Mapping of international climate initiatives and coalitions : final report.
Date: 2021-10-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action
Subjects: adaptation to climate change, case study, climate change policy, energy efficiency, financing, governance, international cooperation, reduction of gas emissions, staff

Mapping of international climate 
initiatives and coalitions 
Final report 

IVM Institute for Environmental Studies 
July – 2021 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Climate Action  
Directorate A — International, Mainstreaming and Policy Coordination 
Unit A.1— International Relations 
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E-mail:  CLIMA-U47-ARES@ec.europa.eu  

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IVM Institute for Environmental Studies

Mapping of international climate initiatives
and coalitions

Final report

6 July 2021

This report is released by: Dr. Oscar Widerberg

This report was commissioned by The European Commission - DG Climate Action, Service
request N°2020/08 under ‘Framework Contract for the provision of services in the area of
evaluation, analysis, support to impact assessments and implementation of climate policies
CLIMA.A.4/FRA/2019/0011’

IVM
Institute for Environmental Studies
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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E info.ivm@vu.nl

Copyright © 2021, Institute for Environmental Studies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying,
recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright holder

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank: DIE & Global Center for Adaptation for sharing data on
international climate coalitions; all interviewees for their kind participation; Capucine
Nouvel Zurcher for research assistance; and Xavier le Den for quality assurance.

Disclaimer

The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not
guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any
person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may
be made of the information contained therein.

Suggested citation

Widerberg, Oscar, Cornelia Fast, Wolfgang Obergassel, Christiane Beuermann, Katarzyna
Negacz, Vanessa Bodenstedt (2021) Mapping of international climate initiatives and
coalitions. Final report (service request N°2020/08, the European Commission - DG Climate
Action). Institute for Environmental Studies, Wuppertal Institute and Ramboll

Contents

Executive summary

Résumé

1. Introduction

1.2. Objectives of the study

1.1. Project background

1.1.1. The rise of international climate initiatives and coalitions

1.1.2. International climate initiatives in the Paris Agreement

1.1.3. Existing mappings of international climate initiatives

1.1.4. Effectiveness of international climate initiatives and coalitions

2. Methodology

2.1. Phase 1: Create, analyse and visualize inventory of current initiatives

5

10

16

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17

17

18

19

21

22

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2.2. Phase 2: Analysis and recommendation for prioritizing international climate
initiatives

24

3. The expanding ecosystem of international climate initiatives and coalitions

3.1. The expanding ecosystem of initiatives

3.2. The geography of initiatives: Bias toward the Global North

3.3. Thematic focus: Mitigation, energy and information sharing

3.4. Tracking progress

3.5. Summary

4. Case-studies

4.1. Case-study overview

4.2. Explaining the emergence of new initiatives

4.3. Resources: Finance, people, skills and monitoring

4.4. Unleashing the latent potential within initiatives

5. Gap Analysis

5.1.       Alignment with EU Climate and Energy Diplomacy Priorities

5.2.       Conclusions

6. Recommendations

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36

36

39

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43

44

45

46

48

6.1. Recommendations to support the ecosystem of initiatives

6.2. Recommendations to support individual initiatives

Political signaling

Information sharing, human resource and logistical support

Financial support

Activate EU member states

7. References

8 Annexes

8.1 Annex A: List of climate databases

8.2 Annex B: International climate initiatives included in long-list

8.5 Annex C: Coverage of co-operation options per sector (n=344 initiatives)

8.7 Annex D: Coverage of sectors by shortlisted initiatives (n=22)

48

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50

50

51

55

58

58

59

73

77

8.8. Annex E:
initiatives, listed per thematic area

Initiatives that could fill functions not covered by the shortlisted

78

5

Executive summary

A changing ecosystem of initiatives

The structure of international climate politics has changed rapidly over the past
10 years. In parallel to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), thousands of national, regional and local governments,
companies,
investors, and civil society organizations are collaborating in
hundreds of international climate initiatives and coalitions. An increasingly
complex ecosystem of initiatives is emerging, creating both challenges and
opportunities for actors (including the European Commission) to engage in
global climate politics. In terms of mitigation, the potential for initiatives to
reduce emissions is substantial. One study assessing 17 initiatives estimates
the potential emission reduction to 18–21 GtCO2e/year by 2030, in addition to
ambition-levels set out in the National Determined Contributions, equal to about
one-third of current global emissions (Lui et al., 2020).

the project

‘Mapping of

This report unravels the ecosystem of initiatives by providing a helicopter view
of over 340 international initiatives in climate mitigation and adaptation, and
subsequently a fine-grained analysis of 22 case-studies. The report is the final
international climate initiatives and
product of
coalitions’, carried out for the European Commission - DG Climate Action
(service request N°2020/08), under ‘Framework Contract for the provision of
services in the area of evaluation, analysis, support to impact assessments and
implementation of climate policies CLIMA.A.4/FRA/2019/0011’. The contract is
implemented by a consortium led by the Institute for Environmental Studies
(IVM) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Wuppertal
Institute and Ramboll.

An “average” initiative: Mitigation, energy and HQ in the Global North

The ecosystem of initiatives has rapidly expanded over the past 10 years. The
report identifies 344 initiatives directly involved in governing climate mitigation
and/or adaptation at the international or transnational level. The helicopter view
of the initiatives shows that:

● The vast majority, nearly 90 % of the initiatives, were started
after 2011. Important COPs (e.g. COP15 and COP21) and other major
climate summit, e.g. UN Secretary General’s climate summits, function as
“launch pads” for new initiatives, as well as, show-case moments for
existing initiatives

● Most initiatives focus on mitigation or mitigation & adaptation,
few are pure play adaptation initiatives. ‘Energy’ and ‘industry’ are
the largest thematic areas in mitigation focused initiatives whereas

6

‘resilience’ is the largest thematic area in adaptation focused initiatives.
Few initiatives focus on “water”or “oceans and coastal zones”, however,
more initiatives on fresh water, wetlands, and oceans may be found if the
selection criteria used for this report were to be relaxed.

● The majority of initiatives are headquartered in the Global North,
either in Europe or in North America, with less than a few percent having
their HQ in Africa, Asia or Latin America.

● The majority of initiatives have a global focus or focus on multiple

regions.

the initiatives engage in,

● The most common function among the initiatives, i.e. the most
used mechanism for change, is ‘information and networking’. More
than 70 % of
for example, collecting,
synthesising, and disseminating information to their members and/or
target groups, or creating networking opportunities between its
members. Less than a third of the initiatives engage in ‘standard setting
and commitments’ such as developing ecolabels or common measuring
standards or
reduce
emissions.

jointly make commitments to,

instance,

for

● A small majority of initiatives have some kind of reporting of
their work available to the public. The majority of those report on
input and output level
indicators such as resources spent or events
organized, rather than outcome or impact level indicators.

The mapping suggests that the growth of initiatives is largely driven by actors
from Europe and North America, mainly focusing on mitigation, and energy in
the UNFCCC remains an important focal
particular. Consequently,
institution in the ecosystem of
initiatives for ensuring broad
participation and inclusive decision-making on climate policy that
concerns the global community.

How to improve international climate initiatives

To better understand how to engage with the ecosystem of initiatives, the
report carried out 22 case-studies. Interviews were carried out with 14 people in
executive positions at the initiatives or with deep insights into their workings to
enrich the data collected in desk-studies and document review. The case-studies
yielded the following insights:

● COPs are important for international climate initiatives. Initiatives
use the platform and momentum provided by COPs to announce their
initiation and share important updates. COPs and other high-level
meetings also provide an important signaling function for future
direction and give initiatives an extra incentive for amping up their
efforts

7

● Initiatives tend to be motivated by a perceived “governance gap”.
They provide platforms for international cooperation on climate issues
that need more attention. For instance, the “4 per 1000” initiative
focuses on how soil quality and various types of agriculture can
contribute to reaching the UNFCCC’s goals.

● Initiatives are explicitly designed to make themselves redundant.
Initiatives (e.g. the 2050 Pathways Platform, LeadIT or the 4 per 1000)
are designed to disappear. They perceive their existence to be temporary
and to dissolve once their mission is accomplished.

● Initiatives continuously merge, change name or change focus.
The ecosystem is highly dynamic with initiatives (such as GCoM or CSLF)
merging or aligning with other initiatives, leading to new initiatives being
created out of old ones.

When looking at individual initiatives, the report also unveils points of attention,
of which some could make a positive contribution to the effectiveness of
initiatives. The following points were identified:

● Funding and financial resources. Initiatives in our sample overall
report on favorable financial situations, however some find it challenging
to fund scaling activities, allowing for extending their operations beyond
current reach. Funding is often short-term and project-based, leading to
problems with adopting a longer time-frame requiring sustained funding
over time.

● People and skills.

Initiatives often operate in technical and niche
markets, making it challenging to identify and attract people with the
right skills. Lack of human resources can also hamper scaling and
expansion as moving into new countries and regions requires highly
specific language and cultural skills, on top of technical knowledge.
● Monitoring and reporting. Monitoring and reporting are needed for
learning, creating credibility and ensuring accountability. However, it is
time and resources intensive as well as technically challenging since
“impact” is hard to measure and quantify.

● More engagement from existing members is needed. In terms of
membership, the main problem is not attracting new members but rather
engaging existing members. Initiatives often have a small core of highly
active members
contribute disproportionately much to the
collaboration compared to the others. There is a tradeoff between
seeking out new members and engaging current members when
managing the initiative.

that

● Deep vs. wide approach. Initiatives often have to make a decision
between “going deep” (furthering integration between existing members)
and “going wide” (attracting new members).

8

Recommendations moving forward

Based on the mapping and the case-studies, the study-team developed two sets
of recommendations to the European Commission for engaging with the
ecosystem of initiatives. First, regarding how to support the initiatives at the
institutional level, i.e. how to support the ecosystem. Second, regarding how to
support individual initiatives and how the European Commission can become
more proactive and strategic in their approach.

First, the European Commission could support the ecosystem of initiatives by:

● Maintaining an ambitious and active role in existing initiatives.
The EU, through the European Commission and its member states, is a
leading force in starting and maintaining international climate initiatives.
It should continue to assert pressure on other Parties and non-Party
actors to follow suit and set the direction for the private sector

● Supporting the work of the Global Climate Action Agenda and the
High-level champions under the UNFCCC process. The GCA and the
High-level Champions are institutionalizing the role of international
climate initiatives in the UNFCCC. They need continued political,
economic and human resource support to carry out their mandate and
mission, keeping up the momentum around climate action.

● Supporting mapping, monitoring and reporting. More initiatives
means more complexity. It is becoming challenging to oversee what is
happening and build credibility while mitigating greenwashing. Only by
continuing gathering data and mapping initiatives (e.g. through NAZCA
or the Climate Initiatives Platform (CIP)),
is it possible to engage,
evaluate, learn and intervene meaningfully in the ecosystem of initiatives.
● Strengthening climate adaptation, and socially just and inclusive
energy transitions initiatives. There are many more mitigating
initiatives than there are adaptation initiatives. As the urgency and
understanding of the need for climate adaptation grows, more initiatives
might be needed to fill missing governance gaps. Surveying initiatives in
other issue areas, such as biodiversity, may prove useful, as they could
have positive indirect
impacts on adaptation (e.g. nature-based
solutions). Initiatives in the energy sector focusing on socially just and
inclusive energy transitions are also relatively rare. As the distributional
effects of the energy transition are becoming increasingly clear, the need
grows for tackling climate change in a socially responsible and inclusive
manner.

9

The European Commission could support the individual initiatives by:

● Political signaling.

○ Become a member or endorse initiatives which it is not already

part of.

○ Continue to be an important stakeholder in existing initiatives

that relies on its input

● Information sharing, human resource and logistical support.

○ Provide dissemination support to showcase the actions of the

initiatives.

○ Provide cues for how the initiatives could support achieving EU

climate policy goals and priorities.

○ Use existing diplomatic networks to support and engage new

countries and partners to join initiatives.

● Financial support.

○ Maintain its current financial support for existing initiatives.
○ Relay work carried out by the initiatives to the EU funding bodies

or development banks

○ Develop potential capacity building in developing countries to

enable long-term sectoral transitions

● Activate EU member states.

○ Review how states with currently low engagement could support

and/or benefit from participating in the initiatives

○ Nudge Member States to join initiatives or to increase existing

activities

Conclusions: A holistic approach to international climate policy

To conclude, the UNFCCC has over the past decade been joined by hundreds of
international
initiatives and coalitions engaging thousands of both Party and
non-Party stakeholders. It is clearly becoming increasingly difficult to navigate
the space and to know a priori where to best pursue political goals. Creating a
better overview of where the European Commission currently is engaged is a
first step to developing a more strategic approach to engaging in the wider
ecosystem of
It also requires a better
understanding of what makes an initiative effective, in particular in relation to
the UNFCCC goals and vis-a-vis other initiatives. The European Commission
can play an important role by pursuing a holistic approach to
international climate policy by joining, endorsing, funding, resourcing,
mapping, analysing and recording climate mitigation and adaptation
initiatives and coalitions.

initiatives beyond the UNFCCC.

10

Résumé

Un écosystème d’initiatives en mutation

La structure de la politique climatique internationale a rapidement évolué au
cours des dix dernières années. Parallèlement à la Convention-cadre des Nations
unies sur les changements climatiques (CCNUCC), des milliers de gouvernements
nationaux, régionaux et locaux, d'entreprises, d'investisseurs et d'organisations
de la société civile prennent part à des centaines d'initiatives et de coalitions
internationales sur le climat. Un écosystème d'initiatives de plus en plus
complexe est en train d'émerger, créant à la fois des défis et des opportunités
pour l’engagement des acteurs (y compris la Commission européenne) dans la
politique climatique mondiale.
En termes d'atténuation du changement
climatique, le potentiel de réduction des émissions de carbone par ces initiatives
est considérable. Une étude évaluant 17 initiatives estime que le potentiel de
réduction des émissions est de 18-21 GtCO2e/an d'ici 2030, en plus des niveaux
d'ambition fixés au niveau national (Nationally Determined Contributions), ce qui
correspond à environ un tiers des émissions mondiales actuelles (Lui et al.,
2020).

Ce rapport clarifie l'écosystème d’initiatives en fournissant une vue d'ensemble
l'atténuation et
de plus de 340 initiatives internationales impliquées dans
l'adaptation au changement climatique, puis une analyse fine de 22 études de
cas. Le rapport est le produit final du projet "Mapping of international climate
initiatives and coalitions", réalisé pour la Commission européenne - DG Action
pour le climat (demande de service N°2020/08), dans le cadre du ‘Framework
Contract for the provision of services in the area of evaluation, analysis, support
to
policies
CLIMA.A.4/FRA/2019/0011’.". Le contrat est mis en œuvre par un consortium
dirigé par l'Institut d'études environnementales (IVM) de la Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, en coopération avec l'Institut Wuppertal et Ramboll.

implementation

assessments

climate

impact

and

of

Une initiative ‘moyenne’: Atténuation du changement climatique,
énergie et le rôle des sièges sociaux dans l’hémisphère nord

L'écosystème d’initiatives s'est rapidement développé au cours des dix dernières
années. Le rapport identifie 344 initiatives directement impliquées dans la
gouvernance de l'atténuation et/ou de l'adaptation au changement climatique à
l’échelle internationale ou transnationale. La vue d'ensemble des initiatives qui
en ressort souligne que :

La grande majorité, soit près de 90 % des initiatives, ont été lancées
après 2011. Les principales COP (telles que la COP15 et COP21) ainsi que

11

d'autres sommets majeurs sur le climat, comme par exemple les sommets sur le
climat du Secrétariat général des Nations unies, servent de "rampes de
lancement" pour les nouvelles initiatives, et de démonstration pour les initiatives
existantes.

● La plupart des initiatives se concentrent sur l’atténuation ou sur
l'atténuation et l'adaptation au changement climatique. Peu d’entre
elles se concentrent exclusivement sur l'adaptation. ‘’Energie’’ et
‘’Industrie’’ sont
les thématiques majeures des initiatives axées sur
l'atténuation, tandis que le thème central des initiatives focalisées sur
l’adaptation est celui de la "résilience". Peu d'initiatives se concentrent sur
les thèmes de l'eau ou des océans et des zones côtières", cependant,
d’avantage d'initiatives portant sur l'eau douce, les zones humides et les
océans pourraient être comptabilisées si les critères de sélection utilisés
pour ce rapport étaient élargis.

● La majorité des initiatives ont leur siège social dans l’hémisphère
Nord l, soit en Europe, soit en Amérique du Nord, tandis que moins de
quelques pour cent ont leur siège en Afrique, en Asie ou en Amérique
latine.

● La majorité des initiatives ont une approche globale ou bien se

concentrent sur plusieurs régions.

● La fonction la plus courante, c'est-à-dire le levier de changement le
plus utilisé par ces initiatives, est le "networking" (mise en relation).
Plus de 70 % des initiatives s'engagent, par exemple, à collecter,
synthétiser et diffuser des informations à leurs membres et/ou groupes
cibles, ou à créer des opportunités de mise en réseau entre ceux-ci. Moins
d'un tiers des initiatives s'engage dans la définition de ‘’normes et
d'engagements", comme le développement des écolabels ou des normes
de mesure communes, ou encore par des engagements de réduction
d'émissions.

public

● Une petite majorité d'initiatives dispose d'une forme de rapport
sur leur travail. La majorité de ces rapports porte sur des
indicateurs de niveau d'entrée et de sortie, tels que les ressources
dépensées ou les événements organisés, plutôt que sur des indicateurs de
niveau de résultat ou d'impact des initiatives poursuivies.

● Il apparaît au travers de la cartographie, que la croissance des
initiatives est largement portée par des acteurs situés en Europe
et en Amérique du Nord. Ces initiatives sont particulièrement axées sur
l'atténuation du changement climatique et sur les enjeux énergétiques.
Par conséquent,
dans
l'écosystème d’initiatives visant à assurer une large participation et une
prise de décision inclusive sur la politique climatique qui concerne la
communauté mondiale.

la CCNUCC reste une institution centrale

12

Comment améliorer les initiatives internationales en matière de climat?

Pour mieux comprendre comment s'engager dans l'écosystème d’initiatives, le
rapport a réalisé 22 études de cas. Des entretiens ont été menés avec 14
personnes occupant des postes de direction au sein des initiatives ou ayant une
connaissance approfondie de leur fonctionnement, afin d'enrichir les données
recueillies lors des études de bureau et de l'examen des documents. Les études
de cas ont permis d'obtenir les informations suivantes:

● Les COP (Conférence des parties) sont importantes pour les
initiatives internationales en matière de climat. Les initiatives
utilisent la plateforme et l'élan fournis par les COP pour annoncer leur
lancement et partager des mises à jour importantes. Les COPs et autres
réunions de haut niveau jouent également un rôle important d’orientation
parmi les possibles directions futures et incitent les initiatives à intensifier
leurs efforts.

● Les initiatives sont généralement motivées par la perception d'un
"déficit de gouvernance". Elles fournissent des plateformes pour la
coopération internationale sur les questions climatiques qui nécessitent
plus d'attention. Par exemple , l'initiative "4 pour 1000" explore la façon
dont la qualité des sols et les différents types d'agriculture peuvent
contribuer à atteindre les objectifs de la CCNUCC.

● Les initiatives sont en permanente évolution, elles fusionnent,
changent de nom ou d'orientation. L'écosystème est très dynamique,
avec des initiatives (telles que le GCoM ou le CSLF) qui fusionnent ou
s'alignent avec d'autres, ce qui conduit à la création de nouvelles
initiatives à partir d’autres pre-existantes.

En examinant chaque initiatives individuellement, le rapport dévoile également
des centres d'attention, dont certains pourraient contribuer à améliorer leur
efficacité. Les points suivants ont été identifiés:

● Financement et

ressources financières. Dans
les
initiatives de notre échantillon font état d'une situation financière
favorable, mais certaines d'entre elles ont du mal à financer des activités
d'envergure, qui permettraient d'étendre leurs opérations au-delà de leur
portée actuelle. Le financement est souvent à court terme et basé sur des
projets, ce qui pose problème pour l'adoption d'un cadre temporel plus
long nécessitant un financement soutenu dans le temps.

l'ensemble,

● Les personnes et leurs compétences. Les initiatives opèrent souvent
rend difficile
techniques et de niche,
sur des marchés
l'identification et
les bonnes
compétences. Le manque de ressources humaines peut également
entraver le développement et l'expansion, car l'implantation dans de
nouveaux pays et
régions exige des compétences linguistiques et
culturelles très spécifiques, en plus des connaissances techniques.

l'attraction de personnes possédant

ce qui

13

● Suivi et rapports. Le suivi et les rapports d’évaluation sont nécessaires
pour apprendre, créer de la crédibilité et assurer la responsabilisation des
membres . Cependant, ces activités demandent beaucoup de temps et de
ressources, et constituent un défi technique, car l'impact des initatives est
difficile à mesurer et à quantifier.

● Les membres existants doivent s'impliquer davantage. En termes
d'adhésion, le principal problème n'est pas d'attirer de nouveaux membres
mais plutôt d’atteindre une plus grande implication de la part des
membres existants. Les initiatives ont souvent un petit noyau de membres
très actifs qui contribuent de manière disproportionnée à la collaboration
Il existe un compromis entre la
par rapport aux autres membres.
recherche de nouveaux membres et l'engagement des membres actuels
dans la gestion de l'initiative.

● Approche en profondeur ou élargissement. Les initiatives doivent
souvent choisir entre renforcer l'intégration entre les membres existants
(going deep), et attirer de nouveaux membres (going wide).

Recommandations pour l'avenir

Sur la base de la cartographie et des études de cas, l'équipe de l'étude a élaboré
deux séries de recommandations adressées à la Commission européenne en vue
de son engagement dans l'écosystème des initiatives. La première concerne la
manière de soutenir les initiatives au niveau institutionnel, c'est-à-dire les
possibles façons de soutenir l'écosystème. La seconde concerne la manière dont
la Commission européenne peut soutenir les initiatives individuelles et devenir
plus proactive et stratégique dans son approche.

Premièrement,
d'initiatives de la manière suivante :

la Commission européenne pourrait soutenir

l'écosystème

● Maintenir un rôle ambitieux et actif au sein des initiatives
existantes. L'UE, par l'intermédiaire de la Commission européenne et de
ses États membres, joue un rôle de premier plan dans le lancement et le
maintien des initiatives internationales en matière de climat. Elle doit
continuer à faire pression sur les autres parties et les acteurs non parties
pour qu'ils lui emboîtent le pas et donnent la direction à suivre au secteur
privé.

● Soutenir le travail de l'Agenda mondial pour l'action climatique et
des Champions de haut niveau dans le cadre du processus de la
CCNUCC. L’Agenda mondial pour l’action climatique et les champions de
haut niveau institutionnalisent
climatiques
internationales dans le cadre de la CCNUCC. Ils nécessitent un soutien
continu en termes de ressources politiques, économiques et humaines

le rôle des

initiatives

14

pour mener à bien leur mandat et leur mission, en maintenant la
dynamique de l'action climatique.

● Soutenir le travail de cartographie,

le suivi et les rapports.
Davantage d'initiatives signifie davantage de complexité. Il devient
difficile de parvenir à une vue d’ensemble sur la situation et de renforcer
la crédibilité tout en évitant l'écoblanchiment (greenwashing). Ce n'est
qu'en continuant à collecter des données et à cartographier les initiatives
(par exemple, par le biais de NAZCA ou de la Plateforme des initiatives
climatiques (PIC)) qu'il est possible de s'engager, d'évaluer, d'apprendre et
d'intervenir de manière significative dans l'écosystème des initiatives.

● Renforcer l'adaptation au climat et les initiatives de transitions
énergétiques socialement justes et inclusives. Il existe beaucoup
plus d'initiatives d'atténuation que d'adaptation au changement
climatique. Au fur et à mesure que l'urgence et la compréhension de la
nécessité de l'adaptation climatique augmentent, d'autres initiatives
pourraient être nécessaires pour combler les lacunes de la gouvernance.
L'étude des initiatives dans d'autres domaines, tels que la biodiversité,
peut s'avérer utile, car elles pourraient avoir des impacts positifs indirects
sur l'adaptation (par exemple, des solutions basées sur la nature aussi
appelées Nature-based solutions). Les initiatives dans le secteur de
l'énergie axées sur des transitions énergétiques socialement justes et
inclusives sont également relativement rares. Les effets distributifs de la
transition énergétique étant de plus en plus évidents, il est d’autant plus
nécessaire de s'attaquer au changement climatique d'une manière
socialement responsable et inclusive.

La Commission européenne pourrait soutenir les initiatives individuelles de
plusieurs façons:

● En envoyant des signaux politiques

○ Devenir membre ou soutenir des initiatives dont elle ne fait pas

encore partie.

○ Continuer à être une partie prenante importante dans les initiatives

existantes qui comptent sur son soutien.

● En partageant

l’information,

les ressources humaines et en

apportant un soutien logistique.

○ Fournir un soutien à la dissémination des connaissances et des

informations  pour mettre en valeur les actions des initiatives.

○ Fournir des

indications sur

les initiatives
pourraient contribuer à la réalisation des objectifs et des priorités
de la politique climatique de l'UE.

la manière dont

15

○ Utiliser les réseaux diplomatiques existants pour soutenir et inciter

de nouveaux pays et partenaires à rejoindre les initiatives.

● En apportant un soutien financier

○ Maintenir son soutien financier actuel aux initiatives existantes.

○ Relayer

les

travaux réalisés par

initiatives auprès des
organismes de financement de l'UE ou des banques de
développement.

les

○ Développer le renforcement potentiel des capacités dans les pays
en développement pour permettre des transitions sectorielles à
long terme.

● En activant les États membres de l'UE

○ Examiner comment les États dont l'engagement est actuellement
faible pourraient soutenir et/ou bénéficier de leur participation aux
initiatives.

○ Inciter les États membres à rejoindre les initiatives ou à accroître

les activités existantes.

Conclusions: Une approche holistique de la politique climatique
internationale

En conclusion, la CCNUCC a été rejointe au cours de la dernière décennie par des
centaines d'initiatives et de coalitions internationales impliquant des milliers de
parties prenantes, qu'elles soient ou non parties à la convention. Il devient
clairement de plus en plus difficile de naviguer dans cet espace et de savoir a
priori comment poursuivre au mieux les objectifs politiques. La création d'une
meilleure vue d'ensemble des domaines dans
la Commission
européenne est actuellement engagée est un premier pas vers le développement
d'une approche plus stratégique pour s'engager dans l'écosystème plus large des
initiatives au-delà de la CCNUCC. Cela nécessite également une meilleure
compréhension de ce qui rend une initiative efficace, en particulier par rapport
aux objectifs de la CCNUCC et par rapport à d'autres initiatives.

lesquels

La Commission européenne peut jouer un rôle important;

-

-

-

en adoptant une approche globale de la politique internationale sur le
climat,

en adhérant à des initiatives et des coalitions d'adaptation et d'atténuation
du changement climatique,

en les soutenant tout autant par le financement, le recensement, l’analyse
l'enregistrement des initiatives et coalitions d'atténuation et d'adaptation
du changement climatique.

1. Introduction

16

the project

‘Mapping of

This report analyses the emerging ecosystem of international coalitions and
initiatives for mitigating and adapting to climate change. It is the final product
international climate initiatives and
of
coalitions’, carried out for the European Commission - DG Climate Action
(service request N°2020/08), under ‘Framework Contract for the provision of
services in the area of evaluation, analysis, support to impact assessments and
implementation of climate policies CLIMA.A.4/FRA/2019/0011’. The contract is
carried out by a consortium led by the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Wuppertal Institute
and Ramboll.

The project consisted of two phases. First, a mapping phase, providing a
helicopter perspective of existing international coalitions and initiatives for
mitigating and adapting to climate change. Second, a case-study phase,
zooming in on 22 initiatives to better understand the challenges and
opportunities of initiatives to make a successful contribution to mitigating and
adapting to climate change.

The report is structured as follows. First, chapter 1 describes the objectives and
background to the study. Chapter 2 outlines the methodology,
including
data-collection approach and analytical choices. Chapter 3 reports on the
findings from the mapping of 344 initiatives. Chapter 4 reports on the findings
from 22 case studies. Chapter 5 describes a gap analysis on what initiatives that
are missing. Finally, chapter 6 summarizes the findings.

17

1.2. Objectives of the study

The objective of
navigating the emerging landscape of
coalitions.

the project is to support the European Commission in
international climate initiatives and

The overall objective1 is:

● To inform future decisions regarding the European Commission
engagement in international climate initiatives and coalitions, including
the assessment of joining, dropping, taking a leading role or creating
new initiatives and/or provide support to enable individual key initiatives
to effectively play their expected role.

The objectives of the report are the following:

● To increase the understanding about existing international climate

initiatives, including gaps and overlaps;

● To identify design features that make some of the initiatives succeed in
building large memberships, getting a strong ownership from their
members and succeed in reaching their goals;

● To identify particular initiatives in which the EU may have a stronger

interest and added-value; and,

● To identify particular initiatives that have a strong potential to promote a
positive narrative around the opportunity of climate action in the context
of economic recovery and the global progress towards the Paris
Agreement objectives.

the report will

By fulfilling these objectives,
inform on future decisions
regarding the European Commission’s engagement in international climate
initiatives and coalitions, including the assessment of joining, dropping, taking
a leading role or creating new initiatives and/or provide support to enable
individual key initiatives to effectively play their expected role.

1.1. Project background

The following section provides an overview of why international climate
initiatives and coalitions are becoming increasingly important in international
climate governance.

1.1.1. The rise of international climate initiatives and coalitions

Since 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) has been a centre of gravity for negotiating a global response to

1 In accordance with service request N°2020/08

18

climate change. The UNFCCC is a Party-driven process, where decision-making
power is exclusive to national governments, and governed on the basis of
consensus rule-making. Unfortunately, the ambition-level of Parties to the
UNFCCC is insufficient for reaching the global target of limiting global warming
to 2°C, let alone the aspiration to stop warming at 1.5°C (Rogelj et al., 2016). An
“implementation gap” has occurred between where Parties are and where they
ought
to be to reach the mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement (UN
Environment, 2018).

Over the past 15 years, Parties to the UNFCCC have been joined by smaller
groups of states (sometimes referred to as “clubs”), as well as, thousands of
cities, regions, companies, and civil society organizations, aiming to close the
implementation gap. These “non-Party” actors often collaborate with Parties in
international climate initiatives and their potential to reduce emissions is
substantial. A recent study assessing 17 initiatives (e.g. the Africa Renewable
Energy Initiative (AREI), the Bonn Challenge and the Climate & Clean Air
Coalition (CCAC)) estimate that
they could reduce emissions with 18–21
GtCO2e/year by 2030, in addition to ambition-levels set out in the National
Determined Contributions, equal
to about a one-third of current global
emissions (Lui et al., 2020). While some studies are more sceptical about the
large mitigation potential in international climate initiatives (Hsu et al., 2018),
most analysts suggest that international climate initiatives, often involving
non-Party actors, will be crucial for reaching the goals of the Paris Agreements.

1.1.2. International climate initiatives in the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement ushered in a new era for non-Party actors, including
international climate initiatives. Moving from a “regulatory” to a “facilitative”
regime, the design of the agreement allows for more flexible and tailor-made
mitigation policies where international climate initiatives and non-Party actors
play a role in finding new and innovative solutions as well as implementing
existing mitigation goals (Hale, 2016). The formal process also created several
platforms for non-Party actors to engage with the UNFCCC. In the run-up to
COP21 in Paris in 2015, most notably, the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA)
launched in 2014 to generate a positive momentum towards COP21 by
catalysing non-Party climate action. Conjointly launched with the Lima-Paris
Action Agenda (LPAA), was the Non-state Actor Zone for Climate Action
(NAZCA), a platform to showcase commitments made by cities, regions,
companies, investors and civil society organizations to mitigate and adapt to
climate change.

The COP21 Decision adopting the Paris Agreement (Decision 1/CP.21) itself also
made several references to non-Party Actors as parties:

19

● Encourages Parties to work closely with non-Party stakeholders to
to strengthen mitigation and adaptation action

catalyse efforts
(paragraph 118)

● Encourages non-Party stakeholders to register their climate actions in the

Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action platform (paragraph 117)

● Strengthens the technical examination process on mitigation for the

period 2016–2020 in various ways (paragraphs 109 and 110)

● Convenes a high-level event building on the Lima–Paris Action Agenda
during the period 2016–2020 in conjunction with each session of the
Conference of the Parties (paragraph 120)

● Appoints two high-level champions on behalf of the President of the

Conference of the Parties to catalyse NSAs (paragraph 121).

The Paris Agreement thus demonstrates the understanding and willingness of
Parties to increasingly bring non-Party actors closer to the formal process.

1.1.3. Existing mappings of international climate initiatives

Up until only five years ago, there were few comprehensive mappings of
international climate initiatives. Academic researchers had gathered smaller
databases of up to 60 initiatives and published their research in journals and
books (e.g. Abbott, 2012; Bulkeley et al., 2014, 2012; Hoffman, 2011).
However, things changed in the run up to COP21 in Paris.

The UNFCCC Secretariat started to collect initiatives based on primarily input
from Parties in 2013-14 in a Platform for Cooperative Initiatives. It was used to
produce technical papers as input to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban
Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), in particular working group II on enhanced
action pre-2020. In parallel, another database was started, what today is known
as, the Climate Initiatives Platform (for a short history of these databases, see
Widerberg and Stripple, 2016).

Two databases have become leading in mapping International Climate
Initiatives: The Climate Initiatives Platform (CIP), maintained by UN Environment
(UNEP) and UNEP DTU2; and, the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action
(NAZCA), also referred to as the Global Climate Action portal.3 The former
includes descriptive data on 264 initiatives, and the latter 149 initiatives. The
data in both CIP and NAZCA are restricted to describing and categorizing the
initiatives in terms of thematic and geographical focus, types of climate action,
members, year of initiation, mission statement, and contact information. Data in
CIP and NAZCA are used to create global aggregate reports, such as the
Yearbook on Climate Action (published by the UNFCCC Secretariat), and

2 http://climateinitiativesplatform.org/index.php/Welcome
3 https://climateaction.unfccc.int/

20

academic and consultancy reports such as the Global Aggregation Reports
(published by New Climate Institute, Yale, and PBL). Those publications in turn
feed into other reports such as the UNEP Gap Reports, which in 2018 released a
special report on non-Party climate action (Hsu et al., 2018).

Beyond NAZCA and CIP, a number of databases on initiative exist in adjacent
fields. Notably, the Sustainable Development in Action (SD in Action) database
maintained by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs,
contains 2014 voluntary commitments and partnerships on sustainable
development, of which many are focused on climate mitigation and adaptation.
The United Nations Ocean Conference also started a registry with over 1,600
voluntary commitments and partnerships, specific to the ocean, but also
including partnerships with relevance for climate change. Finally, Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity have launched a the ‘the Sharm El-Sheikh to
Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People’,4 in which they invite voluntary
commitments and partnerships to register. It currently has 141 commitments
registered.

Besides the mappings and databases carried out by international organizations,
the academic and research community has carried out several more recent
mappings. The CONNECT-project5,
for example, which has mapped out
initiatives in climate change, forestry, energy, and
hundreds of international
fisheries. The results for climate change have been displayed on the
www.connect-it-climate.eu platform, showcasing the linkages between different
initiatives in terms of membership. The same team has also, in collaboration
with the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), mapped out over 300
biodiversity related initiatives, of which many are directly focused on climate
change (Pattberg et al., 2017). In the context of the Horizon 2020 project
COP21-RIPPLES (www.cop21ripples.eu), a team including members from the
Wuppertal
Institute, the University of East Anglia, VU Brussels and Climate
Analytics analysed about 150 international institutions and initiatives regarding
their contributions to the international governance of climate change (Rayner et
al. 2018). Other more specific projects, for instance the ClimaSouth project6,
maps out initiatives in the global South.

In sum, a vast amount of data exists to build a database on international climate
initiatives for specific purposes. The overall challenge across the databases has
been to go beyond simply descriptive data, and assess their impacts, as well as
keeping the databases up-to-date, given the work-intensity of compiling and
updating the databases.

4 https://www.cbd.int/action-agenda/
5 www.fragmentation.eu
6 https://www.geg.ox.ac.uk/research/climate-south

21

1.1.4. Effectiveness of international climate initiatives and coalitions

The emerging ecosystem of
international climate initiatives and coalitions
provides governments and international organisations the opportunity to
pursue climate mitigation and adaptation outside the multilateral process and
the UNFCCC. The institutional proliferation provides governments with ample
venues to pursue specific policy goals, set their own ambition-level, and team
up with the governments and non-state actors that they seem fit. Governments
and international organizations, including the European Commission, are thus
faced with evaluating the efficacy of what works, which initiatives to support
and in what role.

Current assessments of effectiveness in international climate initiatives show a
mixed picture, however. A review of over 300 partnerships for sustainable
development launched during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg 2002, produced sobering results. Five years after being
announced, nearly 40 % of all partnerships started had no discernible output,
and only 24 % had outputs that matched their goals (Pattberg et al., 2012).
Zooming in on those partnerships that focus on climate change, most were led
by states or public agencies, provided “soft” governance functions such as
knowledge dissemination, and at least showed potential to become effective
(Pattberg, 2010). More recent studies on international climate initiatives paint a
somewhat more nuanced picture. Of 52 international climate initiatives
launched during (or closely connected to) the Lima-Paris Action Agenda, 65 %
have demonstrated outputs that are fully or somewhat in line with the stated
mission of the partnership (Chan et al., 2018). Rayner et al. 2018 found that
many initiatives focus on the provision of capacity building, knowledge and
learning, but often do not include firm commitments to action and lack
resources. Analyses of smaller sets of initiatives also suggest that they have a
large potential to align with the UNFCCC goals, to provide legitimacy to climate
action by involving groups that are currently under-represented in the process,
and to put pressure on the Parties to increase their ambition-levels (Widerberg,
2017; Widerberg and Pattberg, 2015). Some reports have also raised concerns
about how to keep actors accountable in networked governance arrangements
such as initiatives (Widerberg and Pattberg, 2017). Others have pointed to the
dominance of countries, cities, regions, companies and other organizations
from the global North, in current international climate initiatives (Chan et al.,
2018).

22

2. Methodology

This section describes the methodology used for the report. The methodology is
divided into two phases. Phase 1 is the mapping of
the landscape of
international climate initiatives and coalitions. Phase 2 is the case-study
methodology used for the report.

2.1. Phase 1: Create, analyse and visualize inventory of current
initiatives

The purpose of phase 1 was to provide a helicopter view of the emerging
landscape of international climate initiatives and coalitions. It corresponds to
objective 1 of the study was to “increase the understanding about the space of
existing international climate initiatives, including gaps and overlaps”.

Phase 1 consisted of four steps:

1. Setting inclusion and exclusion criteria.
2. Scanning existing databases for potential candidates
3. Collect data on included initiatives
4. Analyse data and create visualizations

First, the inclusion criteria were developed in close cooperation with the
European Commission. The criteria for including an initiative are:

● an international or transnational (i.e. including members from more than

2 countries) initiative;

● that explicitly mentions “climate change” as a key goal in their mission

statement; and,

● have a behavioural steering purpose (i.e. excluding initiatives where
actors merely support a certain policy measure such as carbon pricing).

Second, potential candidate initiatives were collected by scanning 14 existing
databases (see Annex A) and platforms. The data were retrieved by:
downloading available datasets, e.g. the Climate Initiatives Platform; automated
web-scraping techniques (e.g. with NAZCA); or, contacting the owners of the
database, asking them to share their data (e.g. C-CID database). In total 662
initiatives were collected. To determine which initiatives directly focus on
climate adaptation and/or mitigation (i.e. “explicitly mentions “climate change”
as a key goal
in their mission statement”), the self-proclaimed governance
statements of all initiatives were scanned using a semi-automated text analysis.
The type of statements included are: “Mission/Vision”, “About”, “Strategy”, “What
we do”,
“Background”, “Work Areas”,
“Guiding Principles” and “Charters”. This task was performed together with a

“Objectives”,

“Operation”,

“Function”,

23

climate change,

control check for redundant initiatives such as doubles or initiatives who’s main
objective is not
to 622 initiatives.
Subsequently, using semi-automated text-analysis (following standard text
pre-processing procedures), the mission statements were scanned for two
keywords: “climate” and “global warming”,
including their derivatives. Only
those which explicitly mention climate in their mission statements were selected
and examined further. The final list consists of 334 initiatives.

reducing the list

Third, data were collected for the 334 initiatives on the following variables:

Year of initiation

Launch year of the initiatives. Indicated by last update of
new information, events or other activity.

Geographical
location of
headquarter

of

the

location

initiatives’

Physical
secretariats/lead
partners/focal points. Divided into the seven World Bank
regional divisions (World Bank 2021). If an initiative does not
only have one location it will be marked as Multiple Regions
or Global

Geographical focus Geographical regional focus of the initiatives’ operations.
Divided into the seven World Bank regional divisions (World
Bank 2021). An initiative focusing on more than one but not
all regions will be marked as Multiple Regions. An initiative
that focuses on countries in all regions will be marked as
Global.

Thematic areas

Issue areas

Functions

The focus area(s) of the initiatives’ operations. One initiative
can engage in more than one thematic area. Divided into the
Marrakesh Partnership’s seven thematic and two
cross-cutting areas (UNFCCC 2021).

Issues that an initiative governs within the thematic areas
they engage in.

and

refer

schemes

technology

to rule-making and
‘Standards & Commitments’
implementation
comprise mandatory
compliance, standards for measurement and disclosure of
activities, and voluntary. ‘Operationalschemes’ focus on, for
example,
research and development, pilot
projects, demonstration and deployment activities, skills
enhancement, and best practice dissemination (which may
require some incidental standard-setting). ‘Financing’ is a
forums for
specific type of operational activity. Finally,
‘Information-sharing & Networking’
technical
training, and information services to build
consulting,
capacity, share knowledge, and support local government.
One initiative can have more than one function.

provide

24

Availability of
progress tracking

Whether an initiative tracks their progress at any stage of
their operation. Progress reporting includes various formats,
including e.g. live reporting of data, annual reports, progress
reports etc.

Participating
actors

type and geographic headquarter

Name,
(World Bank
regional divisions) of all current lead partners, participants
and funders of an initiative.

Four, the data collected in step 3 were analysed using descriptive statistics and
visualized in various infographics.

2.2. Phase 2: Analysis and recommendation for prioritizing international
climate initiatives

The purpose of phase 2 was to provide a detailed analysis of the success factors
behind individual initiatives and what the European Commission could do to
facilitate impact in existing and new initiatives. More specifically, phase 2
answers to the objectives:

● To identify design features that make some of the initiatives succeed in
building large memberships, getting a strong ownership from their
members and succeed in reaching their goals;

● To identify particular initiatives in which the EU may have a stronger

interest and added-value; and,

● To identify particular initiatives that have a strong potential to promote a
positive narrative around the opportunity of climate action in the context
of economic recovery and the global progress towards the Paris
Agreement objectives.

Phase 2 was carried out in three steps.

1. Short-list case-study initiatives
2. Gather and analyze additional data,

including interviews,

for the

3.

case-study initiatives
Identify governance gaps among existing initiatives with a view to
recommend new areas where initiatives could be started.

First, a short-list of 20 initiatives was provided by the European Commission -
DG CLIMA - at an interim meeting on 4 February 2021, and an additional 2
initiatives were added on March 30th 2021, totalling 22 initiatives selected for
further analysis.

Second, the study-team gathered additional data on the 22 case-studies and
carried out interviews with executives of 14 of the initiatives. The interviews

25

followed a semi-structured questionnaire around the background and history of
the initiative, the current performance and evaluation criteria of the initiatives,
and finally, the possible role of the European Commission in supporting the
initiative. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all interviews were carried out via Zoom
and audio recorded.

Third, a gap analysis was carried out aiming at providing an overview whether
there are gaps where cooperative initiatives could usefully make a contribution
to fighting climate change (blind spots). For the analysis, a sectoral approach
was applied.
In doing so, we organised and analysed the material and data on
cooperative initiatives according to thematic sectors as in the Global Climate
Action analysis of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action and its
Global Climate Action Pathways. These sectors are:

● Energy supply (ES)
● Buildings (B)
● Energy Intensive Industries (EIT)
● Land Transport (LT)
● Land Use  (LU)
● Oceans and Coastal Zones (OCZ)
● Water (W)
● Finance (F)

The gap analysis consisted in the following steps:

● Survey of available knowledge on opportunities and barriers in the

different sectors.

● Survey of existing proposals on how international cooperation could help

exploit opportunities and overcome challenges.

● Output: a list of co-operation options per function (standards and
commitments, operational and financing, information and networking) in
each sector.

The data used for the gap analysis included:

● The longlist of 344 existing cooperative initiatives discussed at the

interim project meeting on February 4th 2021.

● The shortlist of 22 existing cooperative initiatives finally decided at the

interim project meeting on April 14th 2021.

● The original dataset was complemented by sector data differentiated
according to the list of co-operation options. The quantitative dataset
was prepared by IVM (excel-file “dataset gap analysis”).

Output of the gap analysis:

● An aggregate quantitative analysis of whether these options are already
being pursued by existing initiatives (longlist and shortlist, see Annex C).
● A list per sector which initiatives of the longlist could cover gaps (sector
functions that are not covered by shortlisted initiatives, see Annex D).

26

3. The expanding ecosystem of international climate
initiatives and coalitions

This report identifies 344 initiatives and coalitions created to support climate
change mitigation and/or adaptation. The initiatives and coalitions form an
ecosystem emerging from the ‘bottom-up’ without a ‘top-down’ coordinator.
The initiatives and coalitions form their own niches but also overlap in
membership (actors being part of several initiatives), thematic focus (several
initiatives focusing on similar sectors and geographic areas), and function
(carrying out the same type of activities). The coming sections describe the
ecosystem of initiatives in terms of emergence, membership, thematic focus,
governance function and progress monitoring.

3.1. The expanding ecosystem of initiatives

New initiatives are continuously started and existing initiatives are being
rebranded. Over the past 20 years, data suggest that there is a strong upward
trend in new initiatives being started (e.g. Bulkeley et al, 2014; Widerberg and
Stripple; Hsu et al., 2018). It is clear that the overall trend is an increase in
new initiatives being started each year, resulting in an expanding
institutional ecosystem. After a drop in new initiatives in 2016, new
international climate initiatives were initiated throughout 2017 to 2019. With 14
% or 48 initiatives being started before 2011 (see figure 2);

27

Initiatives are often launched around focus events such as milestone
COPs, high profile climate action meetings, and other major
multilateral environmental summits. In the dataset, most initiatives were
launched in the year leading up to, or in conjunction with COP21, in 2015,
demonstrating the watershed moment the Paris COP played in triggering the
expansion of the ecosystem of initiatives. Consequently, milestone events are
important for creating momentum around new commitments and initiatives.
The years leading up to COPs and other major environmental summits are
conducive for creating a momentum for party and non-Party stakeholders to
engage in coalition building. The COPs provide a stage for new initiatives and
commitments to gain publicity, often garnering international media attention.
Other high-profile events, such as the Secretary General’s UN Climate Action
Summits (e.g.
in 2014 and 2019) also serve as launching pads for new
initiatives (see Chan et al, 2018).

The coming sections provide a detailed overview of the 344 international
climate initiatives and coalitions. The section describes the main policy focus
location of headquarters, working areas,
areas for
functions, and actors engaging in the initiatives.

the initiatives,

their

3.2. The geography of initiatives: Bias toward the Global North

Headquarters of initiatives are generally located in the Global North

(see figure 3). Close to half of the initiatives (42 %) have their secretariat or
headquarters based in Europe, followed by North America (20 %) being the
second most common region. Furthermore, around a fifth of the initiatives have
lead partners or secretariats that operate globally or in multiple regions. All
initiatives with a global lead organisation/location also apply their aims and
operations globally. The least number of secretariats are placed in North Africa
and the Middle East (1 %), Central Asia (0.9 %) and South Asia (0.5 %).
Participation in the initiatives - in terms of geographical location of
actors - is also skewed towards Europe followed by North America.7 The
largest representation of actor types is sub-national governments (e.g cities,
counties, regions). Thereafter, national governments and investors are the most
common leads, participants and funders of the initiatives.

7 Note: Based on data from approximately 50 % of all 334 initiatives. Another word of
caution, the data is highly skewed towards a few initiatives with large numbers of
actors that currently affect the totality of the numbers (e.g. Covenant of Mayors).

28

Despite the bias and HQ and participants to the Global North, the majority of
initiatives (65 %) operate on a global scale, which means that their work is
aimed at or takes place in at least one country in each World Bank region. The
approximately 200 initiatives with a global focus form a highly heterogeneous
group. They range from small industry specific initiatives with few members
(e.g. Taxi4SmartCities) to larger business initiatives (e.g. SME Climate Hub, We
Mean Business) and initiatives for sub-state climate action (e.g. Under2
Coalition, Global Covenant of Mayors). Global operations have different
meanings and impacts depending on the nature and functions of an initiative.
Consequently, for some initiatives global operations translate into creating and
maintaining a network and exchange of information on a global scale, with
commitments from actors from multiple countries and regions. For others, such
as adaptation initiatives with an operational
function it means realising
implementation of physical projects in more than one country through
collaborations between the initiative staff and local stakeholders (e.g. Adapt’
Action). A fifth of the initiatives (20 %) operate in at least one country in more
than one region, but not globally. Less than a fifth of the initiatives limit their
operations to only one region. Among these initiatives most of them work with
climate mitigation and adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Europe and
Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Least focus is directed
towards South Asia, North America and North Africa and the Middle
East.

29

3.3. Thematic focus: Mitigation, energy and information sharing

Initiatives are primarily mitigation focused (42.7 %, n = 147) or engaging
in both mitigation and adaptation (32.3 %, n = 111). The smallest proportion
consists of initiatives that mainly focus on climate adaptation (25 %, n = 86).
Adaptation and resilience are becoming a more popular focus in terms of new
initiatives being started, however. It is also sometimes challenging to identify
initiatives working on adaptation since they cover a broad range of topics, often
related to changes in precipitation and natural disasters (e.g. drought and flood
protection). For instance,
initiatives working on promoting nature based
solutions may have an indirect impact on climate adaptation, but are less likely
to figure in databases that are relevant for climate initiatives and coalitions, as
understood in this study.

Most initiatives work on Energy, Resilience (cross-cutting) and Industry,
whereas Transport, Water and Oceans and Coastal Zones are the least
popular (see figure 4).8 There is an almost equal distribution of initiatives that
solely focus on one thematic area (47.7 %, n = 164) and initiatives that engage
in more than one thematic area (52.3 %, n = 180) of which most engage in two,
three or four thematic areas; only 20 initiatives engage in more than four
areas.
thematic

8 The categorization of initiatives is made according to the Marrakech Partnership’s
seven thematic areas and two cross-cutting areas.

30

Comparing which initiatives in terms of mitigation and/or adaptation focus that
work on which thematic areas, demonstrates that energy and industry related
initiatives are primarily concerned with mitigating climate change
whereas Water and coastal zones are primarily focused on adaptation.
Initiatives working on both mitigation and adaptation are primarily concerned
with land-use, finance and human settlements (see figure 5).

In this report, few initiatives appear to focus on “Water” and “Oceans and Coastal
Zones”, despite thousands of initiatives and commitments being announced
during the annual ‘Our Ocean’ and UN Ocean Conferences. The results may be
explained by the strict selection criteria used for the report, in which the mission
statements of the initiatives need to contain the term “climate change” (see
section 3). It is likely that many more initiatives exist working on issues
that are indirectly related to climate change such as biodiversity,
nature-based solutions, fisheries and aquaculture.

31

In terms of functions, i.e. what instruments the initiatives use to induce change,
more than half of the initiatives (n = 254) provide or enable information
and networking of different sorts and at different scales, around a third
of them have either an operational function (150 initiatives), set standards and
commitments (132) or have a financing function (104).

32

The majority of the initiatives have more than one function. Among this
majority most have two functions (148 initiatives), three (62 initiatives) or a
maximum of four different functions (8 initiatives). There are variations in the
distribution of governance functions across mitigation, adaptation or adaptation
Information & Networking is the most
and mitigation focused initiatives.
common function across all policy focus areas. The Operational function is the
second most common except for initiatives that focus mainly on mitigation.
Instead, these initiatives adopt the function of Standards & Commitments more
often than they provide operational services, which is the opposite of climate
adaptation initiatives. Financing as a function differs across all three categories
of initiatives.
It is by far the least common function in climate mitigation
initiatives whereas adaptation initiatives provide financing services more often
than setting standards and accumulating commitment. Initiatives that engage in
both mitigation and adaptation provide a financing function equally much as a
Standards & Commitments function.

33

With this information at hand, it is also possible to illustrate which functions
initiatives have in the different thematic areas. This information can serve as a
relevant indicator for analysing each thematic area and governance gaps more
closely, as it illuminates whether certain functions are less present than others.
It can also indicate whether certain functions that are expected to be present
are in reality absent.

34

3.4. Tracking progress

Assessing whether the 344 initiatives all live up to their expectations is beyond
the scope of this study, instead we looked at to what extent they report on
progress publicly, i.e. publish progress reports (e.g. annual reports) on their
homepages and the level of reporting that is being made with regard to input,
output, outcome or impact level. Our data suggest that over half of the 344
initiatives and coalitions track their progress and publish their results. While
some produce annual reports with sections and evaluation criteria dedicated to
track and scrutinize their achievements on multiple levels, others revise their
efforts less frequently and with less directly available and consistent methods
and materials. As illustrated below, half of the 344 initiatives report on input
(e.g. monetary or human resources), while the output, outcome and impact of
the initiatives’ operations receive less attention and space in the progress
reporting.

35

3.5. Summary

The data suggest that a “typical” initiative was initiated around a major COP
(e.g. Copenhagen or Paris), is headquartered in Europe, focuses on mitigation
and energy, using networking and knowledge creation/dissemination as key
change mechanisms. The majority of initiatives target multiple regions or have a
global focus. On the other side of the spectrum the analysis finds that few
initiatives focus on adaptation related themes such as water, and ocean and
coastal zones. A small percentage have their headquarters in places other than
Europe or North America and specifically target Asia, Africa and Latin America.

36

4. Case-studies

To provide a more fine grained analysis of the ecosystem of initiatives, the
following section presents the findings from 22 case-studies. The section
focuses on the functioning and performance of initiatives, and what possible
roles the European Commission could play in supporting them. A factsheet has
been written for each case-study that can be found in annex F.

4.1. Case-study overview

The case-studies have been selected in close collaboration with the European
Commission. They cover a wide range of mitigation and adaptation focused
initiatives with HQ location, starting year and thematic focus that largely reflect
the overall population of initiatives. Table 2 provides a helicopter view of all
case-studies.

Initiative

HQ location

Description

Launch
year

2050 Pathways Platform 2016

Paris, France

4 per 1000 Soils for
Food Security and
Climate

2015

Montpellier,
France

Africa Renewable Energy
Initiative

2015

Abidjan, Côte
d’Ivoire

Key

include

commitment

Aims to realise national long-term low GHG emission
strategies to facilitate Article 4(19) of the Paris
Agreement.
technical
activities
assistance, funding, coordination of expert advice
and communication.
Provides an established
towards
climate change mitigation and food security through
improved
soil
sequestration.
Africa-owned and Africa-led initiative aiming to
harness the continent's potential in accelerating and
scaling up the use and production of renewable
energy through capacity building,
facilitation of
partnerships and project development.

agricultural

practices

and

Biofuture platform

2016

Brasilia, Brazil Accelerates

Carbon Offsetting and
Reduction Scheme for
International Aviation

2016

Montreal,
Canada

development

and deployment of
modern sustainable low carbon alternatives to fossil
fuels in e.g. the transport and chemicals sectors.
Promotes international collaboration and facilitates
information sharing and dialogue.
An international scheme to reduce and offset GHG
emissions
to facilitate
achievement of the Paris Agreement. Currently in a
pilot phase with voluntary national commitments.

in the aviation sector,

Carbon Pricing
Leadership Coalition

2015 Washington

DC, US

Carbon Sequestration
Leadership Forum

2003 Washington

DC, US

Clean Climate & Air
Coalition

2012

Paris, France

Clean Energy Ministerial 2009

Paris, France

Climate Disclosure
Standards Board

2007

London, UK

Coalition of Finance
Ministers for Climate
Action

2018 Washington

DC, US

Global Commission on
Adaptation

2018

Global Covenant of
Mayors for Climate &
Energy

2016

Rotterdam,
The
Netherlands
Brussels,
Belgium

InsuResilience Global
Partnership

2015

Bonn,
Germany

37

A multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes the use
of carbon pricing in the public and private sector
globally through fostering stakeholder engagement
and producing and communicating knowledge.
implementation of CCS technologies.
Facilitates
Involved in development of
strategies, policy
recommendations and dissemination of knowledge
on best practice for implementation of CCS and new
technologies.
Established to enhance and catalyze action to reduce
GHG emissions. Performs operational activities,
training and institutional strengthening, develops
resources and tools, engages in political outreach
and awareness-raising campaigns.

fiscal

and economic policymakers

Aims to engage major economies and ministers in a
high-level global forum to promote policies and
programs advancing clean energy technologies.
Facilitates a high-level policy dialogue, public-private
cooperation and action-driven campaigns to expand
access to knowledge and tools.
Aims to implement mandatory climate accounting
and mainstream business practice globally. Provides
companies and policymakers with tools and technical
expertise to implement climate-related financial
disclosure and create robust policies.
Gathers
to
promote cohesion between domestic and global
climate action and finance, enhance ambitions,
reaffirm commitments, and accelerate actions to
implement the Paris Agreement.
Gathers
accelerate
adaptation by elevating the political visibility of
adaptation and generating concrete solutions.
A product of
the merger between Compact of
Mayors and the EU Covenant of Mayors. The
initiative focuses on climate mitigation in cities and
promotes
to global coordination and
coherence of commitments and practices.
Aims to gather stakeholders and partner groups to
establish a common vision and combined efforts for
Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance.

governments

national

regional

to

2003

Canada

International
Partnership for
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
in the Economy

International Platform
on Sustainable Finance

2019

Brussels,
Belgium

International Solar
Alliance

2015

Gurugram,
India

Leadership Group for
Industry Transition

2019

Stockholm,
Sweden

Mission Innovation

2015

London, UK

NAP Global Network

2014

Ottawa,
Canada

NDC Partnership

2016 Washington

DC, US

Under2 Coalition

2015

London, UK

38

in

and

Engages

research

strategies

knowledge

communication

Aims to accelerate the development, deployment
and use of hydrogen across the economy by
facilitating discussions,
connecting stakeholders,
on
and
information-sharing
hydrogen use.
Aims to scale up the mobilization of private capital
for environmentally sustainable finance worldwide
and to promote integrated markets for that finance
sector.
production,
information sharing and identifying how to scale up
practices globally.
Aims to increase the use and quality of solar energy
in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and
sustainable manner. Facilitates development of
and
coordinated
development to advance technologies.
The initiative focuses on mitigation in industry
to mitigate
sectors that are especially difficult
emission in. It gathers industry leaders to enhance
cooperation, discussion and sharing of best practice.
A member-driven bottom-up initiative that mobilizes
to realize the
financial and political
transition away from fossil fuel use. It operates on a
continuum of innovation and deployment of clean
energy technologies and facilitates cooperation and
information-sharing.
The initiative aims to accelerate the implementation
and advancement of national adaptation plans by
to
offering short-term and long-term support
countries. It engages in peer learning and exchange,
provides
support and
provides knowledge on the issue.
for
The
initiative
implementation
Determined
Contribution and enhancement of these over time
through a demand-based model, and coordinates
cooperation and support between countries.
The initiative aims to assist sub-national states and
regions in developing change in key systems (e.g.
transport and built environment) and help realize
long-term decarbonization pathways. It provides a
commitment
support and
knowledge sharing.

to mobilize support

and technical

aims
of

framework,

Nationally

technical

financial

support

39

The majority of the initiatives were initiated around a major COP (primarily
COP21) and are directly linked to the Paris Agreement by focusing on a specific
Article (of the Paris Agreement) or from being launched by a multilateral or
transnational commitment made within the scope of the Agreement. All
initiatives are currently active except the Global Commission on Adaptation that
ended its operations in 2020. All
initiatives also have a global focus of
operations except the African Renewable Energy Initiative who only operates in
the African Regions. In that respect, the case-studies and more specifically the
African Renewable Energy Initiative well reflect how climate initiatives with its
basis in or that have been launched in the Global South are underrepresented.

4.2. Explaining the emergence of new initiatives

reference to agriculture and the potential

The background story of each case-study reveals the lack of a central
coordinating authority steering the ecosystem of initiatives. Often initiatives
are started by partners motivated by a perceived “governance gap” in
the existing institutional system and the Paris Agreement. The initiative 4 per
1000 Soils For Food Security And Climate (4 per 1000), for example, addresses
role for carbon
the lack of
sequestration in soils to contribute to mitigation. Similarly,
the Carbon
Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) began as
an attempt to address emissions from international air travel, currently falling
outside the scope of many emission trading schemes and the Paris Agreement.
Another common reason for starting initiatives is to focus on specific
implementation issues such as promoting a technology (e.g. carbon capture
and sequestration or hydrogen) or policy instruments (low-emission pathways
or disclosure-based schemes).

The case-studies clearly demonstrate the ‘bottom-up’ forces that shape the
structure of the system. Initiatives continuously merge and realign by
merging parts of their own operations with other initiatives in the same
issue area. The Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM), for example, is a merger
between the European Union’s Covenant of Mayors and the Compact of Mayors,
forming a global alliance for urban climate action. Initiatives also pool their
resources in terms of activities, as for instance in the case of the The Carbon
Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) ministerial group who has joined the
activities of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). Initiatives working in the same
issue area, e.g.
initiatives working on cross-cutting adaptation measures,
collaborate to catalyze and implement action effectively, to assist each other
and to communicate and thereby reduce overlap.

Some initiatives are explicitly designed to make themselves redundant.
The 2050 Pathways Platform, for example, aims to have some of their activities
taken over by their members (countries). The aim of this is to share the burden
associated with implementing measures globally and scale up activities by using
existing structures and resources rather than growing the 2050 Pathways

40

Platform into a governing body that already exists. Similarly, the initiative 4 per
1000 prefers to see that activities are developed by actors directly rather than
accepting further funding to increase its own budget. Another example is the
Leadership for Industry Transition (LeadIT), who explicitly aims to not last
forever but
to create momentum and initiate a critical mass of
commitments to establish a foundation for change.

rather

The dynamism is also identified through the various commitments and activities
that the initiatives perform. Although the 22 initiatives are at different stages on
their paths to realising their individual targets as well as the global ambition,
there is evidence of progress and a strong constant drive forward in
the rising ambition levels and strengthening of strategies to realise their
commitments. Accelerated action is for example identified among some of the
initiatives that emerged with the objective to formulate and mobilize
focus towards assisting
commitments. These are now redirecting their
development of applicable action to achieve these. Instead of pronouncing
definitions of ambition level, this requires initiatives and their members to
specify how and when activities will take place,
identify the stakeholders
responsible for implementing these and establishing mechanisms to hold them
accountable. This shift
in governance and narrative holds true both for
adaptation and mitigation initiatives, across the different climate pathways
areas and by initiatives working with both public, private and civil society
stakeholders.

The COPs and other high-level meetings - in particular milestone meetings
such as COP21, COP26, UN Secretary General’s Climate Summits or Climate
Week - provide important signaling functions and initiatives an extra
incentive for amping up their efforts. For example, several
initiatives
among the case-studies aim to increase their member count or secure an
increased amount of (or acquire more long-term) funding in their upcoming
plans for COP26. Also leading up to COP26, multiple initiatives aim to produce
and share research that facilitate a better understanding of a whole
issue area, e.g. by identifying both governance and research gaps. For
example,
the InsuResilience Global Partnership is currently preparing an
Evidence Roadmap that will be launched leading up to COP26, which will
highlight key current research gaps and questions still remaining in the field of
Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance and a five-year plan on how to
close those. The roadmap will show evidence of how actors contribute to
governing climate resilience and provide a tool for an extensive mapping of
global efforts.

In sum, despite the lack of a coordinating authority, the initiatives appear to
rally around important high-level meetings organized under the auspices
of the UNFCCC, other UN bodies, or, for example, administrations of large
countries such as France or the US. The case-studies thus suggest a changing
role for international meetings - including the UNFCCC COPs - as more than

41

spaces for multilateral negotiation between parties for the Convention. The
meetings serve as important focusing events for showcasing new commitment
and actions, creating and maintaining a positive momentum around climate
mitigation and adaptation.

4.3. Resources: Finance, people, skills and monitoring

Financial, human, and organizational resources are a recurring point for
attention in the case-studies - especially in terms of increasing effectiveness and
generating more impact. Regarding finances, most of the initiatives have
stable and sustained funding streams in the case-studies received from
international development banks, national government
funding, member
donations or membership fees, and revenue from activities. Maintaining the
level of funding is critical to ensure that the initiatives can continue their
operations. Increased funding was by some initiatives highlighted as an
enabling factor for expansion in terms of memberships and geography

as well as outreach activities. Such scaling would in turn generate larger impact
(e.g. the GCoM and the Under2 Coalition). For some initiatives, also the
individual members experience funding problems. For instance,
financial
resources being a barrier for increased climate action also holds true for cities’
climate action and GCoM acknowledges that there is a gap in city climate
finance. As GCoM does not have the role or responsibility to fill this on its own,
further climate action at city level is dependent on the cities complementing
existing funding with their own contributions.

Other types of more indirect financial barriers to successful implementation
were highlighted by initiatives active in the African region, where countries
have difficulties attracting investors that would provide the financial
support that is necessary to realise the ongoing energy transition.
Countries from multiple regions of Africa currently are associated with elevated
economic risk and instability - especially the individual national markets that
often constitute small economies with little diversity. For such regions, more
sustained efforts are needed to promote climate mitigation and adaptation
through the initiative. For example, the NAP Global Network assisting the
adoption and implementation of national adaptation plans is at a stage where it
needs to secure a new long-term donor in order to establish long-term working
programs. The long-term funding and programs enable different opportunities
than short-term projects and is especially important to secure stability when
entering tedious negotiations and relationship-building processes.

Human resources can also be a hindering factor for expanding an
initiative’s activities. For examples, scaling up practices for sub-national
climate action on a global scale (e.g. the work of the Under2 Coalition), and
more specifically distributing these to sub-national regions and states from all
regions of the world, has proven difficult due to differences in ethnicities,
economies and languages. Overcoming this challenge requires more

42

resources such as staff with the right competencies and language skills, in order
to enable effective and impactful outreach (e.g. communication with local
relevant stakeholders) and assistance. In turn, this type of resource requires
monetary support. A similar challenge is present in the field of climate and
environmental disclosure and accounting, described by the Carbon Disclosure
Standards Board as a relatively new issue area that entails a row of new
activities and procedures. Within this field it has proven challenging to find
personnel with the right skillset, understanding and expertise to
approach and execute the task. This is also highly relevant
in the
cooperation between these initiatives and the EU, where people with the right
skill-set need to be part of the dialogues and decision-making on the issue.

Expansion in terms of membership also presents new challenges for an
initiative to provide actionable advice to its members. For example, for
international initiatives working with climate action on a local level (e.g. GCoM),
there is the challenge of translating action to the local level, what we call
‘scaling barriers’. Scaling barriers are likely to grow in relation to the size of
the initiative. Best practices developed from a set of demonstrating cities, for
instance, cannot be directly amplified and absorbed to thousands of cities on a
global scale. The initiative’s global impact is thus dependent on its outreach
efforts, coordination of resources and peer learning practices. This is especially
relevant as city stakeholders are not always aware of the opportunities and the
support that is available to them. Continuous efforts to overcome the scaling
barriers are necessary to increase the initiative’s impact and ultimately
implement cities’ climate action plans. Global scaling also requires the
initiative to consider, balance and accommodate different viewpoints
on green strategies (e.g. the equivalent to the EU Green Deal), and an
upcoming challenge and task for GCoM is to provide not only a climate
perspective but also a green COVID recovery perspective and integrate the
meaning of quality of life and regional economic growth into climate strategies.

The final
initiatives track their progress at input and output level

resource challenge concerns monitoring and learning. Most
(in-depth
descriptions of the initiatives’ progress reporting can be found in Annex F).
‘Input’ includes variables such as the number and type of members, staff and
financial resources.
‘Output’ refers to the activities and products that are
produced by the initiative (e.g. meetings, reports, workshops). Very few
initiatives measure and report their progress at outcome level and impact level
in terms of social, political and economic responses to the initiatives’ activities.
However, the initiatives have different definitions of “impact”; while
some define impact in terms of website visitors and report downloads, others
track members’ commitments or the scope of changes in policies. Monitoring
and reporting poses a challenge as it requires time, resources, and a consistent,
well-defined and effective measurement tool to gather and evaluate data. This is
seen,
in the monitoring practices of LeadIT, which has the
ambition to track the long-term industry roadmaps at a more detailed level but

for example,

43

does not have sufficient time or resources. The heterogeneity of definitions in
impact and progress translates into barriers to aggregate results from the
initiatives, also in some cases due to a lack of common monitoring and
reporting tools and guidelines at the global level (see also Hale et al, 2021).

4.4. Unleashing the latent potential within initiatives

Growing in terms of membership and activities were long the main goal for
most initiatives. However, a recurring theme in the interviews held was the
potential for activating more of the existing membership base and the level of
active engagement varies substantially among members. Often the
effectiveness of the initiative depends on the activities, resources and donations
from a few core members. While some initiatives have very active members with
high ambition, others have members with large commitments but with little
engagement. This hinders the initiatives’ progress to different extents, as some
are more dependent on their members’ active contributions than others. A
trade-off then exists between choosing to gain new members to compensate for
the lack of engagement, or to keep the size of the initiative and continue to try
to activate members.

LeadIT, who currently has very active members consisting of leaders in various
industry sectors, faces a trade-off going forward between keeping a small and
very active group with high ambitions or engaging more stakeholders that are
crucial for further industry transformation but might have lower ambition or
capacities and thereby potentially could hamper the initiative’s progress and the
development of sector-specific advancements. Similarly, the AREI has received
high engagement from the Heads of African states that together lead the
initiative, which has been a key component behind its success. In contrast,
Mission Innovation has experienced a decline in the intensity of members’
participation over time.
It will handle this development by relaunching its
commitments and activities in the context of COP26 in order to maintain its
momentum and the members’ efforts.

For global

initiatives there is also a risk of overstretch. For those
intervening in multiple regions it is challenging to be present in the various
relevant regions and countries that need to accelerate and implement mitigation
and adaptation measures. Thus, there is a constant trade-off and search
for balance between deep integration of work in a small set of countries
or a wider approach to a larger number of countries. To overcome this
challenge it is relevant to identify and make use of how initiatives complement
each other on a global scale to effectivize future work and avoid overlap among
different initiatives.

44

5. Gap Analysis

The 344 cooperative initiatives cover extensively all sectors and functions. The
following figure shows the coverage of each sector:

At this level of analysis, there are no apparent gaps in the coverage of existing
initiatives that would need to be closed by creation of new initiatives. However,
it needs to be emphasised that this is only an aggregate quantitative analysis.
As noted in the previous section, the question to what extent existing initiatives
are actually effective in promoting cooperation is beyond the scope of this
study.

The 22 case study initiatives (see section 4) shows that several initiatives have a
broad sector coverage. SAPI_NDC (Support
for Adaptation Planning and
Implementation through the NDC Partnership in Collaboration with NAP Global
Network) has a comprehensive focus on all 8 sectors. GCM (Global Covenant of
Mayors for Climate & Energy) and the U2C (Under 2 Coalition) focus on 5 and 4
sectors respectively (see in detail Annex E), the others are more specifically
focused.

Diving a bit deeper into sectors shows:

● The 344 initiatives cover all functions in the energy supply and finance

sectors.

45

● For the other 7 sectors, not all sub-functions are covered by the

shortlisted initiatives (see figure below for details).

● Most gaps can be found regarding the sectors oceans and coastal zones

(5 gaps) and water (4 gaps).

However, all of these missing functions are covered by other initiatives on the
longlist. If specific functions become priority topics, relevant initiatives can be
found in the longlist. For example, two functions under Land Transport are not
covered by the shortlist initiatives. But looking at the longlist, 22 initiatives
function “Financial support and risk-sharing
address the Land Transport
mechanisms for capital-intensive investments” and 29 initiatives address the
Land Transport function “Provision of resources for administrative and planning
capacity”. Moreover, 18 initiatives from the longlist of 344 initiatives address
both functions (see list on the right side in Annex E).

5.1.       Alignment with EU Climate and Energy Diplomacy Priorities

Finally, we analysed to what extent the shortlist of initiatives matches the
priorities of EU climate and energy diplomacy, as most recently laid down in the
January 2021 CouncilconclusionsonClimateandEnergyDiplomacy-Delivering
on the external dimension of the European Green Deal.

46

According to the conclusions, the “primary goal of energy diplomacy“ is to
accelerate the global energy transition. The conclusions mention in particular
energy efficiency, renewable energy uptake and system integration as well as
hydrogen. They also highlight the need for a just transition and to address
poverty. This priority is reflected in the shortlist of initiatives, no less than half
of the shortlisted initiatives address the energy sector in some form. While
some initiatives such as the Clean Energy Ministerial cover all sectors, others
cover specific areas such as the International Solar Alliance or the International
Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy. Regionally, the Council
conclusions highlight the energy partnership with Africa, which is reflected in
the selection of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative as one of the shortlisted
initiatives.

One area that may require further attention is promotion of a socially just and
inclusive energy transition leaving no one behind. None of the shortlisted
initiatives has a particular profile in this topic, although a marginal number
integrates this as one of many issues in its strategies.

Another focus area of the Council conclusions is finance. The conclusions
highlight the need to increase finance volumes and transparency, and to
promote sustainable finance practices and alignment of international finance
with the Paris Agreement’s objectives. These priorities seem well reflected in
the selection of e.g.
the Climate Disclosure Standards Board and the
International Platform on Sustainable Finance (which is explicitly noted in the
Council conclusions) for the shortlist. The Council conclusions also highlight the
need to enhance financial support for adaptation, as well as the need for
synergetic approaches towards oceans and water, which is reflected in the
shortlist initiatives NAPGL (National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network) and
SAPI NDC (Support for Adaptation Planning and Implementation through the
NDC Partnership in Collaboration with NAP Global Network).

One area that may require further attention is the call
in the Commission
communication to address emissions and biodiversity loss from resource
extraction and processing in line with circular economy principles. The issue of
biodiversity is explicitly only captured in the Biofuture platform and there is no
initiative in the shortlist that has promotion of a circular economy as its focus.

5.2.       Conclusions

The initial survey of existing literature identified 8 sectors and 80 functions
(sectoral cooperation options) where cooperative initiatives’ activities could help
exploit opportunities and overcome challenges. Given the high number of
initiatives, dhe dataset mainly allows for an aggregate quantitative analysis of
gaps/options that are not covered by the listed cooperative initiatives. The
dataset shows a broad coverage of the 8 sectors and 80 functions by the

47

longlist of 344 cooperative initiatives. At this level of analysis, there are
therefore no apparent gaps in the coverage of existing initiatives that would
need to be closed by creation of new initiatives. A more detailed analysis of
missions, institutional structure and interests of the individual initiatives the
scope of the project but would add on the assessment of the potential impact
these initiatives could have.

The case study of cooperative initiatives cover all sectors and 66 of 80
functions, but 10 of 22 initiatives focus only on one sector. Most gaps were
found in the sectors oceans and coastal zones and water which might become
priority sectors for the EU in the light of increasing/accelerating climate change.
All gaps can be covered by numerous initiatives of the longlist.

Comparing the case study initiatives with EU climate and energy diplomacy
priorities shows a good coverage of priority issues. One area that may require
further attention is promotion of a socially just and inclusive energy transition
leaving no one behind. None of the shortlisted initiatives has a particular profile
in this topic. In addition, the issue of biodiversity is explicitly only captured in
the Biofuture platform and there is no initiative in the shortlist that has
promotion of a circular economy as its focus.

48

6. Recommendations

The continuously changing and growing ecosystem of initiatives
requires stakeholders, including the European Commission, to assess
where and how to pursue their climate policy goals, beyond the
UNFCCC. The ecosystem opens up opportunities to cooperate with other
ambitious state and non-state partners with common interests and to move
faster than recalcitrant actors. The multilateral UNFCCC process provides
“check-in” moments to assess progress and take stock of how the combination
of initiatives (and national efforts under the NDC process) is performing vis-a-vis
the medium and long-term mitigation and adaptation goals. However, as the
mapping in Phase 1 of this project shows, the emergence of an ecosystem risks
concentrating international and transnational mitigation and adaptation efforts,
and power, to a limited set of regions and countries. Those countries, cities,
companies and civil society groups with limited capacity to engage in several
initiatives at the same time could be left behind, creating a “two-speed” system.

Against this backdrop, the European Commission has played and is
playing an important role as an initiator, funder, and partner of many
initiatives. This role becomes even bigger if one considers the role of
individual EU members in shaping the ecosystem. During the interviews it has
become clear that the heterogeneity of initiatives requires tailor-made solutions
to support and enhance existing initiatives. In the fact-sheets (see annex F) a
few initiative-specific suggestions have been made but the coming section
highlights some of the key recommendations that have come out of the
analysis, from literature and that has been made by the interviewees in the
case-studies.

6.1. Recommendations to support the ecosystem of initiatives

The European Commission can also support initiatives at a more aggregated
level. The first recommendation pertains to the generally ambitious and active
role the EU takes in global climate governance. By pushing for high standards
and ambitious mid-term and long-term goals, the EU puts pressure on other
It also provides a direction for
State and non-State actors to follow suit.
companies, in particular multinational companies, regarding the direction of
climate policy for the coming decades.

The second recommendation is to support the work of the Global Climate
Action Agenda and the High-level champions under the UNFCCC process. Since
its launch in 2014, the GCAA has become an increasingly institutionalized place
for negotiated and non-negotiated outcomes and initiatives to connect. The
“groundswell” of climate action - consisting of thousands of cities, regions,
companies, foundations and other non-Party actors - is expected to continue to

49

put pressure on world leaders to increase their national ambitious levels. The
current “Race to zero” campaign9 leading up to COP26, which currently engages
over 708 cities, 23 regions, 2162 businesses, 127 investors, and 571
universities in pursuing a net zero emissions trajectory by 2050, exemplifies
how increasingly intertwined the initiatives have become with the formal
UNFCCC process.

The third recommendation is related to the GCAA and concerns the mapping,
monitoring and reporting of the ecosystem of initiatives to build credibility and
reduce the risk of greenwashing. Data and analytical tools for assessing the
impact of initiatives are getting better but still remain at a high level of
aggregation and insufficient to demonstrate a tangible and credible impact of
the initiatives on reducing emissions and adapting to climate change. The
European Commission could liaise with the broader analytical community, for
instance the Camda community10, to contribute with data, methodological and
human resources.

Although the EU continuously supports and initiates new initiatives that
accommodate the GCAA, such as the recently launched International Methane
Alliance Observatory (IMEO) and the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and
Resource Efficiency (GACERE), a fourth recommendation is to close the gaps not
covered by the current case study initiatives. In particular the sector oceans and
coastal zones and the water sector are not well covered by the current case
studies. In addition, while many initiatives focus on the energy sector, only a
very small proportion of the shortlisted initiatives have a particular profile in the
promotion of a socially just and inclusive energy transition leaving no one
behind. Furthermore, biodiversity is explicitly only addressed in the Biofuture
platform and there is no initiative in the shortlist that has promotion of a
circular economy as its focus. The 344 contains a high number of initiatives that
could help to address these issues. Biodiversity initiatives supporting the
Convention on Biological Diversity often link to the UNFCCC process and the
Global Climate Action Agenda. Mapping of biodiversity initiatives reveals that
out of 330 initiatives focusing on biodiversity goals around 49 address climate
change as one of the cross-sectoral threats (Kok et al, 2019).

6.2. Recommendations to support individual initiatives

For individual
initiatives, the study results suggest that political signaling,
information sharing, financing, and activating EU members are the most urgent
aspects for consideration.

9 https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign
10 https://www.climateworks.org/camdaforcredibleclimateaction/

50

Political signaling

To increase the support to existing initiatives, the European Commission could
consider becoming a member, partner or observer. Some initiatives express
that the EU being a participant and thereby showing explicit support for the
initiative’s agenda sends a signal to key stakeholders and potential members at
a global scale. This symbolism has the potential to spread awareness about the
initiatives’ contributions, including targets, working methods and technical and
financial assistance they offer, but also the overall progress being made on a
specific issue. By being a member, the Commission also functions as a liaison
between initiatives and the EU priorities, engaging in knowledge sharing and
agenda prioritization.

While the EU already provides this type of support to the majority of the
initiatives (see Annex F, page 27), this support could, depending on the EU’s
availability and resources, be extended further by:

● Becoming a member of initiatives that it is not already part of, that

explicitly invites the Commission to join (e.g. the 4 per 1000).

● Becoming an official endorser of initiatives where it is not, or cannot be,
an official member but where the Commission is invited to become an
official supporter (e.g. the Under2 Coalition).

● Continue to be an important stakeholder in existing initiatives that relies

on its input (e.g. AREI).

● Further exploring the relevance of becoming an official member of
initiatives that the Commission is not currently participating in (see
Annex F, page 27).

Information sharing, human resource and logistical support

A second low-cost role is to provide initiatives with access to information,
people and logistical support, to enhance the operations of initiatives. For
example,

● Provide dissemination support to showcase the actions of the initiatives,

e.g. demonstrating climate action at city scale.

● Provide cues for how the initiatives could support achieving EU climate

policy goals and priorities (e.g. CSLF, NDC Partnership).

● Use existing diplomatic networks to support and engage new countries

and partners to join initiatives (e.g. for 2050 Pathways).

Financial support

A third and important role is to provide the financial support needed to fund the
core operations of initiatives. Several
initiatives have enjoyed the financial
support provided by the EU, which has allowed them either to initiate, continue
or expand their operations. Based on the expression by and assessment of the
22 initiatives, the European Commission could continue this support by:

51

● Reviewing its current

financial contributions to the initiatives and

consider which initiatives could take part of initial or further funding.
● Maintaining its current financial support to help initiatives sustain their

momentum (e.g. the AREI and the NAP Global Network).

● Helping relay work carried out by the initiatives to the EU funding bodies

or development banks (e.g. the 2050 Pathways Platform).

● Funding and hosting projects that engage and connect more actors to
generate more impact through knowledge sharing and networking.
● Developing potential capacity building in developing countries and

contributing to climate finance in order to enable industry transition and
match to the ongoing transitions taking place in developed countries
(e.g. Leadership for Industry Transition).

Activate EU member states

Increased engagement directly from the EU member states could have a positive
impact on the initiatives’ success. As indicated by the overview of the EU
member states’ participation in the 22 initiatives (Annex F), there are a set of
countries who engage in the majority of the initiatives (e.g. Germany, France
and Netherlands). However, a set of countries are underrepresented in the
international climate initiative landscape, and it is relevant to review how they
could support and/or benefit from participating in the initiatives. This would
require further communication about the initiatives’ relevance and opportunities
where initiatives and member states can connect. Accordingly, the Commission
could:

● Nudge EU Member States that currently are part of initiatives to increase

their activities (e.g. LeadIT).

The table below summarizes the recommendations made for each of the
initiatives. We have refrained from making recommendations for initiatives
where no interview was performed.

Initiative

Recommendations
● Continue the current exchange of information on long-term strategies

2050 Pathways Platform

for G20 countries.

● The Commission could assist through providing knowledge exchange
with its diplomatic core network, to support the 2050 Pathways
Platform engagement in new countries (e.g. in Africa and Southeast
Asia such as Vietnam) and potentially speed up this process. The 2050
Pathways Platform would enhance their availability to facilitate this
type of cooperation.

● Could relay the 2050 Pathways Platform's work to the EU's or other

funding bodies e.g. development banks.

4 per 1000 Soils for Food
Security and Climate

● The Commission could join the initiative and thereby contribute with

its mandate, to help signal the initiative’s purpose and spread
awareness about the topic.

52

● The Commission could take lead on task-forces and fund projects to
engage more actors and generate more impact. This also applies to
existing tools and ideas, e.g. an open-access database for farmers that
could benefit from knowledge-sharing.

● The EU could continue contributing with financial support to AREI,

which enables the initiative to keep the momentum that it has been
able to establish. The support will be especially relevant for its aim to
reach the 2030 energy production target.

Africa Renewable Energy
Initiative

Biofuture platform

-

Carbon Offsetting and
Reduction Scheme for
International Aviation

Carbon Pricing Leadership
Coalition

Carbon Sequestration
Leadership Forum

-
● The Commission could continue the EU’s high involvement in CPLC
activities and processes by sharing information and knowledge and
take part in dialogues, facilitated by the CPLC, with the private sector
and civil society.

● The EU's leadership has been, is and will continue to be critical in

driving carbon pricing forward globally as countries (e.g. China) seek
to interact with and learn from the EU’s lessons and experiences.
● The Commission could provide opportunities where the CPLC and
relevant stakeholders could enter conversations on carbon pricing
with individual national governments.

● Keep up the implementation of CCUS in the EU to signal its

importance to the rest of the world.

● Have a continuous dialogue about what is going on in the

Commission, its initiatives for CCS implementation and how the CSLF
can assist.

● Continue to be an important stakeholder of the initiative by updating
on the political situation in Europe and represent the otherwise
inactive EU member states.

Clean Climate & Air
Coalition

-

Clean Energy Ministerial

Climate Disclosure
Standards Board

-
● The EU has the potential to provide substantial policy leadership to
support the global ambition and to achieve Europe's own 2030 and
2050 targets. This requires the right leaders, targets and actions to
drive the change.

● The EU could revise its ability to deliver on the 2030 and 2050 agenda,

and provide a clear description of how reporting standards can
facilitate achieving these targets.

● The EU could help with, and also save money, by mapping the

ecosystem of initiatives to thereafter fill out potential gaps and govern
coalescing initiatives.

Coalition of Finance
Ministers for Climate
Action

-

53

Global Commission on
Adaptation

Global Covenant of Mayors
for Climate & Energy

InsuResilience Global
Partnership

International Partnership
for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
in the Economy

The Commission could make use of the GCAs adaptation strategies by
evaluating their potential role in supporting the eight Action Tracks.
● Evaluate how the GCA's recommendations can be implemented in
current and future EU adaptation goals and governance strategies.
● Consider the short-term formats for future initiatives that gather key

leaders from around the world.

● The Commission will play a key role to the future development of the

GCoM due to the direct support it is providing to the Global
Secretariat. This applies for example to the expansion of the
initiative’s reach to currently underrepresented geographical regions.

● The support will also play a key role in scaling successful city action
examples to cities on a global scale, with economic growth and a
green COVID19 recovery in mind.

● Continue the current financial support and engagement.
● Consider the opportunity to fund work related to the Evidence
Roadmap, not only the implementation of activities that will be
reported into the roadmap.

● The Commission can continue its current engagement, i.e continue

sending eligible representatives with a suitable skill-set for the topic.

● The European Commission could provide assistance in research,

information sharing and communication on the use of hydrogen and
how it will fit into existing and upcoming national economic and
environmental strategies.

International Platform on
Sustainable Finance

-
International Solar Alliance -

Leadership Group for
Industry Transition

● The EU could contribute to climate finance that enables and supports
industry transitions in developing countries. This could be initiated by
entering conversations on where capacity could be built.

● LeadIT and the Commission could cooperate in countries where both
are present and local coordination across policy sectors is insufficient
to help create and implement a cross-cutting road map enabling
industry transition.

● Encourage EU member states to join the initiative as it offers a forum
for ambitious commitments and problem-solving related to the EU's
corporate climate and regulatory framework.

● The EU could maintain its activity and ambition within the scope of

the initiative.

Mission Innovation

● The EU could assist in the activities related to monitoring and

NAP Global Network

NDC Partnership

facilitate Mission Innovation's ambition to streamline monitoring
across country practices.

● The EU Commission could use the NAP Global Network as a resource of

knowledge and build upon or integrate it into its own work. This
includes useful insights on different trends in national adaptation plans
globally as well as what the different needs are and where progress is
being made.

● The NDC Partnership recognizes the heavy involvement of the EU

member states and that some existing areas of collaboration that are
in place with the European Commission already is excellent, e.g.
through the Euroclima+ taking lead in supporting Latin American
countries.

54

● Engage in communication and knowledge exchange about country

needs with different parts of European Commission than Euroclima+.

● The Commission could indicate to the NDC Partnership how it could

support Commission programming.

● The Commission could provide a formal endorsement towards the
U2C's vision and objectives. This would strengthen the initiative’s
support and potentially leverage commitments from further
stakeholders.

● Enable the U2C to institutionalize its efforts within the EU.
● Receive and consider the U2C’s update of projects and plans that will

be shared ahead of COP26.

Under2 Coalition

55

7. References

Abbott, K.W., 2012. The transnational regime complex for climate change.
Environment & Planning C: Government & Policy 30, 571–590.

Bulkeley, H., Andonova, L.B., Bäckstrand, K., Betsill, M., Compagnon, D., Duffy,
R., Kolk, A., Hoffmann, M., Levy, D., Newell, P., Milledge, T., Paterson, M.,
Pattberg, P., VanDeveer, S.D., 2012. Governing climate change transnationally:
assessing the evidence from a database of sixty initiatives. Environment and
Planning-Part C 30, 591–612. https://doi.org/10.1068/c11126

Bulkeley, H., Andonova, L.B., Betsill, M., Compagnon, D., Hale, T.N., Hoffmann,
M.J., Newell, P., Paterson, M., Roger, C., VanDeveer, S.D., 2014. Transnational
Climate Change Governance. Cambridge University Press, New York, USA.

Chan, S., Falkner, R., Goldberg, M., Asselt, H. van, 2018. Effective and
geographically balanced? An output-based assessment of non-state climate
actions.
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Policy

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Climate Action 100+. (2021). The Three Asks. Retrieved on February 1st 2021,
from https://www.climateaction100.org/approach/the-three-asks/

Data Driven Yale, NewClimate Institute, PBL, 2018. Global climate action of
regions, states and businesses. (Published by Data Driven Yale, NewClimate
Institute,  PBL  Netherlands  Environmental  Assessment Agency).

Hale, T.N., 2016. “All Hands on Deck”: The Paris Agreement and Nonstate
Climate
12–22.
https://doi.org/10.1162/GLEP_a_00362

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16,

Hoffman, M.J., 2011. Climate Governance at the Crossroads : Experimenting
with a Global Response after Kyoto: Experimenting with a Global Response after
Kyoto. Oxford University Press, New York, USA.

Hsu, A., Widerberg, O., Weinfurter, A., Roelfsema, M., Chan, S., Luthekemoller,
K., Bakhtiari, F., 2018. Bridging the emissions gap - The role of nonstate and
subnational actors. (In The Emissions Gap Report 2018.), A UN Environment
Synthesis Report. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi,
Kenya.

Kok, M., Widerberg, O. E., Negacz, K. E., Bliss, C., & Pattberg, P. H. 2019.
Opportunities for the Action Agenda for Nature and People. Policy brief number
3630. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague.

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Kok, M.T.J., Rankovic, A., Löwenhardt, H., Pattberg, P., Widerberg, O., Laurans,
Y., 2018. From Paris to Beijing:
Insights gained from the UNFCCC Paris
Agreement for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (Policy Brief No.
3412). PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague.

Lui, S., Kuramochi, T., Smit, S., Roelfsema, M., Hsu, A., Weinfurter, A., Chan, S.,
Hale, T., Fekete, H., Lütkehermöller, K., Casas, M.J. de V., Nascimento, L., Sterl,
S., Höhne, N., 2020. Correcting course: the emission reduction potential of
international
1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2020.1806021

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Pattberg, P., 2010. Public–private partnerships in global climate governance.
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 1, 279–287.

Pattberg, P., Biermann, F., Chan, S., Mert, A., 2012. Public-private partnerships
for sustainable development: emergence,
influence and legitimacy. Edward
Elgar, Cheltenham; Northampton, Ma.

Pattberg, P., Kristensen, K., Widerberg, O., 2017. Beyond the CBD: Exploring the
institutional landscape of governing for biodiversity (No. R-17/06). Institute for
Environmental Studies (IVM), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Pattberg, P., Widerberg, O., 2016. Transnational multi-stakeholder partnerships
for sustainable development: Conditions for success. AMBIO 42–51.

Rayner, T., Shawoo, Z., Hermwille, L., Obergassel, W., Mersmann, F., Asche, F.,
Zamarioli, L., 2018. Evaluating the Adequacy of the Outcome of COP21 in the
Context of the Development of the Broader International Climate Regime
Complex. Deliverable.

Rogelj,
J., den Elzen, M., Höhne, N., Fransen, T., Fekete, H., Winkler, H.,
Schaeffer, R., Sha, F., Riahi, K., Meinshausen, M., 2016. Paris Agreement climate
proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 C. Nature 534, 631–639.

UN Environment, 2018. Emissions Gap Report 2018. Nairobi, Kenya.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (UNFCCC). (2021).
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Victor, D., Geels, F., Sharpe, S., 2019. Accelerating the low carbon transition:
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Widerberg, O., 2017. The ‘Black Box’ problem of orchestration: how to evaluate
the performance of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda. Environmental Politics 26,
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Widerberg, O., Pattberg, P., 2017. Accountability challenges in the transnational
regime complex for climate change. Review of Policy Research 34, 68–87.

Widerberg, O., Pattberg, P., 2015. International cooperative initiatives in global
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Widerberg, O., Pattberg, P., Kristensen, K., 2016. Mapping the Institutional
Architecture of Global Climate Change Governance - V.2 (Technical Paper).
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on

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8 Annexes

8.1 Annex A: List of climate databases

Database category

Name of database

International data platforms

International processes

International events

Academic projects

● The UNFCCC Global Climate Action

Agenda (NAZCA)

● The Climate Initiatives Platform
● Sustainable Development

in Action

database

● The Action Agenda for Nature and

Planet

● The Clean Energy Ministerial process
● The G20 Energy Efficiency Leadership

Programme

● G7/8 and G20 Ministerial and Summits
● Task groups under the International
Efficiency

Energy

Partnership
Cooperation (IPEEC)

for

● The Climate and Clean Air Coalition

● The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit
● One Planet Summits

● IVM CONNECT project with the focus

on climate change
● ClimaSouth project

8.2 Annex B: International climate initiatives included in long-list

59

1

2

3
4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

2050 Pathways Platform

4 per 1000 Soils for Food Security and Climate

ACT Assessing Low-Carbon Transition
Action towards Climate Friendly Transport

Adapt’Action

Adaptation Benefit Mechanism

Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme

Adaptation Fund

AFOLU-Food and Land Use Coalition

Africa Adaptation Initiative

Africa Climate Change Fund

Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance

Africa NDC Hub

Africa Renewable Energy Initiative

African Carbon Support Program

African Financial Alliance on Climate Change

African Forest landscape Restoration

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development - One Planet Fellowship

African Youth Climate Hub

Airport Carbon Accreditation

Alliance for Global Water Adaptation

Alliances for Climate Action

Aluminium for Climate

Annual Disclosure

ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change

Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform

Banking Environment Initiative

BioCarbon Fund

BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes

Biofuture platform

Blue Carbon Code of Conduct

Blue Carbon Initiative

Blue Forests Project

Blue Resilience

Bonn Challenge

Breakthrough Energy Coalition

Building Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor

Building Resilience to Extreme Events in North America

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39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

Business Alliance for Water and Climate

Business Environmental Leadership Council

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

C40 Divest/Invest Forum

C40 Green & Healthy Streets

Carbon Disclosure Project

Carbon Monitor

Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation

Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum

carbonn Climate Registry

CarbonNeutral Protocol

Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator

Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme

CARICOM Climate Change Centre

Caring For Climate

Catalytic Finance Initiative

CCAC Agriculture Initiative

CCAC: Assessments Initiative

CCAC: Bricks Initiative

CCAC: Efficient Cooling Initiative

CCAC: Financing Initiative

CCAC: Global Green Freight Action Plan

CCAC: Health initiative

CCAC: Household Energy Initiative

CCAC: Municipal Solid Waste Initiative

CCAC: Oil & Gas Methane Partnership

CCAC: Phasing Down Climate Potent HFCs

CCAC: Supporting National Action and Planning Initiative

CEM Global Lighting Challenge

Central African Forest Initiative

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

Chambers Climate Coalition

Circular Cars Initiative

Cities and Regions' Five year Vision

Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (the Alliance)

Clean Air Asia

Clean Cement and Concrete Coalition

Clean Climate & Air Coalition

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79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

Clean Energy Ministerial

Climate Action 100+

Climate Action in Financial Institutions

Climate Action Pacific Partnership

Climate Alliance

Climate Ambition Alliance: Net Zero 2050

Climate and Development Knowledge Network

Climate and Land Use Alliance

Climate Bonds Initiative

Climate Chance Association

Climate Change Adaptation Facility

Climate change and health in small island developing states

Climate Disclosure Standards Board

Climate Finance Partnership

Climate Investment Funds

Climate Investment Funds

Climate Investment Platform

Climate Land Ambition and Rights Alliance

Climate Neutral Now

Climate Policy Initiative

Climate Resilient and Low-Carbon Infrastructure Planning and Development

Climate Risk Early Warning Systems

Climate Smart Agriculture Booster

Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance

Climate-KIC

ClimateWise

ClimDev Special Fund

Coalition for Carbon Neutrality

Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment

Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action

Coffee & Climate

Collaborative Climate Action Across the Air Transport World

Collaborative Innovation for Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies

Community-Based Adaptation Network

Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions

Cool Coalition

Debt Swap

Decarbonizing Shipping: Getting to Zero Coalition
DeSIRA - Financing for agricultural research to help low-income farmers adapt to
climate change

Divest-Invest Global Movement

62

Early Warning Early Action

Earth Optimism

ECCA30

Energy Efficiency Global Alliance

Energy Sector Management and Assistance Project

EU-ASEAN High-Level Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change

EU-GCC Clean Energy Network

EUROCITIES

EUROCLIMA+

European Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT

European Initiative for Sustainable Development in Agriculture

European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics

European Technology and Innovation Platform on Wind Energy

EverGreen Agriculture Partnership

Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action

Fiji Water Resilience

Fleets for Change

Flood Resilience Alliance

Forest Global Earth Observatories

Forest Trends

Fossil Free - Divest from Fossil Fuels

Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction

Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Global Alliance for Energy Productivity

Global Alliance for Smart Cities in Africa

Global Alliance for Water and Climate’s Incubation Platform
Global Alliance to Significantly Reduce Methane Emissions in the Oil and Gas Sector
by 2030

Global Bioenergy Partnership

Global Buildings Performance Network

Global CCS Institute

Global Cement and Concrete Initiative

Global clean ports

Global Climate Change Alliance Plus

Global Commission on Adaptation

Global Commons Alliance

Global Cool Cities Alliance

Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy

Global Environment Facility

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

63

Global Fund Coral Reefs

Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership

Global Geothermal Alliance

Global Initiative on Community Based Adaptation

Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance

Global Investor Coalition on Climate Change

Global Mangrove Alliance

Global Methane Initiative

Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases

Global Sustainability Electricity Partnership

Go 100%

Gold Standard

Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force

Great Green Wall for Sahara and the Sahel Initiative

Green Climate Fund

Green Growth Platform

Helping Farmers Cope with Climate Change

Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Related Disclosures

Incubation platform for 100 water and climate projects in Africa

Initiative KIWA

Initiative on Gender and Climate Change

Institutional Investors Group for Climate Change (IIGCC)

InsuResilience Global Partnership

Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land: Hotspots Explorer

Interfaith Rainforest Initiative

International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification

International Carbon Action Partnership

International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation

International Development Finance Club

International Emissions Trading Association

International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association

International Platform on Sustainable Finance

International Solar Alliance

International Waste Platform

International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance

Investment Climate Facility

Investment Leaders Group

Investor Network on Climate Risk

ITS for Climate

Japan Bilateral Support for Adaptation in Asian and Pacific Countries

159

160

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

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199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

232

233

234

235

236

237

238

Joint Work Programme on Resilient Cities

Just Transition Initiative

Korea Bilateral Support for Adaptation

LCTPi Cement Sustainability Initiative

LCTPi Climate Smart Agriculture

LCTPI Low Carbon Technology Partnership initiative (Main)

LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience

Leadership for Urban Climate Investment

Leadership Group for Industry Transition

Least Developed Countries Fund

Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative

Local Governments for Sustainability

Low Carbon Development Initiative

Low Carbon Road and Road Transport Initiative

Low Emissions Development Strategies Global Partnership

Low-Carbon Sustainable Rail Transport Challenge

Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Adaptation

Make Our Planet Great Again

MAR Fund

MDBs Alignment with the Paris Agreement

Megacities Alliance for Water and Climate

Mission Innovation

Mission Possible Platform

Montreal Carbon Pledge

Movin´on

Nature4Climate

Navigating a Changing Climate

New Climate Economy

New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers' Annual Conference

North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance

Norway-Pacific Joint Chair of Oceans and Climate Change

Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition

Oil & Gas Methane Partnership

Oil and Gas Climate Initiative

One Planet Business for Biodiversity

One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds

One Planet Summit

Pacific Initiative on Biodiversity, Resilience and Climate Change

PACMUN project

Palm Oil Innovation Group

65

Paris Collaborative on Green Budgeting
Paris Pact on water and adaptation to climate change in the basins of rivers, lakes and
aquifers

Paris Process on Mobility and Climate

Partners for Resilience

Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials

Partnership for Market Readiness

Partnership on Transparency in the Paris Agreement

Partnership on Transparency/ Good Practices Database

Philippines Water Security for Economic Growth and Stability (Be-Secure) Project

Plan Vivo

Planners for Climate Action

Playing for the Planet

Powering Past Coal Alliance

Private Financing Advisory Network

Private Investment for Enhanced Resilience

Promotion of Smart Agriculture Towards Climate Change

Protection of 400 Million Hectares of Forest

Public Transport Declaration on Climate Leadership

Put a Price on Carbon - Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing

R20 Regions of Climate Action

R4 Rural Resilience Initiative

Rainforest Alliance

RE100

REDD+

Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Emissions

Refrigerants, Naturally!

Regional Center for Climate Change and Decision Making

RegionsAdapt

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century

Renovate Europe

Resilience and Adaptation Call for Action

Resilience Intel

Resilient Cities Acceleration Initiative

Resilient Delta’s Delta Alliance

Risk-informed Early Action Partership

Salud sin daño / Health Care Without Harm

SATOYAMA Initiative

Science-based Targets

SE4All: District Energy in Cities Initiative

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

66

279

280

281

282

283

284

285

286

287

288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295

296

297

298

299

300

301

302

303

304

305

306

307

308

309
310

311

312

313

314

315

316

317

318

SE4All: Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform (Main)

SE4All: United for Efficiency

SERVIR Program

SIDS 2020 Ambition Leadership

SIDS Lighthouses Initiative

SLoCat Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport
Small Island States (SIDS) Blue Guardians: Partnership to Protecting Oceans and
Climate-resilient Blue Economies

Smart Risk Investing

SME Climate Hub

Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF)

Space Climate Observatory

Sports for Climate Action

Subnational Climate Funds for Africa

NDC Partnership

Support for coal- and carbon-intensive regions in transition

Sustainable Agriculture Network

Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative

Sustainable Mobility for All

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

Taxi4SmartCities

TED Countdown

Tenure facility

The City Climate Finance Gap Fund

The Climate Collaborative

The Climate Group

The Climate Leadership Initiative

The Climate Registry

The Global Forum on Agriculture Research (GFAR)

The Inevitable Policy Response

The Investor Agenda

The National Adaptation Plan Global Network
The New York Declaration on Forests

The Ocean Pathway

The Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security programme

The Step Up Declaration

The Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Committee

The Water, Peace, and Security Partnership

Transformative Actions Program

Transition Pathway Initiative

Transport Decarbonisation Alliance

67

319

320

321

322

323

324

325

326

327

328

329

330

331

332

333

334

335

336

337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344

Tropical Landscape Financing Facility

UN Global Compact Caring for Climate

UN Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance

Under2 Coalition

UNEP Finance Initiative

Urban Electric Mobility Initiative

Urban-LEDS project

US-Dominican Republic Cooperation on Water and Sewage in Flood Plains

US-Peru Cooperation on Water Resource Management

Value Chain Risk to Resilience

We Mean Business

West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program

West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use

William J Clinton Foundation Climate Initiative

World Bank: Scaling up CSA for Impact
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Climate Smart
Agriculture (CSA)

World Green Building Council

World Mayors Council on Climate Change

World Ports Sustainability Program
WWF Climate Savers
WWF Earth Hour City Challenge
Zero Carbon Buildings for All
Zero Deforestation Commitments from Commodity Producers and Traders
Zero Routine Flaring by 2030
NAP Global Network
International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy

International climate initiatives not included inlong-list

N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Name of initiative
21st Century Power Partnership
21st Century Truck Partnership
2x40 GW Green Hydrogen Initiative
Act4nature International
Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration
AfDB - OECD Joint Initiative
AfDB Access to finance for SMEs through Fis
Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa
Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility
Africa Energy Market Place
Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism
Africa Trade Fund

68

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61

Africa Visa Openness Index
Africa50
African Financial Markets Initiative
African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
African Leaders for Nutrition Initiative
African Legal Support Facility
African Natural Resources Centre
African Peer Review Mechanism
African Water Facility
African Women in Business Initiative
Agricultural development
Agriculture Fast Track (AFT) Fund
Aid for Trade Trust Fund
As You Sow
ASEAN Programme on Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems
Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative
Association of Pacific Rim Universities
Biogas Recovery in the Agriculture Sector
Blue Growth Initiative
Bonn Challenge – Forest Landscape Restoration
Boost Africa: Empowering Young African Entrepreneurs
Bridge
Business For Nature Coalition
C40 Clean Bus Declaration
C40 Zero Waste Declaration
Canada’s Bilateral Support in Myanmar and Senegal
Carbon Capture,Utilization, and Storage Initiative
Carbon Leadership Forum
Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition
Carbon War Room Shipping Initiative
Caribbean Challenge Initiative
CCAC: Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles and Engines Initiative
CCAC: Mineral Methane Initiative
CEM Clean Energy Education and Empowerment
CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards
CEM Investment and Finance Initiative
Clean Air Fund
Clean by Design
Clean Energy Corridors in Africa
Clean Energy Solutions Centre
Clean Jobs Initiative
Clean Road Freight Coaliton
Clean Skies for Tomorrow
Climate Change and Security
CO2  Performance Ladder
Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access
Coconut Industry Development for the Caribbean
Collaborative Partnership on Forests
Community Development Carbon Fund

69

Congo Basin Forest Fund
Cycling Delivers on the Global Goals
Deauville Partnership
Debt Relief Initiatives
Debt Swap
Deforestation Free Fund
Desert to Power initiative
Desert to Power Mission
Earth For Life Initiative
Eco Partnerships
EcoMobility Alliance
EcoPartnerships
Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities Model
Electric Mobility Programme
Electric Vehicles Initiative
Emergency Liquidity Facility
Energy Cities
Energy Management Action Network (EMAK)
Energy Management Working Group (EMWG)
Enhanced National Climate Plans
Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa: EPSA Initiative
Enhancing global ocean acidification monitoring and research
EU 2020 Task Force on Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-meteorological Risk
Reduction
EuroACE
European Alliance to Save Energy
EV100
Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return
Food Security Climate Resilience Facility
Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
Forest Stewardship Council
Fragility & Resilience
FuelCellsWorks Initiative, REVIVE (Refuse Vehicle Innovation and Validation in
Europe)
Fund for African Private Sector Assistance
Global 100% RE
Global Agriculture & Food Security Program
Global Campaign for Nature
Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance
Global e-Sustainability Initiative
Global Fuel Economy Initiative
Global Green Bond Partnership
Global Initiative for Resource-Efficient Cities
Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction – SAVE FOOD
Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement (GLCN)
Global LEAP Awards
Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership
Global Partnership for Plant Conservation
Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR)

62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83

84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92

93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108

70

Global Partnerships For Plants Conservation
Global Reporting Initiative
Global Resilience Partnership
Global Restoration Initiative
Global Solar Council
Global Subsidies Initiative
Global Wind Energy Council
Go 100% renewable
Goal 14 implementation for the protection of Mediterranean Sea's whales and
dolphins
Green Building Initiative
Green Freight Asia Network
Green Freight Europe
Green Growth Initiative
Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Guidance for Resilience in the Anthropocene: Investments for development
Health in Africa Fund
High-level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy
High-Level Panel on Fragile States
Hydrogen Initiative
IATA Carbon Offset Program
ICT4SIDS Partnerships: Rapid Implementation of SDGs Through Latest Digital
Innovations
IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on Energy Efficient End-Use Equipment
(4E)
Important Plant Areas in Arabia
Information Centre for the Extractives Sector
Initiative 20x20
Initiative for Sustainable Cities Development in Africa
Initiative on Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage from Climate Change
Integrated Approach Programme on Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for
Food Security in sub-Saharan Africa
Integrated Coastal Management
International Corel Reef Initiative
International Partnership for Blue Carbon
International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Smart Grid Action Network
International Solar Alliance
IPEEC: Building Energy Efficiency Task Group
IPEEC: Energy Efficiency Finance Task Group
IPEEC: The High Efficiency Low Emissions Task Group
IPEEC: The Networked Devices Task Group
IPEEC: The Top Ten Energy Efficiency Best Practices and Best Available
Technologies Task Group
IPEEC: The Transport Task Group
ISGAN Award of Excellence
Jobs for Youth in Africa
Land Degradation Neutrality Fund

109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116

117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128

129

130
131
132
133
134
135

136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147

148
149
150
151
152

71

Land: Enhancing Governance for Economic Development
LCTPi Renewables
Leadership Group for Industry Transition
Lean and Green
Lean and Green
Life Beef Carbon
Life Beef Carbon Initiative
Logistics Emission Reduction Scheme
Low Carbon Rail Transport Challenge
Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership
Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership
Marine Global Earth Observatory Marine Geo
Marine Global Earth Observatory MarineGeo
MedFish4ever
Microfinance Multidonor Trust Fund
Middle Income Countries
Migration and Development Initiative
Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Mission Innovation
Multi-Donor Governance Trust Fund
Multidonor Water Partnership Program
Multilateral Solar and Wind Working Group
NAPS Community
National Agricultural Resilience Framework
Nature-Based Solutions
NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility
Net-Zero Steel Initiative
Network for Greening the Financial System
Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability
Networked Carbon Markets Initiative
New Partnership for Africa’s Development
New Vision for Agriculture
Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy Future
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Foundation and list of initiatives; Blue Resilience (BRI); Ocean Acidification
(IOAI); Sustainable Aquaculture (ISAI); Redesigning Plastics
Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance
Oceania 21
Pacific plastic pollution: A system for regional grassrots
Paris Aligned Investment Initiative
Partnership for Procurement and Green Growth
Partnership on Illicit Finance
Partnership with African Coastal States to Eradicate IUU Fishing in their Sovereign
Waters by 2020
Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition
Power Africa Initiative
Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa
Promoting Biodiversity Research For Public And Private Decision Support

153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186

187
188
189
190
191
192
193

194
195
196
197
198

72

Promoting Disaster and Climate Risk Resilience Through Regional Programmatic
and Risk Financing Mechanisms
Protecting 1 million sq kms through the $15 million WCS Marine Protected Area
Fund
Raise Awareness about the Ocean and Take Action
RE-Source Platform
Re.Think
Rebuild by Design
Redesigning Plastics
Reducing ship strikes to vulnerable Whales
Regional and Global Energy Interconnection Initiative
Regional Electric Vehicle Plan for the West
Remove Commodity-driven Deforestation
REN Alliance
Resilience Evaluation, Analysis and Learning consortium
Responsible Care
Responsible Steel
Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Initiative
Save Food Initiative
Save Food initiative
SE4All: Building Efficiency Accelerator
SE4all: People-Centered Accelerator
SEAD Global Efficiency Medal
Seed Capital Assistance Facility
Share the Road
South-South Cooperation Trust Fund
Step Up Declaration: Powering Mission 2020
Strategic Partnership with Africa
SunShot Initiative
Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Initiative
Sustainable Aquaculture
Sustainable Cities and Eco-Energy Towns
Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Sustainable Transport Africa
The 1 in 100 initiative
The 10x20 Initiative
The Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network
The Corporate Leaders Group
The Development Finance Compact for Portuguese-Speaking African Countries
The Fashion Pact
The International Energy and Climate Initiative - Energy+
The Lion's Share
The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
The Ocean Cleanup
The Presidential Youth Advisory Group
The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels
The World Team Project: Sustainable Solutions Oceans Opportunities & Small
Island States
Threatened Mammals Conservation In Serra Do Mar Biodiversity Corridor

199

200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242

243
244

73

245
246

247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260

Three Percent Club
Towards A Cleaner Electricity in Latin America
Towards an ecologically representative and efficiently managed network of
Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas
Trade Finance Program
Transition Network
Tropical Forest Alliance 2020
UN-REDD Programme
UNEP Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles
Urban Transitions Alliance
Volvo LIGHTS
Vote Solar Initiative
Waste Management and Sanitation Improvement (WMI) Programme
WBCSD Urban Infrastructure Initiative
Wind Vision
World Flora Online
Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund

8.5 Annex C: Coverage of co-operation options per sector (n=344

initiatives)

74

75

76

77

8.7 Annex D: Coverage of sectors by shortlisted initiatives (n=22)

8.8. Annex E: Initiatives that could fill functions not covered by the

shortlisted initiatives, listed per thematic area

78

79

80

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