Task Force on Global Climate Change

The UNESCO Inter-Sectorial Task Force on Global Climate Change was created on 29 June 2007 by the Director-General of UNESCO.

Background

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts, and options for adaptation and mitigation, has been at the forefront of the discussions on global climate change (GCC) since its creation in 1988.  This issue, central to the future of humanity, has intermittently taken a position of prominence on the wider international political agenda.  For example, in 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) saw the world’s leaders adopt Agenda 21, a global programme that committed 118 countries to environmental restoration, preservation and social development.  They also adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (which entered into force on 24 March 1994), the aim of which was to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas in order to combat global warming.  In 1997, the Conference of Parties III (COP3) meeting in Kyoto, Japan, saw developed countries agree to specific targets for cutting their emissions of greenhouse gases and adopt the Kyoto Protocol, a framework whose details were to be determined over the next few years.  However, the many political factors involved in discussions related to GCC and the conflictual nature of these discussions have made advancement very difficult.

Discussion on GCC has again moved from technical and scientific bodies such as the IPCC to the wider political arena.  At the African Union Summit that took place in Addis Ababa in January 2007, the leaders adopted a decision that urges the integration of climate change considerations into development strategies and programmes at national and regional levels and calls for the implementation of the Plan on Climate Change and Development in Africa.  Discussions at the UN Chief Executives' Board (CEB) have culminated in an initiative by the United Nations Secretary-General to convene a High-Level event on Global Climate Change on 24 September 2007, on the eve of the session of the General Assembly.  Moreover, at the recent G-8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, the leaders came to an agreement, encapsulated in the Declaration, “Growth and Responsibility in the World Economy” (7 June 2007), on the strong and early action that needs to be taken by their countries to combat climate change.

Global climate change and its current and anticipated effects call for action in virtually all of the Organization’s fields of competence.  Activities to date fall into four categories: a) climate science; b) adaptation; c) mitigation; and (d) monitoring.  In particular, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has for many years been playing a catalytic role in this area, facilitating the research and monitoring necessary to understanding how climate impacts will affect resources and societies which depend on them, and helping to design strategies for adaptation and mitigation.  The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the Man and the Biosphere Programmes (MAB) work on the climatic and human-induced changes related to the world’s water resources and the sustainability of the biospheres upon which we depend.  Together, the Natural Sciences (SC) and Culture (CLT) Sectors contribute to the understanding, conservation and management of different natural environment systems that are under threat of GCC by raising awareness on the links between biological and cultural diversity and, in particular, by protecting World Heritage sites from the impact of climate change.  Furthermore, climate change is one of the key themes for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), for which UNESCO is the lead agency within the United Nations system.  The Education Sector is contributing to enhanced awareness through activities of the ASPnet and the preparation of related textbook and learning materials.  The Social and Human Sciences (SHS) and Communication (CI) Sectors also have special contributions to make.  UNESCO has been and will continue to play a major role in the monitoring of special aspects of GCC.

Task Force Mandate

The purpose of the Inter-Sectoral Task Force on Global Climate Change is to define a strategic and integrated approach for UNESCO on the issue of global climate change and to position the Organization so that it can make a tangible contribution in the years to come.

The mandate of the Task Force will be to:

• take stock and map activities that are ongoing globally, regionally and at the country level in relation to GCC, both within and outside the United Nations System and, in particular update the inventory of UNESCO efforts with a view to identifying the Organization’s comparative advantage and its future role within its areas of competence;
• elaborate an interdisciplinary framework and platform for UNESCO’s contribution in the area of GCC, which benefits from the Organization’s comparative advantages and decentralized network, including its Category I and II Centres and UNESCO chairs in this area; addresses the needs related to its priorities within the next Medium-Term Strategy (34 C/4), namely Africa and gender equality; and feeds into ongoing global efforts, in particular the 13th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting, to take place in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007;
• prepare a results-based implementation plan for the Organization’s action in this area from now through to the end of 2009 in cooperation with the Field Offices, which makes provisions for regular monitoring and which puts particular emphasis on ensuring the visibility and communication of UNESCO’s actions;
• define and propose mechanisms for ensuring a coherent and mutually reinforcing approach by Programme Sectors when addressing GCC in the 34 C/5 work plans;  and suggest a strategy by which to insert UNESCO effectively into global and regional mechanisms and initiatives, including through links with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoys on Climate Change.

The following texts were developed by the Task Force and presented to UNESCO's Permanent Delegates at an information session hosted by the Director-General on 13 November 2007 . (Note: Annex 1 of the Draft Strategy was not available at the time of the inforamtion session.)

Speech of the Director-General (pdf 69kb: download)

UNESCO's Draft Strategy on Global Climate Change (pdf 72kb: download)

Annex I of Draft Strategy: Thematic Nodes (pdf 52kb: download)