By Dwelleth Morountodun
In bold and strategic move, Pascal Lamy, former World Trade Organisation (WTO), France, who is President of Paris Peace Forum (PPF), Kim Campbell, Canada’s 19th Prime Minister, the former President of Niger Republic, Muhamadou Issoufou, former President of United Mexican States Felipe Calderon, and 12 other prominent global leaders under the aegis of Climate Overshoot Commission (COC) today launched a new initiative geared towards mitigating the rising risks to people and nature even as global warming continues its present trajectory and threat.
In a joint statement made available from its website, the Paris Peace Forum and the Climate Overshoot Commission, on Tuesday, said the primary approach to combatting climate change should remain the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
It added: But as temperatures continue to rise and overshooting the Paris Agreement’s global warming goals becomes more likely, additional approaches to reduce climate risks have been proposed.
The disclosure said: “These include expanded and accelerated adaptation, the large-scale removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and possibly cooling the planet by reflecting incoming sunlight. Research indicates that, if these options supplemented emissions cuts and were governed well, they could help ward off harms to people and the planet.
“The Global Commission on Governing Risks from Climate Overshoot—or “Climate Overshoot Commission”—will present the first integrated strategy that considers these additional options and how they could be governed ahead of the UN Climate Change Summit in 2023. The Commission will focus on ways of effectively minimizing climate risks that are evidence-based, resilient, just, and equitable.
“The Climate Overshoot Commission includes four former presidents and prime ministers, six national ministers, two senior international officials, three leaders of major environmental organizations, and an expert in sustainable development and global governance (see full list below), with the majority of Commissioners coming from the Global South. It is chaired by Pascal Lamy, President of the Paris Peace Forum and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization. The Commission will consult with a wide range of stakeholders, civil society organizations and youth movements, and be assisted by high-level scientific advisors.”
Lamy, further said: “All of us would prefer not to confront the consequences of insufficient action. Importantly, we will continue to work towards achieving the world’s climate goals as best we can. But we also have an overriding responsibility to be prepared, in case we do not succeed. That means considering and anticipating all potential responses that could minimize the damage and suffering, especially the most vulnerable.”
The COC, the information, added, is initially hosted by the PPF and is supported by Open Philanthropy, The Rockefeller Foundation, Cohler Charitable Fund, and LAD Climate Fund.
Its first meeting will be held in early June at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, it added.
Further details, including the history and approach of the Commission, can be found at www.overshootcommission.org.
List of Commissioners:
Pascal Lamy, President of the Paris Peace Forum; former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, France
Celso Amorim, former Minister of Foreign Relations and of Defence of Brazil
Muhamad Chatib Basri, former Minister of Finance of Indonesia
Frances Beinecke, President Emerita, Natural Resources Defense Council; board member, World Resources Institute, United States
Felipe Calderón, former President of the United Mexican States
Kim Campbell, Canada’s 19th Prime Minister, Founding Member of Club de Madrid
Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman of the board of Godrej & Boyce and of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India
Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger Republic, President of Issoufou Mahamadou Foundation
Agnes Matilda Kalibata, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the Food Systems Summit; President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Rwanda
Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan
KŌNO Tarō, member of the House of Representatives; former Minister for Foreign Affairs, of Defense, and for Administrative Affairs of Japan
Ibrahim Thiaw, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Mauritania
Anote Tong, former President of the Republic of Kiribati
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation; former Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21 of France
Margot Wallström, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden
XUE Lan, Cheung Kong Chair Distinguished Professor and Dean of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, China.
