Joint Press Release of 6 November 2017 by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Bonn, 6 November 2017

In preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23), which begins today in Bonn, some 300 experts from the spheres of research, politics, civil society, business and the media including climate negotiators met at the weekend to discuss the future of global cooperation and options for decarbonising the global economy in a socially responsible manner. The organisers of the international conference “Climate Action and Human Wellbeing at a Crossroads: Historical Transformation or Backlash?” placed a particular focus on the perspective of developing countries, rising powers and the small island nations.The conference was hosted by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in cooperation with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Bonn / Königswinter.

A ten-point memorandum entitled “The Climate – Justice – Cooperation Nexus: 10 Cornerstones of the Great Transformation towards Sustainability” was presented as the outcome of the conference. This memorandum defines key global challenges for the coming years and calls upon state and non-governmental actors to accelerate their efforts to tackle climate change.

“With the Sustainable Development Goals, the world community has come to terms with a new and ambitious social contract, which is a hopeful first step towards a comprehensive sustainable transformation”, said Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Director General of IIASA, at the closing event on Sunday afternoon. Dirk Messner, Director of DIE, sees an urgent need for action on a further level:“In order to implement the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must not only address substantive issues but also work towards creating a new culture of global cooperation based on trust and mutual respect”, said Dirk Messner.

The memorandum on “The Climate – Justice – Cooperation Nexus: 10 Cornerstones of the Great Transformation towards Sustainability” was presented and discussed with eminent participants representing multiple perspectives from climate negotiators, private and public sectors, artists and scientists from many disciplines ranging from social science to engineering. The memorandum calls upon policy-makers and business leaders to address the following issues among others at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn:

• Renewal of the positive spirit of the Paris agreement in order to place international cooperation on a foundation of trust
• Consistent and coordinated implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Socially responsible decarbonisation of the global economy
• Use of new technologies to drive the transformative change towards sustainability
• A comprehensive and reliable strategy for financing sustainable development around the world, with a particular focus on the poorest countries

You can find the memorandum and detailed conference documentation in the media center  of the conference website: www.crossroadsbonn.org/mediacenter

The two-day international conference was made possible through financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Stiftung Mercator, the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research, and the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn.

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts policy-oriented research into problems that are too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. Problems like climate change that have a global reach and can be resolved only by international cooperative action. Or problems of common concern to many countries that need to be addressed at both, the national and international level, such as energy security, population aging, and sustainable development. Funded by research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, IIASA is independent and unconstrained by political or national self-interest. www.iiasa.ac.at