Introduction

Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) is a term adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to denote work under Article 6 of the Convention (1992) and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement (2015). ACE provides a framework for coherence and coordination as we join forces and build capacity for peoplecentered climate action.

We have a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to enable climate-resilient development.1 It will take deep transformation across all social systems including energy, economics, transport, and justice to ensure we are building resiliency for our infrastructures, and communities.2 The outcomes of these transformations cannot be just, if the process is unjust. The only way to do this is together, the task requires a whole-of-society approach.

The implementation of a just transition will require nations and other relevant actors, acting individually or collectively, to adopt policies and legislation and to mobilize resources that advance people-centered, equitable, and sustainable development. In this regard, a new governance that embodies the core values of human rights, equality, and sustainability is essential for achieving people-centered climate action. This new social contract needs to: strengthen governance and accountability frameworks by providing direct multi-stakeholder participation in decisionmaking, financing, technology transfer and innovation; reinforce equitable capacity building for people and institutions through transformative education, training and public awareness to enable society readiness to own, participate in, or lead climate solutions; promote access rights to information, public participation, and justice related to climate change matters; address the environmental and socio-economic inequities in an integrated manner; build on existing efforts of workforce for the future development to ensure future opportunities, capacity, and benefits are equitably distributed; and facilitate coherence, collaboration and inclusion in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 agenda through the leveraging of ethical partnerships and equitable resource allocation across diverse funding mechanisms with special attention to capacity and equity in developing countries.

Climate justice is an approach to addressing the social and environmental imbalances and injustices that are exacerbated by anthropocentric climate change. Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) provides the foundational toolkit to articulate and operationalize people-centered climate action. A cornerstone of ACE is to promote whole-of-society climate action through coherent structures of participation, access, and collaboration. ACE enables the capacities, from individuals to policy-makers, for good climate governance by, establishing the necessary participatory instruments, networks, infrastructures, coherence and resources.

Governance and capacity building are essential to achieve climate change mitigation targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to ensure just climate change adaptation activity. In particular, there are intersections among the SDG 4 on Education, SDG 7 on Decent Work, SDG 5 on Gender Equality, SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities, within climate action and the SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Additionally, synergies exist between ACE and the Sendai Framework, which asks for access to information and availability of disaggregated data, to address multifaceted climate change threats. The Sendai Framework also recognizes the need for a whole-of-society collaboration, empowerment and inclusive participation for effective disaster risk management.

Similarly, the Escazu Agreement and Aarhus Convention provide guidance on how to effectively include access to information, participation, and justice in environmental agreements while operationalizing the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992.