COP Presidencies outline approach to Talanoa Dialogue

A clear approach to how the Talanoa Dialogue will be conducted during the first half of this year has just been released by the Fijian Presidency of COP23 (the UN Climate Change Conference last November in Bonn, Germany), and the in-coming Polish Presidency for COP24 (the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowicze, Poland in December of this year).
The 2018 Talanoa Dialogue is an important international conversation in which countries and non-Party stakeholders will check progress and seek to increase global ambition to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The dialogue will be structured around three questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?
The approach issued clarifies how Parties and non-Party stakeholders can input into the dialogue via the Talanoa Dialogue Online Platform. Specifically, Parties and stakeholders are encouraged to make submissions around the three questions, ideally before 2 April 2018. This provides all stakeholders with the opportunity to provide input on: Efforts and actions to address climate change, initiatives to enhance cooperation on climate change, and key transformational solutions in line with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.
The newly released approach also highlights how the dialogue will be conducted at the up-coming Climate Change Conference in May. The May sessions will be the first opportunity for Parties and non-Party stakeholders to interact and engage in the Dialogue which is constructive, facilitative, transparent and, above all, solutions oriented.
In further preparation for a successful Talanoa Dialogue, Parties and non-Party stakeholders are invited to cooperate in convening local, national, regional or global events in support of the dialogue.
The Pacific island concept of ‘Talanoa’ was introduced by Fiji, which held the Presidency of the COP23 UN Climate Change Conference. It aims at an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue.
The purpose of the concept is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The Talanoa method purposely avoids blame and criticism to create a safe space for the exchange of ideas and collective decision-making.
The Talanoa Dialogue will be constructive, facilitative and oriented towards providing solutions and will culminate with political exchanges at COP24 in Katowicze in December 2018.