WHAT IS TALANOA?
Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories and build empathy in order to make wise decisions that are for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.
During the process of the Talanoa Dialogue, Parties will build trust and advance knowledge through empathy and understanding. Blaming others and making critical observations is inconsistent with the building of mutual trust and respect, and therefore inconsistent with the methodology of the Talanoa Dialogue. The spirit of talanoa acknowledges that no-one, no matter how powerful, can solve the climate challenge on their own.
WHAT IS THE EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE TALANOA DIALOGUE?
The Talanoa Dialogue is designed to take stock of collective efforts to reduce emissions in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and to inform the preparation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Ultimately, the goal is to help countries increase the ambition of their NDCs by 2020. However, the specific outcome will be determined by Parties during the political phase at COP24.
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF PARTIES BOTH IN TERMS OF THE CONTENT AND TIMING OF SUBMISSIONS?
The Presidencies have released guidance for submissions from Parties, similar to that issued for non-Party stakeholders (NPS). Although not mandatory, we hope that it will help Parties shape their submissions. The process is designed to allow Parties and NPS take stock of where they currently are in the climate journeys (i.e. actions and commitments) and where they need to go.
This is a useful opportunity to reflect on the progress and achievements that have been made so far, as well as on the reforms, incentives, technologies, business models and new forms of collaboration that still need to be developed, undertaken or adopted.
We are requesting that submissions be clear, concise and constructive to allow important information and innovation to be shared, and to foster knowledge transfer and best practices among stakeholders. This will also help us ensure accurate translation when summarising all submissions for the final synthesis report.
We encourage Parties to take the time they need to prepare their inputs, but the sooner Parties can submit them, the more time the inputs will have help shape the ongoing dialogue.
IS THE TALANOA DIALOGUE FOCUSED SOLELY ON MITIGATION, OR CAN INPUTS INCLUDE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE CONSIDERATIONS?
The Talanoa Dialogue is ultimately designed to help the world achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement by encouraging Parties to submit more ambitious NDCs. Adaptation and resilience are important components in the NDCs of developing of countries and are critical for achieving the overarching goals of the Paris Agreement, including promoting sustainable development. Even if all countries were to immediately enact the most ambitious mitigation efforts possible, the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would still cause the impacts of climate change to worsen for some time, putting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities under threat.
So whilst the 1.5/2 degrees target is critically important, strengthening the capacity of vulnerable societies to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change is necessary to ensure a sustainable transition towards a net-zero emission society as early as possible. This makes the discussion on adaptation and resilience relevant to the Talanoa Dialogue. We encourage you in particular to share experiences and lessons on actions and initiatives that address both adaption and mitigation.
WHAT ABOUT ISSUES LIKE HEALTH AND GENDER?
Consideration of “cross-cutting” issues like health and gender can also be included in submissions where it is relevant to the climate action or initiative that is being discussed in the context of the three core questions.
CAN INDIVIDUALS CONTRIBUTE TO THE TALANOA DIALOGUE?
Yes, individuals can contribute to the Talanoa Dialogue. However, individuals thinking about submitting an input are encouraged to consider how they can join efforts with others to prepare a joint input. This will help the Presidencies and secretariat in their work to consolidate the submissions.
CAN PARTIES INVITE NPS TO SUBMIT INPUTS?
Yes, however the submission should clearly indicate the entity(-ies) making the submission. We want to hear as many and as diverse a range of stories as possible. In order to address the great climate change challenge, we need to reach a new level of global collaboration between governments, cities, businesses, investors, civil society, the scientific community and ordinary men and women. No one actor can solve this problem alone and so Parties are encouraged to collaborate with NPS in their submissions or to encourage them to submit their own inputs.
We encourage all stakeholders to consider ways to consolidate inputs or prepare joint inputs where appropriate, in order to aid in the production of the synthesis report.
DO INPUTS NEED TO INCLUDE CONCRETE PROJECTS, INNOVATIONS OR GOALS?
It would be helpful to include these but it is not mandatory. However, remember that the Dialogue is designed to promote the sharing of stories, ideas and information that the world can learn from, both in terms of what has worked and what hasn’t worked in terms of mitigation and adaptation initiatives and related enabling mechanisms like policy, governance, regulation, financing and institutional structures. Information should be relevant for enhancing the next round of NDCs and concrete examples, lessons and experiences will help achieve this.
WHAT IF I MISS 2 APRIL DEADLINE?
Any input received later to that deadline will still appear on the Talanoa Dialogue Online Platform and will be included in the final synthesis report, but will not be part of the materials that the secretariat will produce in time for the May sessions.
HOW WILL THE OUTCOMES OF MAY SESSIONS IMPACT THE POLITICAL PHASE?
The outcomes of the May Sessions will be summarised in a report that will also include the summary of the portal submissions received up to 2 April 2018 as well as the outputs of the technical expert meetings (TEMs). This summary report will provide early signals on the elements to need to be discussed in the political phase at COP24. The summary report, along with other submissions and inputs during the rest of the year, will be fed into the final synthesis report that will be discussed at the political phase.
WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE BETWEEN MAY AND COP24?
The preparatory phase is expected to run throughout the year and until COP24. Additional information on the conduct of the preparatory phase will be provided after the May sessions. The Presidencies further encourage Parties and non-Party stakeholders to continue to cooperate in convening local, national, regional or global events in support of the Talanoa Dialogue.
A second deadline for inputs has been set for 29 October 2018. Any input received later to that deadline will still appear on the Online Platform, but will not be part of the materials that the secretariat produce in time for COP24.
HOW WILL THE PRESIDENCIES PREPARE THE SYNTHESIS REPORT?
We must ensure that the report accurately reflects the submissions and serves as a useful tool for political leaders a view of where we are in terms of current mitigation and adaptation efforts; goals and visions; and clear directions on how to get there.
The Presidencies will assess how best to accomplish this as submissions are reviewed. At this stage, it is already clear that the synthesis report will need to be succinct, credible, easy to access and organised in a clear and logical fashion. It will be informed by science and present clear directions and messages for how to enhance and implement NDCs.
