United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and global leaders from local governments, the private sector and civil society on Monday, September 18, 2017 agreed to accelerate efforts on climate action and to implement the Paris Agreement at a meeting during the UN General Assembly High Level Week.

The discussions herald a new phase in efforts aimed at mobilising and scaling up transformative action that will allow the world to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. They also recognise that the coalitions that have come together to develop and adopt the Paris Agreement must now shift their focus to implementation.

Leaders identified a set of sectors to aggressively push for low carbon pathways which included technology, the transition to cleaner energy, setting a realistic price on carbon, and insurance, reducing the risks from disasters and the impacts of climate change.

The meeting was part of a series of informal discussions organised by the Secretary-General with world leaders, from both government, private sector and non-governmental organisations, to forge alliances between governments and business for implementing the Paris Agreement in the run-up to a Summit he will hold in 2019.

The Secretary-General will also meet with a group of heads of state and government on climate issues on Tuesday.

Among those attending the meeting were California Governor, Edmund G. Brown Jr; Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change; former Vice President, Al Gore; Climate Champion Hakima El Haite, Morocco, Inia Seruiratu; Climate Champion, Fiji, Patrick Pouyanne; CEO of Total, Safa’ Al Jayoussi; Executive Director of the NGO IndyAct, Jordan; and Manual Pulgar Vidal, from the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF.

The Secretary-General applauded the efforts of Mr. Bloomberg – including with the Global Covenant of Mayors, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and the America’s Pledge initiative – to lead efforts driving climate action across a wide range of society. “I will lean on him as my Special Envoy to accelerate and deepen the role of sub-national actors in the implementation of the Paris Agreement in preparation of the 2019 Climate Summit.”

“Addressing climate change requires leadership from the groups that have the most direct connection to emissions – cities, regions, and businesses,” said Mr. Bloomberg. “I look forward to supporting the Secretary-General as the UN brings these non-national actors to the table to drive even more ambitious climate action.”

“Climate change, if unchecked, threatens all humanity,” said California Governor and UN Climate Change Conference Special Advisor for States and Regions Edmund G. Brown Jr. “California, with purpose and resolve, will join with the rest of the world to decarbonise the economy.”

Businesses and local governments are increasingly playing an out-sized role in advancing climate action – often surpassing the efforts of national governments. Cities, at the forefront of efforts to build resiliency and companies, businesses and investors have vastly increased action to reduce their global carbon footprint. But there is no formal mechanism to recognise and measure these contributions toward the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Gore said, “We are still behind where we should be in solving the climate crisis, but we see the path forward. Mobilising and engaging local, state and regional governments, businesses and investors and community organisers in the implementation process of the Paris Agreement is absolutely essential.”

Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan of Catbalogan, Philippines, welcomed the initiative to engage representatives from non-party entities. “It’s good to know that you’re not along in pushing for lower emissions. We cannot do this alone. This helps us move faster for our constituents and to help the lives of our people.”Safa’ Al Jayoussi, the Executive Director of the NGO IndyAct in Jordan, said “Getting all the actors in the same room as the Secretary-General is extremely important to us. It is really important as civil society to have our voices heard.”

The destruction and loss of life due to extreme weather events, such as the recent storms that ravage the Caribbean region and South Asia, have added an additional impetus for action.

Mr. Guterres said, “We count the costs in lives, livelihoods and damaged economies. Since 2008, some 20 million people a year have been forcibly displaced by floods, storms, fires and extreme temperature.”

He added, “Climate change is not a distant problem for future generations,” Mr. Guterres said. “It is here, now, and we need to deal with it.”  He added that governments alone cannot handle the enormity of the challenge.

The Secretary-General said the commitments under the Paris Agreement are still insufficient to limit global temperature rise to well under 2°C. “There is at least a 14 Gigaton gap,” he said. “That is why I asked you here today. We can change this situation. I hope, together, we can emphatically bend the emission curve by 2020.”

The Secretary-General called for boosting efforts to mobilise financing and creating bankable projects, and to intensify efforts in high impact areas such as in key areas that will result in the largest emission decreases and greatest efforts to build resilience to the more intense storms and impacts of climate change.

This informal dialogue was the first concrete step towards the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in 2019, the dialogue will focus on engaging Heads of State and Government for enhancing leadership and building informal coalitions in key areas as well as outlining steps towards an accelerated transformation that continues to drive emissions reduction together with sustained economic growth.

A considerable number of nations around the world have resated their commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, even as the United States continue to dither on the global treaty.

The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4 2016, brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so.

At a Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action convened by Canada, China, and the European Union, a majority of the participants expressed the fact that the Paris Agreement was irreversible and that it would not be renegotiated.

The United States, however, re-confirmed that it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement but that it is open to re-engaging on terms more favourable to it.

The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.

The meeting, which featured representatives from 34 governments of major economies and other key players on climate change, was aimed at advancing discussions on the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and to demonstrate continued political commitment to global action. It held on Saturday, September 16, 2017 in Montreal, Canada.

Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji facilitated the meeting with representatives from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, EU, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Recognising that the environment and the economy go hand-in-hand and that ambitious climate action will protect the environment, spur clean growth and sustainable development, create jobs, and improve human health, participants emphasised that global efforts are at a critical juncture, even as they indicated a strong commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Participants also underscored the importance of providing clarity and certainty to all actors, including investors, and thus acknowledged their political commitment to complete the Paris Work Programme in 2018.

Many expressed the importance of the Paris Agreement and its modalities, procedures, and guidelines to continue to build trust and help solidify confidence in the global commitment to climate action. It was highlighted that technical negotiations at COP23 should build on the spirit of Paris, and be constructive and balanced to advance consensus on modalities, procedures and guidelines that will help all Parties in the implementation of their Paris Agreement obligations.

There was support for the efforts of the Moroccan and Fijian COP Presidencies in determining the modalities for the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, based on consultations with Parties. It was reiterated that the Dialogue should help Parties take stock of progress made and further drive ambition, including in collaboration with non-state actors.

The importance of pre-2020 action and the need to build on current efforts were acknowledged. Many also pointed to the importance of financial, technology and capacity building support and recognised the progress being made. Furthermore, participants highlighted their support for the Marrakesh Partnership on Global Climate Action, pointing out that sub-national governments, Indigenous and local communities, and non-party actors are essential in achieving these objectives, and that multilateral processes should continue to be more inclusive and recognise the importance of gender equality.

To share lessons and best practices, many participants highlighted their countries’ approaches and experiences in reducing emissions and adapting to climate change, and broadly emphasised their steadfast determination to implementing these efforts and their NDCs. It was underscored that taking action now is critical in order to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy. A number of participants welcomed the momentum and movements of the market in that regard and underscored the importance of carbon pricing.

In light of the commitment to moving forward together and demonstrating progress, a message was sent to negotiators to carry forward the positive and open spirit of the Ministerial on Climate Action to advance their work on implementing the Paris Agreement through the completion of the Paris Work Programme and the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue.

Canada, China and the European Union were thanked for taking this initiative and for their offer to co-convene a second meeting in 2018 in Europe.

According to emerging theories, the world’s standing forests may be protecting continents against cyclonic storms, such as hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. But, as these forests disappear, scientists anticipate more frequent and more destructive storms.

Recent research conducted in collaboration with the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) suggests that forests and cyclones share a fundamental link in atmospheric dynamics, and that changes in one can trigger changes in the other.

Both cyclones and forests are characterised by striking amounts of rain, which derives from the atmosphere. Evidence suggests that by importing atmospheric moisture from the ocean, forests deplete the vapour available to generate and support cyclonic storms.

“Our work suggests that forests may protect continental regions from extreme storms,” explains Douglas Sheil, a Senior Research Associate at CIFOR. “Both the formation and maintenance of cyclones appear to depend on sufficient supplies of water vapour. We believe that cyclonic storms cannot maintain themselves over, or near to, extensive forests, as they draw away moisture over the land.”

In addition to reducing the number and intensity of cyclones, forests may also reduce the incidence of devastating floods, droughts and tornadoes. Sheil and his colleagues Anastassia Makarieva and Victor Gorshkov argue that sustaining natural forests is a sound strategy for water security and climate stabilisation.

A growing body of evidence

The emerging “biotic pump” theory argues that vegetation and tree cover may influence rain and rainfall patterns to a greater extent than is generally assumed. While the prevailing view is that winds are determined by temperature gradients, recent studies describe how evaporation and condensation influence atmospheric dynamics.

The physical details of the theory and its implications have been published in peer-reviewed physics journals (1, 2, 3) and atmospheric science journals (4, 5, 6, 7). In advancing these ideas, researchers have described failings in the temperature-driven theory of winds (8) and revised the fundamental equations governing atmospheric dynamics (9).