Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Climate Action


Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, weather events are becoming more extreme and greenhouse gas emissions are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is likely to surpass 3 degrees centigrade this century. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.

Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts. Climate change, however, is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.

To strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris, which went into force in November of 2016. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees centigrade. As of April 2018, 175 parties had ratified the Paris Agreement and 10 developing countries had submitted their first iteration of their national adaptation plans for responding to climate change.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

Agreement Concerning Cooperation in Ice-breaking

1961 T g

Agreement Concerning Specific Stability Requirements for Ro-ro Passenger Ships Undertaking Regular Scheduled International Voyages Between, to or from Designated Ports in North West Europe and the Baltic Sea

SOLAS AGR 1996 1996 London UK T g

Agreement on Regional Cooperation in Combating Pollution of the South-East Pacific by Hydrocarbons or other Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency

1981 T g

Agreement on the Global Weather Experiment

1979 T g

Agreement on the Implementation of a European Project on Pollution, on the Topic 'research into Physico-chemical Behaviour of Sulphur Dioxide in the Atmosphere'

1971 T g

Agreement Regarding Monitoring of the Stratosphere

1976 T g

Agreement Relating to a Joint Ocean Weather Station in the North Atlantic

1949 T g

AGRHYMET Regional Centre

1974 Niamey Niger E g

AgriCord

2003 Brussels Belgium C

Agroecology Fund

AEF 2012 F f

AIP Foundation

1999 Hanoi Vietnam F f

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration European Association

AREA 1988 Brussels Belgium D

Air Pollution & Climate Secretariat

AirClim 1982 Gothenburg Sweden G

Airlink

2009 Washington DC USA G

Airport Regions Council

ARC 1994 Brussels Belgium F

Airports Council International

ACI 1991 Montréal QC Canada B y

Airports Council International - European Region

ACI EUROPE 1991 Brussels Belgium E

ALADIN

1990 Ghent Belgium D

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

AvH 1860 Bonn Germany G f

All Hands Volunteers

2004 Mattapoisett MA USA G

ALLEA - ALL European Academies

1994 Berlin Germany F

Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment

ACE 1995 Brussels Belgium F

Alliance for Financial Inclusion

AFI 2008 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia F y

Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa

AFSA 2008 Kampala Uganda D

Alliance for Rural Electrification

ARE 2006 Brussels Belgium E

Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations

ALLIANCE 1982 Istanbul Türkiye F y

Alliance of International Science Organizations

ANSO 2018 Beijing China C y

Alliance of Rail New Entrants

ALLRAIL 2017 Brussels Belgium D

Alliance pour la Préservation des Forêts

APF Paris France G

Allied Command Operations

ACO 1951 Shape Belgium E g

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps

ARRC 1992 Gloucester UK F g

Alpine Ibex European Specialist Group

GSE-AIESG 1988 Turin Italy E

Amazon Conservation Association

ACA 1999 Washington DC USA G

Amazon Watch

1996 Oakland CA USA G

Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1990

London amendment 1990 T g

Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1992

Copenhagen amendment 1992 T g

Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1997

Montreal amendment 1997 T g

Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1999

Beijing amendment 1999 T g

Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 2016

Kigali Amendment 2016 T g

American Red Cross Overseas Association

ARCOA 1949 Sammamish WA USA G

American Society of Travel Advisors

1931 Alexandria VA USA G

Americares Foundation

1982 Stamford CT USA G f

amfori

1977 Brussels Belgium D

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

Auckland New Zealand E

Antarctic Treaty

AT 1959 Buenos Aires Argentina F g

Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Productontwikkeling

APOPO 1998 Antwerp Belgium G

Anti-Slavery International

1839 London UK C v

APEC Climate Center

APCC 2005 Busan Korea Rep G

APHELEIA - Humanities International Association For Cultural Integrated Landscape Management

2017 Mação Portugal E

Appel aide aux enfants victimes de conflits

1969 Paris France G

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