Talanoa Dialogue

The Talanoa Dialogue was a process designed to help countries implement and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020. The Dialogue was mandated by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change to take stock of the collective global efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the rise in average global temperature to 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F).^[1]

The Talanoa Dialogue was launched at COP 23 under the Presidency of the Republic of Fiji, and was a year-long process that culminated in political discussions at COP 24 in Katowice, Poland, where political leaders were to signal their commitment to increasing the ambition of their NDCs.^[1]^[2]

The Talanoa Dialogue represented an opening up of the UN Climate Negotiations because non-state actors are able to actively participate and submit their ideas for how national governments can improve their emission reduction targets.^[3]

Background

The Talanoa Dialogue was originally referred to as the facilitative dialogue prior to its official launch at COP23. The Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015, provides for progress assessments, often referred to as “stocktakes”,^[4] every five years to allow Parties to track their progress against the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement, and to help them prepare more ambitious NDCs. The first stock take under the Paris Agreement will take place in 2023 to allow countries to prepare a new round of NDCs by 2025.^[1]^[5]

However, Parties agreed that it was important to begin this cycle prior to 2020 when the Paris Agreement is expected to come into force, and so they established an initial stock-taking exercise for 2018, which was then known as the “facilitative dialogue”, to help prepare updated or new NDCs by 2020.^[5]

Pacific concept of talanoa

The Talanoa Dialogue is based on the Pacific concept of "talanoa" (storytelling) that leads to consensus-building and decision-making. The process is designed to allow for participants to share their stories in an open and inclusive environment, devoid of blame, in the hopes that others can learn and benefit from their ideas and experiences.^[6]^[7]^[8] Its use in educational research has been pioneered by academic Seu'ula Johansson-Fua.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Banos Ruiz, Irene (9 February 2018). "Talanoa dialogue: Giving everyone a voice in the climate conversation". DW. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
^ Webster, Ben (18 November 2017). "Fijian storytelling can save world, says UN". The Times. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ Darby, Megan (30 January 2018). "UN makes open call for ideas on fighting climate change". Climate Home News. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ Lee, Hoesung (9 June 2022). "Keynote address by the IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee at the opening of the First Technical Dialogue of the Global Stocktake" (Press release). Bonn, Germany: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b Dagnet, Yamide; Northrop, Eliza (26 June 2017). "INSIDER: 2018 Facilitative Dialogue Can Help Drive More Climate Ambition by 2020". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
^ Chemnick, Jean (7 May 2018). "Negotiators huddle around mats to share stories". E&E News. Politico. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
^ Darby, Megan (7 May 2018). "Sunday talanoa: climate negotiators 'talk to each other like people'". Climate Home News. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ Holthaus, Eric (17 May 2018). "The tiny country of Fiji has a big plan to fight climate change". Grist. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
^ Prescott, James; Fua, Seu’ula Johansson (July 2016). Kautoke, A. (ed.). Enhancing educational success through Talanoa: A framework for the Pacific. Vaka Pasifiki Education Conference.