Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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

Climate Action


Every person, in every country in every continent will be impacted in some shape or form by climate change. There is a climate cataclysm looming, and we are underprepared for what this could mean.

Climate change is caused by human activities and threatens life on earth as we know it. With rising greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is occurring at rates much faster than anticipated. Its impacts can be devastating and include extreme and changing weather patterns and rising sea levels.

If left unchecked, climate change will undo a lot of the development progress made over the past years. It will also provoke mass migrations that will lead to instability and wars.

To limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre- industrial levels, emissions must already be decreasing and need to be cut by almost half by 2030, just seven years away. But, we are drastically off track from this target.

Urgent and transformative going beyond mere plans and promises are crucial. It requires raising ambition, covering entire economies and moving towards climate-resilient development, while outlining a clear path to achieve net-zero emissions. Immediate measures are necessary to avoid catastrophic consequences and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.

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

International Research Institute for Climate and Society

IRI 1996 Palisades NY USA G j

International Research Institute of Disaster Science

IRIDeS 2011 Sendai Japan G j

International Rubber Study Group

IRSG 1944 Singapore Singapore C g

International Schools Association

ISA 1951 Geneva Switzerland B

International Science Council

ISC 2018 Paris France A y

International Securities Lending Association

ISLA 1989 London UK G

International Seed Testing Association

ISTA 1924 Wallisellen Switzerland B g

International Senior Lawyers Project

ISLP 2000 New York NY USA G

International Sericultural Commission

ISC 1948 Bangalore India C g

International Silambam Committee

ISC 2018 Coimbatore India G

International Ski Mountaineering Federation

ISMF 1999 Mondovì Italy C

International Snow Science Workshop

ISSW E c

International Society for Aeolian Research

ISAR Lubbock TX USA D

International Society for Agricultural Meteorology

INSAM Bruchem Netherlands C

International Society for Atmospheric Research Using Remotely Piloted Aircraft

ISARRA 2013 D v

International Society for Digital Earth

ISDE 2004 Beijing China D

International Society for Electrostatic Precipitation

ISESP 1986 Atlanta GA USA C

International Society for Environmental Ergonomics

1986 Loughborough UK E c

International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management

IDRiM Society 2009 Kyoto Japan C

International Society of Acoustic Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Oceans

ISARS 1981 Vienna Austria D

International Society of Biometeorology

ISB 1956 Towson MD USA B y

International Society of Doctors for the Environment

ISDE 1990 Basel Switzerland C v

International Society of Ecological Modelling

ISEM 1975 Severna Park MD USA F

International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate

ISIAQ 1992 Herndon VA USA C

International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology

ISMH 1921 C

International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers

ISOPE 1989 Cupertino CA USA C

International Society of Plant Morphologists

ISPM 1951 Delhi India C

International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators

ISTTE St Clair Shores MI USA N

International Society of Travel Medicine

ISTM 1991 Alpharetta GA USA F v

International Society on Participatory Mapping

ISPM C

International Soil Tillage Research Organization

ISTRO 1973 Tjele Denmark B

International Sonoran Desert Alliance

ISDA 1994 Ajo AZ USA N

International SOS Foundation

ISOS Foundation 2011 Amsterdam Netherlands F f

International Space Environment Service

ISES 1962 Boulder CO USA F

International Sport Organization

ISO 2018 Grono Switzerland J v

International Sports Travel Agencies Association

ISTAA 2009 Lausanne Switzerland C

International Sustainability and Carbon Certification

ISCC 2010 Cologne Germany G

International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

ISICEM 1980 Brussels Belgium G c

International Symposium on Wind Energy Systems

Bedford UK S c

International Telecommunication Union

ITU 1985 Geneva Switzerland B g

International Trade Union Confederation

ITUC 2006 Brussels Belgium A yt

International Tree Foundation

ITF 1924 Oxford UK G f

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

IUCN 1948 Gland Switzerland A y

International Union of Agroforestry

IUAF 2019 J

International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences

IUAES 1948 Osaka Japan B

International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations

IUF 1920 Geneva Switzerland B

International Union of Forest Research Organizations

IUFRO 1892 Vienna Austria B y

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

IUGG 1919 Potsdam Germany A y

International Union of Marine Insurance

IUMI 1874 Hamburg Germany C

International Union of Property Owners

1923 Brussels Belgium C

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