Global experts to create regenerative climate action road map

World-renowned environmentalists, scientists, climate change experts and indigenous groups will meet tomorrow in London to create a road map for pioneering, country-led solutions to climate change.

The event, convened by the Commonwealth and its implementation partner on regenerative development, the Cloudburst Foundation, will officially launch Common Earth – an international consortium aimed at collectively creating and harnessing strategies to restore the damage caused by climate change and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Secretary General Patricia Scotland has described the meeting as “a critical collaboration at a critical time”, giving experts from a range of disciplines and sectors the opportunity to bring their perspective to climate change solutions.

She said: “The global outcry for action on climate change has never been louder. In David Attenborough’s words, the ‘penny is starting to drop’, and millions are waking up to the reality that, without action, we are careering towards destruction.

“The sombre predictions of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of drowned metropolises, melting mountain glaciers and super storms seem far too imminent, as hurricanes, cyclones, floods, and drought continue to break records, both in terms of intensity and frequency.

“Yet, the report is also hopeful, providing ‘evidence of the benefits of combining scientific with local and indigenous knowledge to develop suitable options to manage climate change risks and enhance resilience’.”

The secretary general added that the Commonwealth has made climate action a priority and is looking at solutions from every possible angle.

Participants will discuss the launch of Common Earth’s working groups to tackle cross-cutting issues. These include:

- The Commonwealth Small State, Climate Change Blue-Green Trade Working Group;

- The Gender and Climate Change Working Group;

- The Indigenous Affairs Working Group.