Documents Global Commons Alliance 2 results

"The world stands at a crossroads: continue to invest in yesterday's economy — a decision that will intensify climate change, accelerate biodiversity loss and deepen socioeconomic inequities — or embark upon a great global reset that will lead humanity toward a more sustainable, prosperous and just future for all. While the latter path is the obvious choice, actions to date have largely failed to spur change at the speed and scale needed to mitigate the global crises we now face.

Reaching net-zero emissions, halting biodiversity loss and building a fairer economy will require transformational change across nearly all systems. These systems include energy, transport, the built environment, industry, land use, agriculture and management of the world's freshwater and ocean. Broader, cross-cutting transitions must also occur, such as how we measure economic well-being, deliver basic services, equitably distribute the costs and benefits of change, finance these transformations and govern the global commons.

The Lab has identified a series of component shifts that, together, can help accelerate the transitions required across each system. Transforming the world's energy system into one that can deliver electricity to all without emitting dangerous levels of GHG emissions, for example, will entail decarbonizing the power sector, electrifying hard-to-abate sectors (e.g., transportation and heavy industry) and developing new solutions for those that cannot connect to the grid.

In total, there are some 50 shifts required, and nearly all must happen concurrently to protect both people and the planet. Some are widely understood and already underway, with well-established multi-stakeholder coalitions driving change. But for others, progress has stalled or is only just beginning.

Additionally, there is no focus on the bigger picture. Where is transformational change unfolding, and where is it lagging behind? What are the ingredients of effective systems change? Can lessons of success be shared across systems?

The Systems Change Lab was formed to answer these fundamental questions. It will:

Monitor systems change globally.
The Lab will join forces with leading data providers to build an open-data platform (launching in 2022) that will enable everyone, everywhere to see a complete picture of progress: which shifts are accelerating, stalled or heading in the wrong direction entirely, as well as key forces driving these changes. The Lab will also produce annual reports assessing global progress toward these transformations.

Identify key drivers of systems change and share lessons learned.
While monitoring progress will reveal where transformations are accelerating, it will not shed light on why they are occurring. The Lab's research will focus on identifying the ingredients of systems change by partnering with experts around the world to produce analysis that not only instills greater confidence that change is possible, but also equips decision-makers with a roadmap for sparking and sustaining transformational change.

Campaign for systems change.
Our open-data platform and research will provide existing coalitions with the knowledge they need to identify the most impactful levers of change. We will also focus attention on transformations that have stalled or are heading in the wrong direction, convening new coalitions to support these critical transitions."

"Earlier this year, in partnership with IPSOS Mori we polled the general public across all G20 countries to find out what they think about the state of the global commons and the transformations we urgently need to make to protect them. The results provide the most granular set of insights into how the public is thinking on these issues ever gathered.

We're especially honoured that Elizabeth Wathuti, a passionate climate & environmental activist from Kenya, founder of Green Generation Initiative and head of campaigns at Wangari Maathai Foundation, wrote the forward for the report.

A few key findings stand out:

73% of people in G20 countries believe Earth is approaching potentially abrupt or irreversible tipping points because of human action.
58% are extremely or very worried about the state of the global commons.
83% are willing to do more to become better “planetary stewards” and protect and regenerate the global commons. People in developing economies showed greater willingness to do more to protect nature and climate than those in advanced economies: Indonesia (95%), South Africa (94%), China (93%) compared with Japan (61%), Germany (70%), and the United States (74%).
73% agree their country's economy should move beyond a singular focus on profit and economic growth (GDP) and focus more on human wellbeing and ecological protection and regeneration.
69% of people believe the benefits of action to protect the global commons outweigh the costs.
59% acknowledge a very rapid energy transition is needed in the next decade.
But just 8% acknowledge the need for broader economic changes in the next decade.
71% agree the pandemic recovery is a unique moment to build societies more resilient to future shocks.
These results should be a wake up call for leaders. We have here all the information we need to see that most people want to and are ready to make changes that will keep our global commons and each other safe. But they need help understanding how to do this, and help in understanding the benefits of taking action now.

Much more work needs to be done to communicate the importance of our global commons and their role in ensuring a safe and just corridor for humanity.

Find all Global Commons Survey data here: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/global-commons-survey-attitudes-transformation-and-planetary-stewardship."