This workshop explored the institutional arrangements and mechanisms needed to accelerate climate action. Held ten years after the Paris Agreement and marking thirty years of UN climate conferences, the discussion centered on President Lula’s call at the 2024 G20 Summit to explore the creation of a UN Climate Change Council to accelerate the implementation of COP decisions.
The workshop was convened as part of a new UNU-CPR initiative, the Global Governance Innovation Platform, and was made possible through partnerships with the Government of Brazil and the COP30 Presidency, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, The British Academy and the Baha’i International Community’s United Nations Office.
The event brought together global experts and scholars to reflect on institutional upgrades, governance innovations and systems-level responses to address the escalating climate crisis; with participation from the COP30 President, Amb. André Aranha Corrêa do Lago and COP30 Chief Strategist, Tulio Andrade.
Discussions explored:
- How polycentric and experimental governance approaches—grounded in complexity science and systems thinking—can help institutions better respond to uncertainty, channel system feedback loops and drive the exponential diffusion of solutions.
- The structural and institutional changes needed to enhance agility, inclusion and adaptability in the face of cascading and compounding global risks.
- How new platforms—such as a proposed UN Climate Change Council—could strengthen international cooperation by enabling rapid data and knowledge exchange, aligning fragmented efforts and amplifying global coordination while reinforcing the UNFCCC's role in rule-making.
The event took a critical step in examining how upgraded, more inclusive institutions can accelerate meaningful climate cooperation and shape ideas for more effective global governance in the lead-up to COP30 and beyond.
