2018 launches an international effort to enhance climate action and ambition by 2020, the first “ratchet” since the Paris Agreement. Cities, states, regions, businesses, investors, civil society groups, and other “non-party actors” play a critical role in delivering progress on the ground and in the real economy, as well as generating new opportunities for national governments to strengthen implementation and step up ambition. 2018 represents a year where parties and non-parties can “step up” together.

Focusing on this mutual reinforcement, this invitation-only event explored how non-party actors can support countries to step up action and ambition in 2018, while also looking forward to 2020.

It aimed to:

• Build a shared understanding across parties and non-parties on specific ways to work together to enhance ambition, including around:
• Building a bridge from the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco to COP24 in Katowice.
• Key messages and opportunities emerging from the Talanoa Dialogue.
• What outcomes from GCAS and COP24 can continue momentum into international and domestic processes in 2019.
• Build relationships across parties and non-parties to advance ambition.

Key discussion questions included:

• How can non-party actors champion ambitious policies; link or scale up climate action efforts through policy recommendations to governments; and share innovations in technical and regulatory practices and in business operations?
• What channels exist through which non-party actors can direct inputs to the UNFCCC and to national governments? What inputs should go where, and how can these work better?
• How can governments help support and maximize the impact of these non-party inputs and advance implementation and ambition through 2020?