27 October 2021 – We are at a unique moment in history – a decisive decade where failure to act risks crossing irreversible Earth tipping points. The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is seen as a critical summit to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Club of Rome takes part in a number of events during the two-week conference, taking place in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.
Below are selected highlights of the Club of Rome participation and co-organised events.
Representatives from the Club of Rome will be in Glasgow from 1 -10 November. In case of questions, you should be able to find us in the Nature+ Newsroom located opposite the main entrance to COP26 (Blue Zone, Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Hall 4). Contact details for questions, speaking opportunities, media inquiries are at the bottom of the page.
Emergence from emergency – the road to a nature-positive future by 2030? A fireside chat
Planetary Emergency Partnership event and welcome reception
Monday 1 November 19:00-21:00 GMT
Location: Blue Zone, Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Hall 4 at the Nature + Newsroom (opposite the main entrance to COP26).
Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Johan Rockström will engage in a fireside chat reflecting on nearly two years of the Planetary Emergency Partnership. Have we come closer to emerging from emergency? What is the relevance of the Planetary Emergency Plan two years later? We invite our partners to join us underneath the Nature Zone tree, for a fishbowl conversation on what is next for the Partnership. The evening will be wrapped up by a welcome reception and drinks to celebrate this first in-person meeting that the Partnership is hosting. The Planetary Emergency Partnership (PEP) brings together more than 350 Partners from across the climate, biodiversity and health communities to raise awareness for an integrated, systemic approach that addresses the convergence of climate, biodiversity and health tipping points.
Speakers include: Sandrine Dixson-Declève (Co-President, The Club of Rome), Johan Rockström (Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), James Lloyd (Director, Nature4Climate).
(Re)Watch the event here:
World Leaders Summit Presidency Event: Forests and Land-Use
Tuesday 2 November – 9:00-13:00 GMT
The COP26 World Leaders Summit ‘Action on Forests & Land Use’ event brings together an unprecedented alliance of governments, companies, financial actors, and non-state leaders to raise ambition on forests and land-use. Over 100 leaders pledged to end deforestation at this session chaired by Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
(Re)Watch the event here:
Transformational economics meets transformational leadership
Wednesday 3 November 16:45-18:15 GMT
Location: Blue Zone, Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Action Hub – Hydro Bowl, Global Climate Action Room 1
This year’s climate conference will include something new: The Futures Labs. These labs – hosted by the High-level Champions of Global Climate Action, Gonzalo Munoz and Nigel Topping – will explore bold, imaginative ideas for systems change aimed at accelerating climate action and catalysing the transition to a regenerative and just world. As part of these Futures Labs, the Club of Rome, together with Volans and SistemaB, is hosting an event on why we need economic transformation. Building on the legacy of The Limits to Growth – which will have its 50th anniversary next year – this session will focus on how we implement new economic approaches, which are structured to create a balance between economic, environmental and social indicators to ensure equity. Speakers will discuss wellbeing economics and alternative approaches to governance; regenerative agricultural practices; and moving away from traditional ideas on growth and prosperity.
Speakers include: Kim Stanley Robinson (Author of the Ministry of the Future), Katherine Trebeck (Co-Founder, WEAll), Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Founder, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad), , Jayati Ghosh (Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst), Satish Kumar (Editor Emeritus, Resurgence Trust) and Alex Pryor (Founder: Guayakí Sustainable Rainforest Products).
(Re)Watch the event here: Video recording
Food Forward – Food Systems Transformation is Essential to Achieving Climate Goals.
Wednesday 10 November 9:30-11:00 GMT
Location: Blue Zone, Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Hall 4, WWF’s Panda Hub in the Blue Zone
This session will demonstrate that food systems transformation is not only a prerequisite for meeting climate goals but a win-win for policymakers to also address nature, hunger, health, resilience, and livelihoods. The event will showcase and discuss the most impactful solutions for food system transformation coming out of the UN Food Systems Summit and to present an early thinking behind the Food Forward Consortium, a joint, inclusive effort by the UN Food Systems Summit Action Track organizations to align efforts and accelerate action. The event is hosted by WWF, EAT, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), CARE, the Club of Rome and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD).
Speakers include: Gonzalo Muñoz (High Level Climate Champion), Sandrine Dixson-Decleve (Co-President The Club of Rome), Joao Campari (Global Leader Food Practice WWF), Lawrence Haddad (Executive Director GAIN), Martin Frick (Director World Food Programme), Jemimah Njuki (Director for Africa IFPRI), Gunhild Stordalen (Founder and Executive Chair EAT Foundation), Christine Campeau (Senior Advisor – Food Systems CARE), and Saleemul Huq (Director ICCCAD)
(Re)Watch the event here:
Listening to youth
Everyday 1-12 November
The 50 Percent (formally ‘Global Youth Engagement Program’) is an international collection of young people who, in partnership with Penn State University Sustainability Institute and the Club of Rome believe that every young person – regardless of their economic, social, or cultural situation, should contribute to the policies that impact their future. These global listening sessions aim to collect the concerns, fears, and excitement of a diverse young generation and share this with policymakers at the local, regional, national, and international levels, corporate partners so they can better serve a generation of consumers and, maybe most importantly, back with the youth participants so they know they are not alone.
During COP26, The 50 Percent will host 4-6 Listening Sessions per day from 1 – 12 November. Sessions for people aged 18-30 will be held in English, Spanish, Hindi, Tamil, Portuguese, Urdu, Somali, Czech, French, Swahili, Italian, Russian, and Bengali.
Other events
Monday November 1 – UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub Opening
Sandrine Dixson-Declève participated, alongside Rachel Kyte, Jules Kortenhorst and others, in a panel discussion led by Massamba Thioye from the UNFCCC. The panel discussed the importance of innovation and systemic transformation to address the climate challenge.
(Re)Watch the event here.
Tuesday November 2 – Nature+ Newsroom conversation with Justin Adams (Tropical Forest Alliance)
Following the World Leaders Summit Forest and Land Use Action event, Sandrine Dixson-Declève spoke to Justin Adams (Tropical Forest Alliance) in the newsroom of the Nature Hub at COP26 about the announced pledges and commitments around forests and land use, scaling up ambition on the deforestation agenda and the pathway towards a nature-positive future by 2030.
Listen to the conversation here:
Tuesday November 2 – Beyond Bretton Woods – Reinventing Finance for a Regenerative Future
This collaborative effort aims to lay the foundations for a fair, equitable, nature-centric, healing and regenerative international financial architecture. The focus will be on triggering a radical paradigm shift in the purpose, principles and practices that underpin the systems and institutions that collectively make up the international financial architecture to best serve the interests of humanity and nature, ensuring inclusive and equitable outcomes, as well as quality of life for all.
The initiative includes the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Stockholm Resilience Centre, The Club of Rome, New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) initiative (in collaboration with OECD), Middlebury College (US), Sustainable Finance Lab (Netherlands), RePattern, The Predistribution Initiative, BankFWD, OneEarth and Bancor Foundation.
(Re)Watch this session here.
Wednesday 3 November – 50% Reductions by 2030 for 1.5°: No Negotiating with the World’s Ice
(Re)Watch this session here.
Wednesday November 3 – Ahead of the Curve Podcast with Jeremy Oppenheim (SYSTEMIQ)
During the first episode a new podcast series Ahead of The Curve, which examines how climate action is accelerating and reshaping the economy, Sandrine Dixson-Declève spoke with Jeremy Oppenheim (SYSTEMIQ) and Paul van Zyl (The Conduit). Recorded in Glasgow during COP26, our discussion explored the exciting potential that can be unleashed through positive tipping points and how to engineer them in our pursuit of a sustainable and resilient economy.
Listen to the conversation here.
Friday November 5 – Green Horizon Summit @COP
During the daily morning show, Wake Up to GHS@COP26, invited finance experts, including Mark Carney (UN Special Envoy, Climate Action and Finance) and Sandrine-Dixson Declève, discussed how we embed nature and biodiversity in mainstream financial decision making and how we can ‘insure the uninsurable’. More information.
(Re)Watch this session here:
Friday November 5 – Pocket Project @COP26 Daily Update
Kosha Joubert interviews Sandrine Dixson-Declève on collective trauma, the Planetary Emergency Partnership and the role of nature in ensuring our emergence from emergency. More information.
Listen to the conversation here.
Sunday November 7 – Panel Discussion on Healthy and Sustainable Diets
(Re)Watch this session here.
Monday November 8 – Transforming the Food Systems
(Re)Watch this session here.
Monday November 8 – COP26 Spotify podcast with Johan Rockström
Listen to the conversation here.
Monday November 8 – Limiting climate change in line with the Paris agreement – How to unlock the potential of circular economy?
Alongside Belgian Federal Minister Zakia Khattabi and Minister Carolina Schmidt of Chile, the panel of Leslie Johnston (Laudes Foundation) and Stientje van Veldhoven (WRI) spoke about the shift towards a circular economy with Sandrine Dixson-Declève, who chaired the session. More information.
(Re)Watch this session here.
Wednesday November 10 – Reykjavik Global Forum: Women Leaders
During the Reykjavik Global Forum, Elena Candon (Girl2Leader youth delegate) interviewed Sandrine Dixson-Declève about facing up to the reality of climate instability: Are world leaders finally facing up to the climate challenge and what can we do more to advocate as youth?
Listen to the conversation here:
Wednesday November 10 – The New York Times Debate: Democratic Leaders Are Better Prepared to Address Climate Change Than Authoritarian Ones
The final debate of the New York Times Climate Hub debates the motion ‘democratic leaders are better prepared to address climate change than authoritarian ones.’ Sandrine Dixson-Declève has been invited to argue against the motion alongside Katherine Priestley (Park Vale Capital) and Tasneem Essop (Climate Action Network International) and to take on the team of Michal Nachmany (Climate Policy Radar), Robyn Scott (Apolitical) and Chris Stark (Climate Change Committee) speaking for the motion. The audience decides which team best made their case during the debate and comes out as the winners.
(Re)Watch this event here.
