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

Atlas Service Corps

2006 Washington DC USA G

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine

ACEM 1984 Melbourne VIC Australia G

Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine

ASEM 1981 Noble Park VIC Australia G

Australasian Wind Engineering Society

AWES 1985 Brisbane QLD Australia G

Australian Council for International Development

ACFID 1965 Deakin ACT Australia G y

Autre Terre

1982 Herstal Belgium F

Avoided Deforestation Partners

AD Partners 2007 Washington DC USA G

AVSI Foundation

1972 Milan Italy G f

Balkan and Black Sea Petroleum Association

BBSPA 1995 Sofia Bulgaria J

Baltic Earth

Geesthacht Germany E

BalticWaters2030

BW2030 Stockholm Sweden G f

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies

BIISS 1978 Dhaka Bangladesh G j

Bellona Europa

1986 Oslo Norway G

BeNeLux Travel Retail Association

BTRA Hoofddorp Netherlands D

Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation

BRPF 1963 Nottingham UK F f

BETTER FINANCE

BF 2009 Brussels Belgium D

Big Life Foundation

Big Life 2010 Ridgefield WA USA F f

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network

BES-Net 2016 Nairobi Kenya F

BirdLife Europe

Brussels Belgium E

Black Sea Energy Research Centre

BSERC 2007 Sofia Bulgaria D

Black Sea Trade and Development Bank

BSTDB 1998 Thessaloniki Greece F gt

Blood Care Foundation

BCF 1991 Le Vaud Switzerland N f

Blue Marine Foundation

BLUE 2010 London UK G f

Blue Shield International

BSI 2016 Newcastle upon Tyne UK F

Bonsucro

2008 London UK C

Bountifield International

Minneapolis MN USA G

Bretton Woods Project

1995 London UK G

British Institute of International and Comparative Law

BIICL 1958 London UK G jv

Brussels Dialogue on Climate Diplomacy

BDCD 2016 F y

Buddhist Global Relief

BGR 2008 Carmel NY USA G

Buildings Performance Institute Europe

BPIE 2010 Brussels Belgium D j

Bureau of International Recycling

BIR 1948 Brussels Belgium C

Burners Without Borders

BWB San Francisco CA USA G

Busan Foundation for International Cooperation

BFIC 2005 Busan Korea Rep G

Business Alliance for Water and Climate

BAFWAC J

C40

2005 London UK F

Cambodia Action

1975 Doncaster UK G

Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief

CPAR 1984 Ottawa ON Canada G

Canopy

1999 Vancouver BC Canada G

Carbon Market Watch

2012 Brussels Belgium F

Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance

CNCA C

Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty

COTAP 2011 Oakland CA USA G

CARE International

CI 1945 Brussels Belgium F f

Caribbean ASEAN Voluntary Council for Sustainable Development Goals

Caribbean ASEAN Council J

Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Europe

CCCE 2019 Brussels Belgium E t

Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre

CCCCC 2001 Belmopan Belize E g

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

CDEMA 1991 St Michael Barbados F g

Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation

CFPA 1971 St John's Antigua-Barbuda F

Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology

CIMH 1967 Bridgetown Barbados E gj

Caribbean Meteorological Organization

CMO 1973 Port-of-Spain Trinidad-Tobago D g

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