MISSION

The Global Commission on Governing Risks from Climate Overshoot (the ‘Climate Overshoot Commission’) is an independent group of eminent global leaders, who will recommend a strategy to reduce risks should global warming goals be exceeded.

The Climate Overshoot Commission will:

// Consider the risks entailed in overshooting 1.5 °C, and the range of response options for addressing such risks.

// Identify possible benefits, likely costs, potential risks, key governance challenges, and current governance gaps for each policy option supplementing the critical focus on accelerating emissions cuts. This includes enhanced adaptation, carbon dioxide removal, and sunlight reflection methods.

// Identify those combinations of global governance policy options with the most significant potential to reduce risks from climate overshoot.

// Review the potential of existing multilateral legal frameworks to facilitate an integrated policy response to reduce overshoot risks, with particular focus on the most acute governance gaps.

// Engage in transparent consultations, including relevant stakeholder consultations on climate risks, policy options, and policy integration.

// Develop a set of recommendations for an integrated strategy to reduce risks from climate change induced by temperature overshoot.

The Climate Overshoot Commission operates in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and other relevant governance frameworks.

Principles

In its deliberations, the Commission requires that any potential strategy be:

1 / Effective

A proposed strategy must have a positive impact for people and natural systems, and promote progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.

2 / Ethical

A proposed strategy must be consistent with international norms such as justice, equity, and respect for international law.

3 / Integrated

A proposed strategy must combine different approaches to reduce climate change risks to enhance synergies and reduce trade-offs.

4 / Evidence-based

A proposed strategy must be grounded in the best available scientific knowledge. This includes assessing the risks of both action and inaction in a warming world.

5 / Resilient

A proposed strategy must anticipate unexpected changes and new information. This requires an adaptive and flexible approach.

History

The Climate Overshoot Commission is the result of a high-level process that explored the necessary conditions for a robust and science-based global dialogue on governance gaps relating to response options to climate change beyond emissions reductions. Initial discussions supported by the Paris Peace Forum, UCLA, and Harvard University led to the creation of a Steering Committee. It consisted of diverse experts, policymakers, and civil society leaders from the global North and global South, including a vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a former president of the Marshall Islands, and officials associated with the 2022 UN climate change conference. The Steering Committee considered how to address these gaps and to build shared understanding regarding the novel governance challenges. After more than a year of deliberations, the Steering Committee suggested the formation of a Global Commission on Governing Risks from Climate Overshoot.

The Commission and its Secretariat were formed in early 2022.

Timeline

Building upon the authoritative assessments of scientific knowledge provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others, the Climate Overshoot Commission will recommend a comprehensive strategy to reduce risks. It will issue its final report prior to the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference. The Commission’s recommendations will serve as a reference point to guide future global discussions on comprehensive action to reduce climate risks.

May 2022
public launch

June 2022
first meeting,

Lake Como, Italy

September 2022

second meeting,

New York, USA,
-on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

November 2022

third meeting,

Cairo, Egypt;
-UN Climate Change Conference,
and potential interim output

February 2023

fourth meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia

May 2023

fifth meeting,

Nairobi, Kenya

July 2023

sixth meeting

September 2023

report release

November 2023

UN Climate Change Conference

Beyond

Dissemination and outreach

The Climate Overshoot Commission strives for openness and for its outputs to reflect diverse perspectives. It will organize meetings and hearings with civil society actors involved in climate and related issues, including youth movements and marginalized communities. This will ensure that crucial voices are fully heard and will inform the Commission's deliberations.

The Climate Overshoot Commission will share and disseminate its report, and encourage wide debate and discussions about its findings and recommendations.