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 six years away. But, we are drastically off track from this target.

Urgent and transformative actions 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

World Institute for Disaster Risk Management

DRM Alexandria VA USA G j

World Mayors Council on Climate Change

WMCCC 2005 Bonn Germany E

World Medical Association

WMA 1947 Ferney-Voltaire France B

World Merit

Liverpool UK J

World Meteorological Organization

WMO 1947 Geneva Switzerland B g

World Mountain People Association

WMPA 2001 Paris France C

World Neighbors

WN 1951 Oklahoma City OK USA G v

WORLD OBSTACLE

2014 Lausanne Switzerland C

World Organization of the Scout Movement

WOSM 1907 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia B

World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments

UCLG 2004 Barcelona Spain B

World ORT

WO 1880 London UK C

World Packaging Organisation

WPO 1968 Vienna Austria C y

World Resources Forum Association

WRFA 2012 St Gallen Switzerland E y

World Sailing

1907 London UK B y

World Shiology Forum

WSF 2017 Beijing China J

World Silambam Association

WSA 1999 Petaling Jaya Malaysia G

world stainless association

worldstainless 1995 Brussels Belgium F y

World Steel Association

worldsteel 1967 Brussels Belgium C t

World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance

1992 London UK F

World Tourism Forum Lucerne

Lucerne Switzerland G

World Travel & Tourism Council

WTTC 1990 London UK F v

World Travel Agents Associations Alliance

WTAAA 2008 Brussels Belgium B y

World Urban Parks

2015 Edmonton AB Canada C

World Water Council

WWC 1996 Marseille France C y

World Weather Watch

WWW 1968 Geneva Switzerland F g

World Wide Fund for Nature

WWF 1961 Gland Switzerland F f

World Wind Energy Association

WWEA 2001 Bonn Germany C yt

World Wind Energy Institute

WWEI 2006 Hurup Thy Denmark E j

World Wood Day Foundation

WWDF 2013 F f

World Young Women's Christian Association

World YWCA 1855 Le Grand-Saconnex Switzerland B

World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation

WYSE Travel Confederation 2006 Amsterdam Netherlands C y

World’s Youth for Climate Justice

WYCJ The Hague Netherlands F

WorldFish

1975 Bayan Lepas Malaysia E

Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy

1991 Wuppertal Germany G j

YES-Europe

2016 Geneva Switzerland F

YOU Stiftung - Bildung für Kinder in Not

YOU Foundation 1992 Düsseldorf Germany G f

Young European Leadership

YEL Brussels Belgium F

Youth and Environment Europe

YEE 1983 Prague Czechia E

Youth Climate

YOUNGO 2005 E

Youth For Public Transport

Y4PT 2009 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek Belgium F

Zentrum für Internationale Friedenseinsätze

ZIF 2002 Berlin Germany G

Zero Emissions Platform

ZEP 2005 Brussels Belgium F

Zonta International

1919 Oak Brook IL USA F

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