SWITCH-Asia

WHEN:  8 June 2024     I    TIME:  10:15 - 11:30 (CET)    I    Venue: UNFCCC, Bonn   

Background:

The June UN Climate Meetings are critical preparatory meetings to help lay the groundwork ahead of the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. Formally called the 60th meetings of the Subsidiary Bodies, they focus on technical and scientific matters, as well as implementation of the climate treaties. During the June meetings, delegates and experts will work to make progress on climate finance, strengthened resilience against worsening climate impacts, transparent reporting to enable stronger climate action and boosting ambition for national climate plans. The recommendations made during the June Meetings will significantly inform decisions made at COP29.

UNCCC Main Conference page: https://unfccc.int/sb60

Side Event:

Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and the Circular Economy are compelling options for harnessing climate change co-benefits. The Policy Support Component (PSC) has recognized that several countries have incorporated SCP and Circular Economy (CE) elements into their existing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets. This positive development indicates room for further enhancement and expansion. Currently, the program is executing a brief Technical Advisory (TA) initiative across six South Asian nations. The objective is to gain insights into the present status and the potential for integrating SCP/CE principles into their NDC commitments.

The first side event by SWITCH-Asia in the official UNFCCC space, in collaboration with Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), will serve as a platform for sharing regional insights and experiences at the intersection of climate change and SCP/CE. It aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and lessons learned in this critical area. The side event will present findings from ongoing technical assistance in five South Asian countries, sharing key insights on the challenges and opportunities for integrating SCP into their NDCs.

The side event aims to achieve three objectives:

1. To share key findings from policy research aimed at identifying opportunities to integrate SCP/CE into climate actions to harness synergies and co-benefits.
2. To learn from South Asian policymakers about the challenges and strategies for integrating SCP/CE in their revised NDCs.
3. To discuss the elements of a roadmap to align SCP/CE priorities with the countries' NDC ambitions.

The event is structured into two main components: key presentations and a panel discussion, each addressing the intertwined issues of resource consumption and climate change.

The presentations will introduce SWITCH-Asia’s Technical Assistance (TA) in South Asia on SCP in NDCs, followed by a presentation on 'Key Findings' to outline the next steps and findings of Resource Outlook 2024. All presentations will be valuable in the context of the Global Stocktake, which mandates countries to submit their revised NDCs by COP 30. Policymakers from South Asian countries will be invited to comment on the findings and share their perspectives on integrating SCP into NDCs. The panel discussion will build on the key presentations, offering different perspectives on the problems and potential solutions. It will address the key challenges and opportunities for integrating climate actions with sustainable consumption and production.

Agenda