requires integrated,
often location-specific, strategies at the local, national, and global level.

As described in Introducing the Global

Each transformation describes a major

Commons Stewardship Framework,change in the organization of societal,

published in 2022 by the Center for Global

political and economic activities involving

Commons, countries must transform four

resource use, institutions, technologies andeconomic and social systems to safeguardsocial relations to achieve the UN Sustainable

the global commons (Figure 1).

Development Goals and meet the objectivesof the Paris Agreement.

FIGURE 1
The Global Commons Stewardship Framework

GLOBAL COMMONSSUB-SYSTEMS INCLUDEACTION LEVERS
Set targets; aligngovernance andinstitutions

Reset economics,
finance andincentives

Ensure inclusionand fairness tobuild consensus
for change

Harness
innovation,technologies
and data

SYSTEM TRANSFORMATIONS

Decarbonization of energy, industry and transport
Power generation, transmission, long-distance transport, industry and industrial
heating and cooling

Sustainable cities and communities

Climate system
Aerosols, atmospheric composition &circulation, carbon cycle, monsoons

Ozone layer
Stratospheric ozone layer

Land biosphere

Compact and resilient design and transit-oriented development, sustainable waste
management and buildings including heating and coolingAmazon & boreal forests, freshwater,
grassland/ tundra, permafrost, soil
carbon sink

Sustainable production and consumption

OceansCircular product design, business models, production systems and supply chains,sustainable material flows and consumption patterns

Acidification, anoxia, biodiversity, coral
reefs, El Niño, methane hydrates,
ocean currents

Sustainable food, land, water and oceans

Ice sheets & glaciersProtection, sustainable management, restoration, sustainable diets, halting
overexploitation of species, reduced food loss and waste

Arctic sea ice, East & West Antarctic
Ice Sheets, Greenland Ice Sheet,inland glaciers

7

1.1

The role of international initiatives

International initiatives can involve civil

toward them (e.g., by reducing first-moversociety organizations, businesses anddisadvantages). International initiatives

governments. In contrast to intergovernmental

can play an important role in translating

bodies, such actors operate without a formal

pathways into voluntary standards forintergovernmental mandate, so all their workbusiness targets.

is nonbinding on governments. International

Examples: The Mission Possible

initiatives can assist in activating the fourPartnership (MPP) mobilizes industry

action levers for global commons stewardshiprepresentatives and experts in hard-in the following ways:

to-abate industrial sectors to develop a
consensus on ambitious sector targets

1.

8

Shared goals and pathways: Goals

and to prepare shared sector transition

are critical to set the right level ofstrategies that show how these targets

ambition for countries, businesses

can be achieved. In doing so, the MPP

and civil society. Pathways can makehelps operationalize the headline

time-bound targets operational andobjectives of the Paris Agreement atbring together stakeholders—including

sector levels and pulls actors into sharedcompeting businesses—to develop a

problem solving to achieve these targets.

joint vision of how shared goals can be

In a similar way, the 2050 Pathways

achieved. International initiatives can

Platform mobilizes governments andpropose targets that operationalize

technical experts around national

intergovernmental agreements and candecarbonization pathways to inform

develop pathways for reaching them.

mid-century low-emission development

By providing international benchmarks,

strategies under the Paris Agreement.

they help in raising the level of ambition,

The Science-Based Target Network/

developing a consensus around theInitiative (SBTN/SBTi) establishes global

feasibility of achieving ambitious goals

standards for net-zero and nature-

and assisting stakeholders in moving

positive business standards.

2. Policy and regulation: Well-designed

and the Net-Zero Asset Owners Allianceinternational initiatives can support

are mobilizing asset owners andgovernments in improving policy andinvestment companies to align capital

regulation by sharing lessons and bestflows with net zero.

practices internationally, including
through open-access databases. They

4. Behavior change: A challenging but nocan also score countries’ policies, whichless important objective of international

helps pinpoint gaps and disseminates

initiatives is to accelerate the behavior

learning from one country to the next.

change required to safeguard the

Examples: The Climate Action Tracker

global commons, including changes(CAT) assesses and scores nationalin the volume and types of goods andenergy policies for consistency withservices people consume (demand-

the Paris objectives to decarbonize

side measures). These include

economies by mid-century. The CAT haschanges toward healthier and morealso developed a database of national

environmentally sustainable diets andclimate policies that allows governments

energy-saving mobility choices. Such

to benchmark their own policies,changes are notoriously hard to facilitate

analyzing all the biggest emitters andand comparatively few internationala representative sample of smaller

initiatives have emerged in this space.

emitters covering about 85% of total

It is also important to recognize that

global emissions.

large-scale behavior change will
be impossible without overhauling

3. Finance, de-risking and investments:

the underlying system, such as the

The transformations for stewardshipavailable infrastructure (supply side)of the global commons require aand economic incentives (policies).

fundamental reallocation of financial

Examples: By accelerating alternative

resources and face significant financing

protein intake, the Good Food Instituteshortfalls.6 To increase resource

aims to shift diets away from animal

mobilization, international initiatives

proteins and reduce global consumption

can help develop and advance newof meat. Meanwhile, the FAIRR Initiative

financing concepts and instruments,

has been raising awareness of thesuch as blended finance, Paris-aligned

environmental, social and governanceinvestments and high-integrity carbon

implications of intensive livestock

markets.

production.

Examples: The Voluntary Carbon
Market Initiative is helping to establish

5. Innovation and new technologies:

shared standards for high-quality carbon

Knowledge and technological innovation

offsets; and the SBTi is proposing

are non-rival goods, so new ideas andstandards for high-quality demand forsolutions create benefits for wider

offsets that are consistent with the Paris

society, not just for their inventors (e.g.,

Agreement. Meanwhile, the Glasgow

lower manufacturing costs, foundations

Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)

for further research). The development
and deployment of technologies also

6 See Blended Finance Taskforce, 2020 and IEA, 2022.

benefit from international collaboration

9and shared financing. Innovation is

6. Data and monitoring, evaluation andtherefore a critical driver of global

accountability: Many transformations

commons stewardship.

are held back by a lack of data, shared

Examples: By identifying priority

accountability standards and rigorous

investment needs for cleanevaluation of what works and what

energy technologies and fostering

doesn’t. International initiatives havecoordinated investments, the Clean

been particularly active in driving

Energy Ministerial demonstrates

standards for data and monitoring,

how international initiatives can drive

evaluation and accountability.

targeted innovation and technology

Examples: The Greenhouse Gas

development for the transformations

Protocol sets de facto international

toward global commons stewardship.

standards for reporting greenhouse gas

Similarly, Breakthrough Energy Ventures(GHG) emissions; while the International

promotes investments in early-stage

Sustainability Standards Board is driving

clean technologies.

voluntary standards for sustainabilityrelated financial reporting. The Systems
Change Lab is establishing global
metrics for tracking the speed of systemchange transformations across sectors
and countries.

1.2

Methodology

We propose a framework for understandingof multistakeholder coalition plays, andthe roles of international initiatives andthen applies it to three of the four system

how they can complement each other.

transformations outlined in the Global

This section introduces the framework,

Commons Stewardship Framework.

which describes the roles that each type10

The discussion paper starts with the energy

and analysis in this discussion paper usefuland industry transition, which is arguably

in identifying gaps that can be filled throughthe most advanced—even though the latest

targeted investments. Our discussion paper

United Nations Environment Programmesuggests that it might be beneficial for

Emissions Gap Report reminds us that thefunders to explore how lessons from one

world remains off track to decarbonize energy

transformation can be transferred to another.

systems to stay within the 1.5°C threshold
adopted in the Paris Agreement.7 It then goes on

In recent years, the number of international

to explore the transformations of food, land andinitiatives has increased significantly andocean use; as well as materials and circularity.

many have been launched at climate action
summits (see Figure 2). The Future of

While transforming cities and communities

Climate Cooperation Initiative has createdand making them more sustainable are also

a comprehensive and frequently updated

key to achieving the climate goals of the

stakeholder map that depicts actors andParis Agreement and the biodiversity goals

climate actions across the world.8 We do notof the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity

attempt to provide such an exhaustive list of

Framework (GBF), a detailed assessment

initiatives here; rather, we focus on a range ofof nongovernmental international initiatives

high-profile initiatives that are illustrative ofin this area is beyond the scope of thisthe vibrancy of each transformation. While

discussion paper. This is partly because

the number of initiatives has increased across

key elements of this transformation—such

each transformation, the discussion paper

as the built environment and mobility—are

highlights areas where significant gaps remain.

captured by the other transformations ofenergy, nature and materials. Nonetheless,

The discussion paper is based on athere are important initiatives dedicatedqualitative assessment that has been

to the transformation of cities (e.g., Unitedtested in discussions with practitioners (seeCities and Local Governments (UCLG),

acknowledgments). To enhance readability,

ICLEI, Cities Alliance, C40, Circular Buildings

we have focused on what we see as some of

Coalition and Circular Cities Declaration).

the most important initiatives, and obviously

On the climate side, we focus on mitigation

this selection has involved a degree ofefforts and do not consider in detail how

subjectivity. Our aim is not to provide an

climate adaptation is driven by international

exhaustive review, but rather to give a flavor

initiatives. This is a major gap that shouldof the important roles played by internationalbe filled soon, as there is a major shortfall in

initiatives in driving global commons

action on climate adaptation.

stewardship.

Most international initiatives rely on
philanthropic and government funding—even if some, such as the Energy Transition
Commission, have become largely financedby their members. Philanthropic andgovernment funders may find the framework
7 United Nations Environment Programme, 2022.

8 Future of Climate Cooperation, 2021.

11

FIGURE 2
Number and growth of transnational climate initiatives with an approximate
timeline of climate action summits and mobilization efforts (n = 276)300

New initiatives

COUNT OF INITIATIVES

250

Cumulative count

200

150

100

50

0
2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

YEAR

SUMMITS2014 UN climate summit: catalyzing action
Lima-paris action agenda. Marrakech partnership
Climate action pacific partnership
One planet summit
Global climate action summit
UNSG climate action summit

Source: Chan, S., Hale, T., Deneault, A. et al. Assessing the effectiveness of orchestrated climate action fromfive years of summits. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 628–633 (2022). Figure 2: Number and growth of transnational
climate initiatives with an approximate timeline of climate action summits and mobilization efforts.

Many system transformations follow anreaching maturity. Such system shifts are

S-shaped curve (Figure 3). Following ideation

particularly common for technologies orand early-stage development, technologies,

business models that can experience rapid

policies, norms of behavior and businessmarket take-up after reaching technologicalmodels can achieve a system shift whenmaturity and cost competitiveness.

they start to undergo rapid change before

12

FIGURE 3
Driving system transformations

System Change
IDEATIONDEVELOPMENTS

INTERVENTIONSDEVELOPMENTS

ACCELERATIONSTABILIZATION
AT A NEW LEVEL

Shared Goals
and Backcasting
Policy and Regulation
Innovation and
New Technologies

DEGREE OFSYSTEM CHANGE

Behavior Change
Finance, De-risking
and Investment

TIME

Data, Monitoring &Evaluation andAccountability

System transformations9 can be accelerated through feedback loops that are driven by social contagion, technological reinforcements,
ecological and socio-ecological conditions and other factors. They also depend on the right conditions, including economic competitiveness, highperformance, accessibility, cultural and social norms and capability of actors.
9

For each transformation, we identify major

We start by examining the more matureinternational initiatives acting across theenergy-related transformations and consider

six interventions identified in Figure 3. We

how lessons from these might be applied toassess the extent to which each intervention

the other transformations. We do not list theis triggering a system shift, assigning color

individual initiatives in the main discussion

codes as follows:

paper but describe them separately in the•

Red: Ideation phase•

Yellow: Development phase•

Green: Take-off phaseannex to the discussion paper.

13

2

Driving system transformations

Below we review how implementation of
the six levers has advanced across three•sustainable production and consumptionof materials.

transformations:
A selection of the most important international
•
•

2.1

decarbonization of energy, industry

initiatives for each transformation is provided

and transport;

in the annex.

sustainable food, land, water and oceans;

Decarbonization of energy,
industry and transport
Since the Paris Agreement, progress oninternational initiatives are helping drive thedecarbonization has been more extensive

decarbonization of energy, industry andthan many realize.10 Both formal internationaltransport; but major gaps remain in key areas,

governance mechanisms and internationalsuch as behavior change. Figure 4 lists theinitiatives are playing important roles inprincipal international initiatives that are

scaling zero-carbon industries. Numerous

supporting this transformation.

10 Jeremy Oppenheim et al., 2021.

14

FIGURE 4
International initiatives supporting the decarbonization of energy, industry, and transport
Ideation

Development

Take-off

OECD tracking of
USD 100 billion goal

2050 Pathways Platform

DATA, MONITORING& EVALUATION AND
ACCOUNTABILITYSHARED GOALS AND
PATHWAYS

MPP

ISSB
SystemChange Lab

IEA’s 1.5°
pathway
SBTiCAT

GHG Protocol

CDP

ICVCM

TCFD

IRP

NZAOA

JETP

Universal
Energy Facility

ETC

SEforAllFINANCE,
DE-RISKING ANDINVESTMENT

Green
Climate Fund

GEAPP

PPCA

Global Power System
Transformation
Consortium

POLICY ANDREGULATION

GFANZ

GEAPP

ISSB

NDC
Partnership

C40

International
Solar Alliance

GuarantCo

VCMI

Blended FinanceTaskforce

Climate Policy
Database

Bloomberg Net
Zero Pathfinder

IRENA

IEA’s Global Commission for
Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency
NUDGE

BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE

Oil & Gas Methane Partnership

INNOVATION & NEW
TECHNOLOGIESBIToolkit

2.1.1

BreakthroughEnergyMissionInnovation

Clean Energy
Ministerial

MPP

Shared goals and pathways
Many international initiatives promote shared goals and backcasting pathways forhave adopted or announced net-zero targets; 57 countries have put forward long-term
pathways; and more than 2,200 companies—representing one-third of global gross domestic
product—have adopted science-based targets under the SBTi. These targets and pathways

Take-off

decarbonizing energy, industry and transport. Partly in response, some 140 countries

are well understood by most governments, businesses and civil society organizations.

Major gaps
Shared goals and pathways are now wellnational pathways. Moreover, Science-based

understood, thanks in large part to international

Targets (SBTs) require greater take-up in

initiatives. Greater efforts are needed toemissions-intensive sectors; and methodologies

support low-income countries in building thehave not been developed for all sectors,

capacity to develop and apply their own

including oil and gas and the built environment.

15

2.1.2

Policy and regulationand transport. Numerous international initiatives promote best practices in policy
and disseminate lessons from one country to the next. They have led to significant
improvements in our understanding of which policies are needed to drive this transition;
but adoption of these policies is falling short. It is important to consider the social
impacts of decarbonization policies, because policymakers need political buy-in for
decarbonization reforms and could fail because of opposition.

Development

Improved policies and regulation are at the heart of decarbonizing energy, industry

Major gaps
The uptake of decarbonization policies

transition to renewable energy by five toremains vastly insufficient. More work is

10 years.11 International initiatives should

needed through international initiatives tosupport policymakers in setting the rightunderstand how to design and implement justregulations to balance energy security needs

transition policies, assess and tackle policy

with the danger of long-term fossil fuel lock-in

tradeoffs, and consider the macroeconomic

investments. Countries in the Global Southimplications of decarbonization policies. The

will need to pursue decarbonization policies

food and nature transition places greaterthat bolster sustainable development,emphasis on the rights of indigenous groups,

providing a foundation for industrialization

which policy initiatives in the energy spaceand healthy job growth. There is potential

might replicate. It appears that the Russian

for greater knowledge sharing on policy

invasion of Ukraine and the resulting spikepackages that deliver economic, social andin energy prices, as well as concerns about

environmental benefits.

energy security, have accelerated the
11 The Economist, 2023.

2.1.3

Finance, de-risking and investment
promised under the Paris Agreement. Indeed, trillions of dollars of financing areneeded to decarbonize energy, industry and transport systems—which in turncalls for greater blended finance, shared standards and other measures.
International initiatives are critical for developing new tools and standards, andfor mobilizing governments, business and the financial sector to increase theflow of finance for decarbonization.

16

Development

Rich countries have so far failed to mobilize the $100 billion in climate financeMajor gaps
The world is not on track to mobilize theInternational initiatives can provide valuable

financing needed to meet the objectives

leadership by supporting countries inof the Paris Agreement. Most blended

strengthening their enabling environments

finance mechanisms are not scaling at thewith good policies, supportive regulatory

required rate. Greater efforts are needed

regimes and capacity for structuring

to make major transition efforts, such as

and executing infrastructure investment,

the South Africa JETP, fully operational.

especially for domestic institutional investors.

Aside from mobilizing international and

Financial sector initiatives, such as GFANZ,

domestic finance, most countries struggle toare limited in their ability to drive systemic

structure and execute complex investmentschange through voluntary action alone.

in decarbonizing energy, industry andStronger government policies are neededtransport.

to put the financial system on a firm net-zero
trajectory.

Box 2 | Just Energy Transition Partnerships
Just energy transition partnerships (JETPs) are novel long-term partnerships to support decarbonization indeveloping countries. The first JETP for the coal transition in South Africa was announced at the Glasgow
COP26. Its first phase will provide $8.5 billion of financing to prevent up to 1-1.5 gigatons of emissions over
20 years by supporting South Africa in moving away from coal and in accelerating its transition to a lowemission, climate-resilient economy.
Since COP26, several other JETPs have been launched. They are a promising mechanism to engage
governments, domestic actors and international partners—including multistakeholder initiatives—aroundthe practicalities of the transition out of coal. Particular emphasis has been placed on mobilizing thenecessary finance and on ensuring that the transitions are just. Several other JETPs are in preparation,
including for countries in Latin America.
Recently, discussions have started on what equivalent programs might look like for halting deforestationand switching to sustainable agriculture. A first set of these programs is expected to be launched under
the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership at COP28 in Abu Dhabi. The last important gap for suchnational transition programs concerns support for green industrialization efforts in developing countries
that lack domestic saving pools and cannot access international capital markets at a reasonable cost ofcapital. Conceivably, such green industrialization programs could also support the transition of national oil
companies in poorer countries away from fossil fuels.

17

2.1.4Behavior change
Changing behavior is critical. Without demand reduction and efficiency measures,
energy, industry and transport systems cannot be fully decarbonized. Similarly, behavior
emissions that are causing disproportionate harm in the Global South. Meanwhile, global
primary energy consumption continues to increase and energy intensity is not improving
quickly enough to offset the trend.12 Beyond outlining the need for behavior change,international initiatives have struggled to transform behavior.

Ideationchange can help make the transition just, as rich countries need to lower their per-capita

12 IEA, 2022.

Major gaps

2.1.5

Major gaps: There is a lack of international

to require sacrifice through less or worse

initiatives to drive demand-side change—

consumption. There is a lack of positive

including energy efficiency measures—innarratives about the benefits of innovations

energy, industry and transport systems.

like a decarbonized and shared mobility

Most efforts to drive behavior change are led

system, with the power to convince andby national governments and civil society.

create societal feedback loops. Furthermore,

Businesses also need to become active in

there are good insights on how citizens

promoting behavior change and building

and businesses can reduce and improvebusiness models that enable a decoupling of

their energy consumption; but there are not

wellbeing from GHG emissions. All too often,

enough effective interventions to make thissustainable behavior change is perceived

happen.

Innovation and new technologies
There has been significant innovation in energy systems, but the rate of innovation ishave made limited progress so far. 14 International initiatives can play an important rolein developing a shared understanding among governments, businesses and research
institutions of the priorities for innovation and technology development; promotinginternational collaboration in innovation; and helping propagate new technologies,
particularly in developing countries.
13 Jeremy Oppenheim et al., 2021.
14 Jeremy Oppenheim et al., 2021.

18

Development

insufficient and must increase in many areas. 13 In particular, the hard-to-abate sectors

Major gaps
We have seen tremendous innovation in key

from the oil and gas sector, carbon

technology areas, but more is needed—

capture and storage and green hydrogen.

particularly in industrial decarbonization

These known interventions must now be

and transport. International initiatives, suchtaken up more widely by energy companies

as industry coalitions, can play a critical roleand be scaled. The costs of these technologies

in mobilizing industrial players around theremain too high; and it remains to be seenpracticalities of driving decarbonization.

if international initiatives can mobilize even

We have seen significant acceleration of

more capital to drive the rate of innovation.

progress on tackling methane emissions

2.1.6

Data and monitoring, evaluation
and accountability
has been made in standardizing rigorous data for GHG emissions across energy, industry
and transport. More recently, the Global Methane Partnership and others have started
to tackle data for methane emissions. Other international initiatives track government
and industry efforts to tackle decarbonization and map the pace of the neededtransformations. More and more international initiatives are focused on making this data
freely available.

Development

Largely thanks to international initiatives such as the GHG Protocol, significant progress

Major gaps
The quality and availability of data on GHG

monitoring Scope 3 emissions. Greater

emissions have improved significantly,

efforts are needed to publish interoperable

particularly thanks to international initiatives.

company and asset-level data. Live tracking

Important gaps are being filled in relation toof emissions should be publicly available

methane emissions. New data mining andand not behind a paywall. Greater efforts

artificial intelligence technologies make it

are needed to expand the tracking of

possible to extract large volumes of company

policies and other leading indicators for theand asset-level information. Nonetheless,decarbonization of energy, industry andinvestors and companies alike struggle withtransport.

19

Sustainable food, land, water andoceans2.2

Food production has increased dramaticallyvalue of agricultural production. Transforming

since the middle of the last century, which

to a more sustainable food and land use system

has promoted human development andis critical to curb climate change, protect

massively reduced hunger and malnutrition.

biodiversity and improve human health.

But today’s food and land use systems areenvironmentally destructive and vulnerable;

Numerous international initiatives are helping

they generate poor health outcomes anddrive change toward sustainable food, land,

reinforce major inequalities. The hidden costs

water and oceans; but major gaps remain.

of the food system exceed $12 trillion per

Figure 5 lists the principal international

year; indeed, they are higher than the total

initiatives that support this transformation.

FIGURE 5International initiatives supporting sustainable food, land, water and oceans
Ideation

Development

IHME

FELD Action
Tracker

TNFD

Darwin Core
SystemChange Lab

Take-off

DATA, MONITORING& EVALUATION AND
ACCOUNTABILITY

High Ambition Coalition (HAC)
for Nature and People

SHARED GOALS AND
PATHWAYS

UN Biodiversity
Lab

Food Systems
Dashboard

ISSB

FCLP

SBTi’s FLAG
Guidance

Land & Carbon
Lab

Global Forest
Watch

SBTN

TRASE

Forest Declaration
Assessment

Verra (VCS)

AFR100FINANCE,
DE-RISKING ANDINVESTMENT

Initiative
20x20

SBTi

FCPF

NatureFinance

VCMI

FAIRR
Initiative

EAT Lancet Commission

End Wildlife
Crime

Good Food
Institute

20

The Race to Zerocampaign
Traders
Roadmap
Global Methane
PledgePOLICY ANDREGULATIONFACT Dialogue

ART

REDD+

Behavioural
Insights Team

TNFD

SBTN

GHG Protocol Land Sector
and Removals Guidance

FOLU

WBCSD

Business for
NatureRoundtable on
Sustainable
Palm Oil

AGRA

FCLP

LEAF Coalition

BEHAVIOUR
CHANGEINNOVATION & NEW
TECHNOLOGIESCGIARSPACES2.2.1

Shared goals and pathways
committed to 30x30 and other GBF targets. But these nature targets now need to
be operationalized through national pathways and strategies. Far fewer countries
have quantitative targets for transitioning food systems. Perhaps the COP28, under
the leadership of the United Arab Emirates, will be an opportunity to promote andoperationalize ambitious national targets that cover nature and food systems. These
would need to include spatially explicit pathways toward 30x30 and other GBF targets.

Development

In the run-up to and following the adoption of the GBF, some 100 countries have

Major gaps

2.2.2

The GBF sets ambitious global targets thatfood systems; and climate pathways should

must now be operationalized at the national

pay greater attention to land and the oceans.

level, including through national pathways.

One critical challenge will be to ensure that

Countries have not achieved previous

nationally determined contributions andbiodiversity targets, partially due to a lack ofnational biodiversity strategies and action

actionable pathways. Closing this gap willplans are closely aligned, to maximize

require better data (see Section 2.2.6), as

benefits and minimize tradeoffs. That means

well as spatial planning to effectively manage

integrating thinking on nature and food withcompeting uses of land and ocean. Clearerboth emission mitigation and climate change

and more ambitious targets are needed on

adaptation.

Policy and regulation
The transformation toward sustainable food, land, water and oceans is highly dependent
as well as research and development (R&D). Policy coordination is a major challenge, as
countries need to pursue integrated land use planning and harmonize policies acrossfood, nature, infrastructure and finance. As this is the transformation with arguably thegreatest international spillover effects, trade policies and trade agreements will play a

Ideationon better policies—particularly for agriculture, fisheries, conservation, and restoration,

critical role in driving it. Several international initiatives exist to share knowledge and help
drive better policies, but their scale remains insufficient to bring about the change theworld needs.

21

Major gaps

2.2.3

While the Food and Land Use Coalition, theUnderneath this broad conclusion, a number

Food Action Network, SPACES and otherof thematic priority gaps emerge: support on

initiatives are supporting a growing number ofintegrated land use planning; land tenure andcountries in operationalizing their food, land,

rights of indigenous and other communities;

water and ocean objectives, these efforts

increased smallholder productivity; reduced

remain subscale. Countries lack integrated

methane from agriculture; work on food loss

approaches to meet these objectives.

and waste; and dietary shifts.

Finance, de-risking and investment
International finance and mechanisms to de-risk investments are critical in driving thistransformation. Carbon markets can play a crucial role in mobilizing finance for nature.
one-third of the investment needed by 2030 ($484 billion).15 To deliver on this transformation,
the world needs to scale up international carbon markets and mobilize blended financemodels—perhaps along the lines of the South Africa JETP. Moreover, supply-chain
finance should be directed toward nature-positive outcomes, which in turn requires clear
standards for mitigation and nature-positive outcomes inside and outside value chains.
15 United Nations Environment Programme, 2021.

Major gaps
Financing for this transformation is less

AFR100 and Partnership for Forests). Someadvanced than for the energy transition.

fully commercial companies have also been

Voluntary carbon markets have evolved

formed to drive restoration efforts. Theseand improved over time. While there remain

recent efforts illustrate how a combination ofimportant concerns over their environmental

carbon credit finance, supply chain finance,

integrity and credibility, the markets offer

timber revenues and—where needed—

promising mechanisms for scaling up

concessional financing might drive nature-investments. Standards for high-integrity

based solutions at scale.

supply and demand are being developed;

22

the challenge now is to scale up effective

Many investments in nature-based solutions

demand, particularly from sovereign buyers.

and other elements of this transformation

We are also seeing some encouraging signs

cover mosaic landscapes that requirethat new models of public-private financing

a complex mix of investments in rural

can support restoration activities (e.g.,

infrastructure, sustainable business models

IdeationYet only $154 billion in annual financing is going toward nature-based solutions—justand farming systems, conservation andfor Nature proposed by the US and French

restoration. These investments are arguably

governments, respectively—as mechanisms

even more complex than investments

to get all types of capital providers andin decarbonizing energy and industry.

stakeholders around the table. Across the

For this reason, it is highly welcome thatinvestments, it is vital to carefully consider theseveral governments are now exploringsocial impact of investments in nature-based

how to structure and execute “JET-Ps forsolutions—especially carbon markets—and

Nature”—such as the Country Packages

ensure that they are socially sustainable.16
16 CIEL, 2021.

2.2.4

Behavior change
One of the greatest levers for this transformation is the shift of diets toward healthier andtoward plant-based proteins, fruits, legumes and tubers. The business opportunityof shifting toward healthier diets is valued at $2 trillion. Another critical behavior shift
is away from consuming wildlife products such as ivory and shark fins. International
initiatives can play a central role in driving such behavior change.

Ideationmore sustainable food. In many cases, this means shifting away from animal proteins

Major gaps
Changing behavior is notoriously hard andbased approaches (i.e., behavioral insights)

politically sensitive. In particular, changing

could be used more widely to determine

diets goes to the heart of personal choice

which communications and interventions

and deep-seated cultural preferences.

are most effective in encouraging dietary

Consequently, initiatives aimed at shifting

shifts. On a positive note, the trade in illegal

diets, such as the EAT-Lancet Commission,

wildlife has fallen precipitously in recent

have experienced a backlash. We are not on

years, thanks in large part to well-organized

track to make the necessary dietary changes,

international initiatives.

so greater innovation is required. Evidence-232.2.5Innovation and new technologies
As with the other transformations, the rate of innovation must increase in many areas,
particularly in relation to agricultural productivity and resilience. The four big levers
to make food consumption more sustainable are dietary shifts; reduced food waste;advances in alternative proteins, so these could soon be cost-effective and attractive
to consumers on a global scale. Alternative proteins are projected to reach ~10% of
market share by 2035, but technological innovation and policy could push this to ~20%.
17

Furthermore, innovation on reducing food waste offers promising potential to reduce

Ideationalternative proteins; and regenerative agriculture. There have been significant innovation

GHG emissions and loss of biodiversity driven by agricultural land use.
17 Systemiq et al., 2023.

Major gaps

2.2.6

Compared with the energy transition, far

toward healthier diets and better farming

fewer investments go into innovation andpractices. In order to change diets, initiatives

new technologies for transforming land,should support the development of tasty

food, water and ocean use. We do not see

and affordable alternative proteins.

initiatives like the Clean Energy Ministerial

Regenerative agriculture is also a key enabler

or Breakthrough Energy in this space. Also,of sustainable land use, but scalable

corporates invest far less in R&D in thisconcepts are lacking. These areas aresector than in the energy transition. Particularparticularly ripe for increased investments

gaps exist in relation to behavior change

and disruption.

Data and monitoring, evaluation
and accountability
As with the other transformations, better data is critical to set baselines, track progress
are underway to make data on deforestation and land use change publicly available.
Additional priority areas are measuring the other principal drivers of the transformation,
including biodiversity (through in situ data); agricultural productivity; dietary shifts; andreduced food loss and waste. Addressing these challenges will require technologicalinnovation in some areas. An increasing number of international initiatives are working tocollect data on nature and ensure that global progress can be monitored and evaluated,but the data remains patchy and out of date. Without robust data on nature, businesses andpolicymakers cannot be held accountable for their actions. There is also a need to encourage

24

Development

and serve as a management tool to adjust when transformations are off track. Major effortsbusinesses to tap into existing data and to incentivize further data collection by businesses. Anotherimportant area is the tracking of policies and leading indicators for the transformation.

Major gaps

2.3

Progress is being made in making remotethat cannot be collected through satellites so

sensing data publicly available and in tracking

that governments, businesses and investorssome dimensions of the transformation throughcan set nature-positive targets and track

the System Change Lab. However, major gaps

progress toward them; and a nature equivalentremain, such as a policy tracker along the linesof the Partnership for Carbon Transparency toof the CAT; vastly improved data for key drivers

reduce the risk of data remaining in (technical)of the transformation—particularly diets, foodsilos and ensure the availability of high-quality,

loss and waste; more in situ data for biodiversity

comparable data.

Sustainable production andconsumption of materials

Resource use (extraction of materials,

fuels and biomass) account for about half ofland and water use) is a chief cause of

all GHG emissions and cause approximately

environmental collapse.18 The triple

90% of global land-related biodiversity loss

planetary crisis of climate change,

and water stress. So making production andbiodiversity loss and air pollution is driven

consumption more sustainable by adopting

by unsustainable material production andcircular economy approaches is critical for

consumption patterns. 19 The extraction andsafeguarding the global commons, including

processing of materials (metals, minerals,

meeting climate and nature objectives.20

18
19

20 Oberle et al., 2018.

Oberle et al., 2018.
Oberle et al., 2018.

25

Several international initiatives aim to1992 established formal intergovernmental

accelerate the change toward sustainablemechanisms to tackle biodiversity loss andproduction and consumption, but meaningful

climate change, to date there is no equivalent

progress has been limited and major gaps

mechanism to drive material use efficiency.

remain. As most governments have beenslow to embrace policies to advance

Initiatives that work on energy-intensive

sustainable production and consumption,materials have already been addressed inpressure and support from international

the analysis of the energy transformation.

initiatives can play a critical role. ProgressThis section focuses on consumer goodson this transformation has arguably laggedindustries such as fashion and electronics.

behind the climate and biodiversity agendas

A selection of critical initiatives is listed inbecause it is not a critical environmental

the Annex. Figure 6 shows the principal

issue in itself, but rather is a key driver of theinternational initiatives that support thisothers. As such, while the Rio Convention oftransformation.

FIGURE 6International initiatives supporting sustainable production and consumption of materials
Ideation

Development

SBTi

Take-off

SBTN

The Fashion
Pact

G20 Resource Efficiency
Dialogue Economy

The Consumer Goods Forum – plastic
waste coalition of action – shared goals

GHG Protocol

DATA, MONITORING& EVALUATION AND
ACCOUNTABILITY

IRP

CircleEconomyGCSI

Systems
Change Lab

Global Battery
Pass

EMF

SEEA

SHARED GOALS AND
PATHWAYSWRIOne Planet
NetworkRMI

IRPBusiness Coalition for a
Global Plastics Treaty

Battery Pass

G7 Berlin
Roadmap on
Resource
Efficiency andCircular
Economy

MPP

ChathamHouse

FINANCE,
DE-RISKING ANDINVESTMENT

Network forGreening the
Financial System

PACE

WRI

CPG

Ex’tax ProjectFoundation

Behavioral
Insights
Behavioural
Team Team
Insights

Good FoodClub of Rome
Institute

26

BEHAVIOUR
CHANGEPOLICY ANDREGULATION

Wellbeing
Economy Alliance

Circular Cities
Declaration

Responsible
Steel

PREVENT
Waste Alliance

C40

SINE
Foundation

SITRA

INNOVATION & NEW
TECHNOLOGIESZero Waste
Europe
GPAP

IRP

IRMA

PACE

Circular Electronics
Partnership
Consumers
Beyond Waste

SWITCH
programme

2.3.1

Shared goals and pathways
There is no universally agreed goal for transforming material production andconsumption. Target-setting is difficult because it cuts across many different sectors.
It is also contentious because sustainable consumption and production raise theof economic models that are often built around growing resource use and consumption.
Countries should aim to increase wellbeing and reduce material footprints bydecoupling wellbeing from resource use. Such objectives can then be underpinned and

Ideationquestions of resource efficiency and sufficiency. The latter in particular goes to the heart

operationalized through national pathways along the lines of what most countries havedeveloped for the energy transition. As one example, the Dutch government has aimed tohalve raw material consumption by 2030 and make the economy fully circular by 2050.

Major gaps
In the absence of agreed global targets forimpossible to achieve the objectives of theresource use, isolated national and sectoral

Paris Agreement, the GBF and other global

goals and pathways are not linked to global

environmental targets without reducing

targets and thus lack coherence and impact.

resource use; so resource-use targets are

Sustainable consumption and production

implicit in existing international agreements.

of materials cut across virtually every

International initiatives should encourage

industry and area of government activity,

more countries to adopt targets reflecting

making them hard to implement through an

both the production and consumption of

integrated program. With the exception ofmaterials. Globally, governments should

plastics, where an international agreement

accelerate target-setting so that national,

to end plastic pollution is under negotiation,

sectoral and business goals and pathways

there is no cross-cutting intergovernmental

are coherent and coordinated. Additionally,

process (equivalent to the United Nations

the SBTi allows private companies to set

Framework Convention on Climate

net-zero targets and pathways, and they

Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations

will need to implement circularity levers

Convention on Biological Diversity) driving

when including Scope 3 emissions in theirglobal and national target-setting on material

pathways. Overall, it is key to incorporate theuse. There is also no scientific consensus

externalities of material use in our economic

on how targets could be set. However, it issystem.

27

2.3.2

Policy and regulation
Improved policies are essential to drive the transformation toward sustainableproduction and consumption. While there is a diverse mix of international initiatives
working toward circular economy policies across different sectors, the number, scale
solutions across the supply chain. For an introduction to a spillover policy toolkit, see
the upcoming discussion paper by the Center for Global Commons entitled Tackling
International Spillovers through National Policies. Formal governance mechanisms havebeen relatively inactive in driving policy for sustainable materials compared to the othertwo transformations, which offers an opportunity for international initiatives to become
policy entrepreneurs and test different policy concepts.

Major gaps
Resource efficiency and circular economy

tend to over-rely on supply-side measures atapproaches should be positioned as central

the expense of demand-side measures (e.g.,pillars of climate policies. The energy

revising building codes to encourage moretransition has significant potential to reducematerial-efficient structures or avoid “over-resource intensity; materials can be retained

specification”) and circular approaches (e.g.,

at their highest possible value for as long as

designing buildings for disassembly and reuse).

possible by “closing the loop.” Approaching

Correcting this imbalance is an importantthese interlinked transformations in aopportunity for international initiatives.

coherent manner not only makes sense

Overall, there are fewer initiatives driving

but may be the best strategy to drive thepolicy on sustainable consumption andrapid adoption of policies for sustainableproduction of materials than for the otherproduction and consumption of materials,

transformations; and these initiatives work

given the lack of formal intergovernmental

on a smaller scale and are less mature. In

processes and momentum (see section 2.3.1).

particular, there is a lack of initiatives aimed

21

at helping low-income countries “leapfrog” to
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

the most advanced technologies and bypass

Change mitigation report revealed that theresource-intensive conventional pathways.23

indicative potential of demand-side strategies

While business initiatives are important toto reduce direct and indirect GHG emissions

reset production and consumption, manyin three end-use sectors (buildings, landindustry initiatives are not tied to policy andtransport and food) is 40% to 70% globally by

may create an illusion of progress.

2050. Nonetheless, decarbonization efforts
22

21 Systemiq, 2022.
22 Shukla et al., 2022.

28

23 Oberle et al., 2018.

Ideationand scope of these initiatives are too limited. There is a need for policy toolkits that offer

2.3.3Finance, de-risking and investment
Financial incentives need to be reshaped to encourage the decoupling of wellbeingtransformation toward sustainable production and consumption. Innovative financing
models can be used to promote sustainable production and consumption. The financial
sector should target societal outcomes that work toward long-term planetary health and

Ideationand socio-economic development from material consumption in order to drive thehuman wellbeing.

Major gaps
There are no dedicated financing mechanisms

to avoid these unintended consequences.24

for circularity, in the same way as there are

Material pricing should be adjusted tofor energy and nature. Financing for theaccurately reflect the externalities andenergy transition is biased toward supply-

real costs of material usage. This couldside measures that are material intensive

be achieved through material taxation. In

and overlooks high-impact demand-side

addition, financing tools must be accessible

measures that have a low material footprint.

to local actors. There needs to be a link

Improving the interconnections of the

between international initiatives and nationalenergy system and increasing demand

governments to encourage green supply

responsiveness are necessary changes thatchains, innovation and resource efficiency at

do not receive enough financing. Decisions

the local level. 25

should be informed by high-quality data on
how societal outcomes influence each other

2.3.4

24 Potočnik, J & Teixeira, I., 2022.
25 Oberle et al., 2018.

Behavior change
Shifting human behavior can increase wellbeing, while achieving de-materialization
through more resource-efficient consumption and production. Social norms can bechanges can have significant impact, as they are adopted by more people and expand
to other behaviors. While individual behaviors are important, governments have theresponsibility to put in place the systemic conditions, infrastructure and incentives thatwill help make societally desirable, sustainable choices the norm.

Ideation

an effective lever to change behavior related to natural resource use. 26 Small behavior

26 Oberle et al., 2018.

29

Major gaps
Too few international initiatives focus on

more experimentation and research intochanging behaviors toward more resource-

how to change behaviors. Second, greater

efficient production and consumption

efforts are required to apply available lessonsmodels. Several gaps should be addressedat scale, including through enhanced use ofas priorities. First, there is insufficientsocial media. Third, we must weave efforts

knowledge on how to nudge people toward

together under a broad, positive narrative formore sustainable resource use—although

reduced resource use that may become aimportant lessons have been learned in somebroad social movement.

areas (e.g., water consumption). We need

2.3.5

Innovation and new technologies
technology to support sustainable production and consumption. Some of these relate
to materials themselves, the manufacturing process, product design, business model
design and after-use systems. However, with the exception of Breakthrough Energy,
these initiatives have not yet moved the dial on overall resource use.

Major gaps
Although a significant number of international

can help build a consensus around theinitiatives promote innovation and technology

areas in greatest need of innovation andfor resource use efficiency, they have sotargeted support. Governments and industry

far had limited impact and are not easily

must then step in to close the initial funding

scalable. In particular, innovation for new

gap for private companies and non-statematerials is underfunded, which is proving

international initiatives. Critically, wea barrier to scaling key solutions such as

need more innovation toward sustainable

plastic substitutes. Today’s market incentives

consumption, as innovation efforts

do not include externalities, so artificially low

toward sustainable production receive

material pricing discourages innovation oncomparatively more support.

resource efficiency. International initiatives

30

Ideation

A growing number of international initiatives aim to catalyze innovation and new2.3.6

Data and monitoring, evaluation andaccountabilityof production and consumption of materials. Data on material use has typically been
fragmented, inconsistent and hard to access.

Ideation

Data is critical to monitor and evaluate progress toward improving the sustainability

Major gaps
The availability and accessibility of data on

accessibility must be improved. Harmonizationmaterial footprints are significant challenges

between national and business-level material

for many business actors and decision-makers.

flow and impact data is also critical, as this will

Although there are material flow databases

enhance transparency. This involves improvingthat showcase consumption patterns throughaccessibility to data on material footprints, asstandardized methodologies, the data is

well as digital passports. The development ofoften buried behind difficult interfaces, limiting

digital passports is particularly promising for

its accessibility. Additionally, the data is primarily

materials, but it could also be replicated acrossat the national level, rendering it inadequate

the other transformations—for example, forfor use by individual businesses. To make theagricultural commodities.

data more effective, its granularity and overall

2.4

Sustainable cities and communities
Transforming cities and communities andSome major international initiatives aremaking them more sustainable is key tocontributing toward sustainable cities andachieving the climate goals of the Paris

communities (e.g., UCLG; ICLEI, Cities

Agreement and the biodiversity goals of the

Alliance, C40, Circular Buildings Coalition

GBF. Inefficient land use threatens biodiversity

and Circular Cities Declaration). However,hotspots and the built environment accounts

a detailed assessment of international

for up to 40% of global GHG emissions, withinitiatives in this area is beyond the scope ofthe vast majority coming from construction

this discussion paper. This is partly because

and operation. Urbanization is continuing

key elements of cities transformation—such

rapidly: by 2050, a projected 80% of the world’s

as built environment and mobility—are

population will live in cities. Without decisive

captured by the other transformations ofaction, these trends risk putting global climate

energy, nature and materials.

and biodiversity targets at risk.

31

3

3.1

Conclusions

Many international nonstate initiatives

intergovernmental mechanisms, which

established over the last two decades

at times have been slow to react on theare making an increasingly importanttransformations; but our analysis shows

contribution to driving the transformations

that they cannot drive the transformationsof energy systems, land and ocean use andon their own. Better policies andresource use that are needed to safeguardintergovernmental cooperation thus remain

the global commons. They can complement

essential.

Findings
First, international initiatives have been

Second, our six-step framework for driving

particularly effective in setting shared goals

transformations and its link to positive tipping

and pathways, as well as driving innovation

points appears to work well in identifying

and improving data. However, there aregaps for each transformation. It reveals major

major gaps on the demand side, including

differences across the transformations.

behavior change toward more sustainable

International initiatives supporting theconsumption and production models.

energy transformation are most advanced;
while the transformation toward sustainable32

consumption and production models is thepresents (section 1) will spark greater interest

least advanced, including in relation to thein understanding and applying lessons on

basic question of how to set shared goals andthe role of international initiatives from one

operationalize them through clear pathways.

transformation to the next.

The transformation of food, land, water andoceans sits in the middle, but lags behind the

Finally, the emerging JETPs—particularly inenergy transformation—particularly on theSouth Africa and Indonesia—have become

financing side.

a vital mechanism for bringing government
and non-government actors together around

This leads us to our third finding: thatthe practical challenges of decarbonizing

major lessons can be learned from one

power systems in middle-income countries.

transformation to the next. However, such

This emerging model is increasingly credited

lessons are not systematically analyzed

with driving action—especially on shared

or applied—perhaps because mostgoals and pathways, improved policy andprofessionals, and indeed organizations, tend

regulation, and of course financing. It canto dedicate themselves to a particular set

be an excellent way to integrate the best ofof issues and lack an in-depth appreciationintergovernmental cooperation, internationalof how other sectors are approaching theirinitiatives and domestic policy, as well astransformations. We hope that our discussion

business action.

paper and the analytical framework it

33

3.2

Recommendations

We see four practical recommendations

annex to this discussion paper lists some ofemanating from this discussion paper. First,

the most important initiatives that might be

we need to deepen our understanding ofworth strengthening further; and of course,

lessons on international initiatives that canthere are many others. Indeed, in somebe shared across the transformation. This

areas there might be too many—sometimes

is a challenge that the Center for Global

competing—international initiatives, so funders

Commons at Tokyo University will continue toshould consider how such efforts could be

address. In particular, we see a need to better

consolidated.

understand how to mobilize business and thefinancial sector effectively, as is happening in

Third, there is an urgent question of how

the energy transformation. Similarly, we needbusiness and civil society organizations fromto better understand how agile international

developing countries or the Global Southinitiatives can encourage and help drive

can become more involved in international

more ambitious policymaking, as appears toinitiatives, which is critical for their credibility

be happening through the CAT’s review ofand long-term impact. We urge existing

national energy policies.

initiatives to reach out to organizations fromthe Global South and welcome efforts by the34

Second, most international initiatives require

COP28 presidency to build a bigger tent todedicated funding, including from public andstrengthen international cooperation on global

philanthropic sources. We urge such funders

challenges—particularly at a time when inter-to focus their attention on filling gaps in thegovernmental collaboration has become morearchitecture of international initiatives. This isdifficult due to geopolitical tensions and mistrust

an area where international processes, suchamong countries. We therefore cannot over-as the annual UNFCCC Conference of thestate the importance of international initiatives

Parties, can exert significant positive influence

opening themselves up to more organizations

by providing a platform for some of thefrom the Global South and reforming theirhighest-impact international initiatives. The

governance to become more inclusive.

Fourth, we welcome efforts to extend

action through international initiatives

JETPs to other countries with fossil fuel-and government collaboration. Anotherintensive power grids and encourage thearea that is worthy of similar national-

application of emerging lessons to the otherlevel efforts is green industrialization ortransformations. Ongoing discussions

industrial decarbonization, as this connects

around national-scale programs tosustainable production with the energy

accelerate the conservation and restorationtransformation as two critical drivers ofof nature (particularly forests)—as initiatedglobal commons stewardship.

by the governments of the United States,
France and the United Kingdom—are

The Center for Global Commons will continue

important and should lead to tangible

its work on international initiatives andannouncements by COP28. It is of course

practical ways to strengthen international

critical that such efforts be coordinatedgovernance mechanisms in support of theunder one broadly shared umbrella, toglobal commons. We welcome collaboration

minimize transaction costs and maximize

with scientists and practitioners to advancethe benefits of supporting national policy

this important agenda.

35

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