Dunstan Allison-Hope

Great work here from Josh Lerner and People Powered. I wrote a paper for University of Sussex Science Policy Research Unit in 2000 called the two wave theory of public participation. Essentially arguing that we had two major waves of democratic innovation one driven by the civil rights movements starting in 60s; and a second driven mainly by the environmental movement getting momentum in the 80s and 90s. That's clearly an over simplification. What I really like about Josh's shift from waves to ecosystems is it better describes how we need to think about democratic innovation now and it's essentially contextual nature.

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I finally got the chance to read the important and much-discussed paper from Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) on why we need to move from “ESG” to “competitive sustainability”. Much of the diagnosis of the problem is spot on, and exactly what I’ve witnessed during my own career. The diagnosis of the path forward, which I found less clearly articulated, is that “It is time to stop putting ‘sustainability thinking’ into business and start putting ‘business thinking’ into sustainability. We need to shift to an agenda of ‘competitive sustainability’.” (This is what people argued ESG was, in fact, but alright, I won’t nitpick). Ok, though this sounds like the kind of wordsmithing sustainability people love and everyone else finds bewildering. I’ve been guilty of this kind of tortuous argument myself, though not recently 😊. I’m not sure that coining a new term will move the needle, so what exactly are we talking about? The recommendations come down to more policy engagement, and “building social engagement and buy in”. Ok, but then we are missing two things here: 1) Any discussion on what responsible policy engagement looks like and how this is done. The entire paper is about firm level actions and internal governance and decision making are not explored. 2) Any thinking about the risks of companies pushing “social engagement” in a populist, politically fraught era. There are so many ways this can go wrong. The discussion of failures in this paper is way clearer than I expected from the shorter op eds, but I’m left hanging on what any of the recommendations actually look like in real companies, and I don’t know that there’s a realistic discussion about second order consequences of more political leverage on these topics by companies. That’s before we get into how they are set up to do this, and why they would take it on. If you are inviting the political risk people to the table, then you might find they reach inconvenient conclusions. Over and over again I find that sustainability thinking hits a wall when it comes to working with risk, compliance, government relations, etc etc etc. What do you think?

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🌍 Reflections from Climate Week NYC 2024 🌍 As I reflect on another inspiring Climate Week, I’m left with a mix of hope and urgency. The conversations were rich, the ideas were powerful, but the action still feels delayed. Here are some of my thoughts from the week: 🔍 When the world faced a global health crisis, we found a way to accelerate the necessary research and meet the challenge. What if we did the same for the climate crisis? 🤔 Why aren't we? The difference is that the effects of climate change are more localized and vary depending on geography. It's like a silent pandemic — while its long-term impact will likely surpass that of COVID-19, the immediate urgency just isn't as globally obvious. Imagine if we shut down air travel until we found a sustainable way to fly — innovation would accelerate rapidly. 💬 I’ve been attending Climate Week for several years, and the conversations are always inspiring. But the key question remains unanswered: when will we take action? Everyone knows what needs to happen, especially around blended finance, but committing to timelines seems to be one of the toughest challenges in the climate finance sector. ⚖️ Both the public and private sectors are trying to work together, and there are fantastic initiatives out there, but it’s not enough. We need to do more. 🌪️ One message that resonated with me this week is the critical need to shift significant portions of mitigation finance into adaptation. The impacts of climate change are already here — extreme weather events are threatening lives and livelihoods. Some effects are irreversible. 💡 Mitigation is important, but perhaps we need to shift our focus. A phrase from a colleague (shared under Chatham House rules) stuck with me: "Let’s save the people first." Maybe adaptation is the path to mitigation, not the other way around. 🚀 We have a chance to learn from the global health crisis and apply those lessons to the global climate crisis. It’s time to act now. #ClimateWeek #ClimateAction #BlendedFinance #Adaptation #Sustainability #ImpactInvesting #ClimateCrisis

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You’ve probably seen it in the headlines or your social media feeds. The UN released its assessment of the world’s climate progress. And it’s not a pretty picture.  For the world to meet its climate goals countries have to slash their yearly greenhouse gas emissions 42% by 2030. Current climate plans would only reduce emissions by 4-10%. That leaves a big gap between where we are and where we need to be.  Juan Pablo Hoffmaister has been tracking this issue ahead of COP29. And he’s put together some great resources on how countries can help make up for the shortfall with their new 2025 climate goals: https://lnkd.in/ew9pkhFj And what should be included in plans to implement these new goals: https://lnkd.in/eZvfpwvr  

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Just catching up - great to speat at #ClimatePhilanthropy2030 organized by Alliance magazine on the intersection of climate finance and philanthropy, together with Elise Larkin from the The Rockefeller Foundation, Paula Ellinger from Fundación Avina, and Maryati Abdullah from Ford Foundation. I focused on how new forms of Private-Public-People-Partnerships (Quadruple Ps!) are growing rapidly in the climate finance space. Depending on the problem faced, the exact tool can vary. For example, if the barrier to investment is: -Risk, then some types of guarantee or first-loss capital can be useful to offer some cushion and change the risk-return profile to be suitable for commercial investors -Pipeline, then technical assistance funds or structuring grants can be helpful to build that pipeline which commercial investors are set up to assess -Revenue, then outcomes-based funding can be useful to help to provide top-ups for some of the benefits or costs that markets don't reward, for example jobs for a just transition The key, of course, is to pick the right tool for the problem!

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Have you seen the Considerations for Board Committees which is part of the Board Pocket Guide: Nature and Climate Action? Effective exchange of information between board committees is critical, especially as new regulations and leading practice will require integrated reporting of both financial and non-financial sustainability-related information. AccountAbility partnered with GCA Accountability Accelerator and Climate Governance Initiative - link to the guide in the comments.

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"FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Releases Agency Climate Adaptation Plans, Demonstrates Leadership in Building Climate Resilience, excerpt below: " the Biden-Harris Administration released updated Climate Adaptation Plans developed by more than 20 federal agencies that expand agency efforts to ensure their facilities, employees, resources, and operations are increasingly resilient to climate change impacts like extreme weather. This work advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Climate Resilience Framework, which helps to align climate resilience investments across the public and private sector through common principles and opportunities for action to build a climate-resilient nation. These efforts are backed by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, through which more than $50 billion is being delivered to advance climate adaptation and resilience across the nation, including in communities that are the most vulnerable to climate impacts." https://lnkd.in/gZpvjbsm

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Did you know that the latest data shows that less than 5% of reported global corporate philanthropic funding is directed towards climate and nature-related themes? Yet corporate philanthropy could be a highly effective tool in climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation - partly because it can harness a unique combination of funding and non-funding tools to maximize impact. Our UBS Optimus Foundation climate & environment portfolio centers nature-based solutions in a highly collaborative approach to conservation, applying our experience in social finance and outcomes-based financing. For example, through our UBS Climate Collective, we’re facilitating a public-private philanthropic partnership to support nine implementing organizations with blue carbon solutions across South-East Asia. This work has already driven a USD 320 investment from the World Bank to further fund nature-based solutions as well as produced a Blue Carbon Impact Framework draft. It’s great to see what others like Cisco Foundation and Salesforce are doing in the space as well! The case studies included in this latest white paper from World Economic Forum have me optimistic for a sustainable future. https://from.ubs/6042mQsmG #shareUBS #NYCClimateWeek #UBSCollectives

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🌎 As world leaders gather in Colombia to discuss how to protect the world's remaining - yet rapidly dwindling - biodiversity and nature, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: allowing big polluters to continue to pollute and get away with it simply by "offsetting" their pollution using carbon or biodiversity offsets is NOT the solution 🚫🔥 💡 This short video is the latest in our myth-busting series on carbon offsetting. My SOMO colleague Joanna Cabello busts the myth that local communities benefit from offsetting projects, explaining the myriad ways they are harmed and deceived. Check it out! 👇

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Grants are not awarded because you have a purposeful idea. Funders offer grants for initiatives that demonstrate: ✅ Program design ✅ Alignment with their aims ✅ Capability to deliver ✅ Risk management ✅ Value for money ✅ Impact. If you're writing grant applications, you need to: ➡️ Identify the right opportunities ➡️ Build strong relationships ➡️ Develop justifiable budgets ➡️ Explain how you will achieve your aims ➡️ Demonstrate project viability ➡️ Report against your goals and share learnings. Usually, you must do all this within the funder's format, coordinate with stakeholders, adhere to word count limitations, and meet deadlines. A common mistake we see is underestimating how much time, effort, and collaboration are required to build a compelling case for support and not knowing what a successful application looks like. 😥 If you're new to this space, ask around. You may have colleagues, peers, and people in your network who can offer insights on their experiences with grants and other funding. For anyone who needs expert support - here when you want to chat. 👋🏻 Purpose Plus helps changemakers secure funding to grow impact. Visit our website to see more about who we've been working with lately: https://lnkd.in/gZyt3dxe.

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Check out this resource from ecoAmerica, Introduction to Climate Justice. Read the full sheet here: https://lnkd.in/eZuaqWZr Climate change impacts us all, but certain communities are impacted first and worst. ecoAmerica’s Introduction to Climate Justice discusses the intersectionality between climate justice and justice for marginalized communities. Read the full sheet to learn what you can do to act. #ClimateChange #ClimateJustice

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✨ Great to see so many credible organizations coming together to make sure carbon finance delivers for Indigenous Peoples. 🍃 Last week Terraspect launched a comprehensive toolkit called "From Co-Benefits to Core-Benefits: How to Ensure Carbon Finance is Fairly and Transparently Delivered" 🍃 It provides guidance on the design and implementation of community compensation plans that are equitable, transparent, and accountable. 🍃 Read the guide here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eh_fWNGU 🔡 Wording is important, let's move towards CORE-benefits! 🔡 On the same note, there are a number of good reasons for NOT bundling IPs and LCs (legal, cultural, agency, etc) This pairs nicely to two things Climate Collective is working on: 1. Our Green Accountability Accelerator, where two teams (Integrity Action - Brittany Stevens Arran Leonard Paul Maassen - and Savimbo - Drea Burbank Roberto Duif) are building #opensource #tech to make climate and nature finance more accessible for local communities and Indigenous Peoples alike. Team descriptions 👉🏻 https://t.ly/DxCnF 2. Our paper on reimagining engagement and business models for Indigenous Peoples across environmental markets 👉🏻 https://shorturl.at/QBCTY Daniel Ortega Pacheco Dr. Emmanuel Nuesiri Tripurari Prasad Raj Pattni Jen Stebbing The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), IUCN Climate Asset Management, Peoples Forests Partnership, Conservation Finance Alliance, One Acre Fund, Ponterra, ERS - Ecosystem Restoration Standard, Renoster, Tree Aid We're looking at how to support more of this work at Climate Collective - who can we learn from? Who's pioneering interesting tech or data in this space? Who's funding or implementing this type of work? #Indigenouspeoples #carbonfinance #nature #naturebasedsolutions

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The Environmental Crimes Toolkit is now live. Financial institutions often unknowingly enable these activities through their lending and investments, or don’t understand the related risks. By helping institutions address these illegal activities, we can reduce the financing of crimes against our planet. #deforestation #financialcrime #environmentalcrime

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*Wonk alert* As a comms professional, I closely follow the work of Yale's Anthony Leiserowitz. I was super excited to read that Tony and colleagues recently published an article in Nature, 'The evolving climate change investing strategies of asset owners,' a deep dive into #assetowners engagement with climate change. This dovetails with CPI's recent analysis of #pensionfunds progress on aligning portfolios with climate change realities, 'State of European Pension Funds’ Net-Zero Transition.' After banks, pensions funds are the largest source of investable capital, and other asset owners like foundations and family offices are hugely influential in investment trends. We need more active engagement from asset owners to address the climate emergency. #climatefinance Both studies find ample opportunity for asset owners to engage with advisors, asset managers, portfolio investments, and each other to overcome barriers and accelerate efforts. Learn more: The evolving climate change investing strategies of asset owners https://lnkd.in/gt5ixy_w State of European Pension Funds’ Net-Zero Transition https://lnkd.in/gnhu-JXp

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What do you want to talk about? TheSidebar headquarters sits right in the heart of #UNGA and #ClimateWeek activities, with space for 200 people. We’re booking programming from Sept 23 to 26. We want to get people talking. Discussion groups are powerful way to engage a diverse group of voices. The conversations cover topics that are critical to the sector and often neglected. We source the topics from you: the people who put themselves on the map. Your ideas drive the agenda. With input from nearly 300 people, we’ve assembled enough input to create discussion themes and topics. Now we need leaders to facilitate these groups. You can lead. All it takes is a curious mind and an interest in hearing from everyone. At The Sidebar we want all attendees to participate. Conversation can reveal hard earned insights from people whose brilliant voices aren’t always heard. We need your help to release that brilliance. If you have a burning desire to discuss something, chances are that we have topic that fits. Reach out, and let’s make it happen!

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What do you want to talk about? TheSidebar headquarters sits right in the heart of #UNGA and #ClimateWeek activities, with space for 200 people. We’re booking programming from Sept 23 to 26. We want to get people talking. Discussion groups are powerful way to engage a diverse group of voices. The conversations cover topics that are critical to the sector and often neglected. We source the topics from you: the people who put themselves on the map. Your ideas drive the agenda. With input from nearly 300 people, we’ve assembled enough input to create discussion themes and topics. Now we need leaders to facilitate these groups. You can lead. All it takes is a curious mind and an interest in hearing from everyone. At The Sidebar we want all attendees to participate. Conversation can reveal hard earned insights from people whose brilliant voices aren’t always heard. We need your help to release that brilliance. If you have a burning desire to discuss something, chances are that we have topic that fits. Reach out, and let’s make it happen!

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My views: - Sustainability which used to be voluntary, is now mandatory with ESG as core compliance aspects. - Becuase of this transition and controversies about what and how on ESG, there are limited consensus & agreements yet companies are staying the course but recalibrating their strategies & committments due to potential high risks including reputation damage, legal action, penalties, jail time, etc - Consumers are experiencing environmental and health impacts including climate change & clearly using purchasing decisions to send loud and clear messages. My advice: - The current transition activating recalibration of sustainability strategies and commitments is a BIG opportunity for organizations to integrate sustainability into business strategies and actions so that sustainability will never be an afterthought but it becomes how everyone solve problems and make decisions. #SW2 Board members: Ann Tracy Danielle Corcione Renee Henze Niki King Sophie Beckham Julia Klim Catherine Atkin Janett Haas Emily Rose Laochua Tricia Carey #SW2 Advisory Committee: Joanna Safi Nicole Clifford Pamela C. Sammarco, CEO, CPTD, I/O Psych Practitioner, M.S. Karimah Hudda Julia Viner Rachel Van Metre Kibbe Katy O'Brien Julia Franchi Scarselli Helle Bank Jørgensen, GCB.D, CCB.D and NACD.DC Peylina Chu

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In past years, the effectiveness of climate finance decisions at COP has often been limited by a failure to reflect the priorities of developing country parties.  Among the top priorities for these parties should be supporting the efforts of women, who, in developing countries, are the most affected by climate change and although women are actively working to manage the impacts of climate change on their lives and communities, their adaptive capacity is severely constrained by entrenched inequalities. Key to relieving these constraints is targeted and accessible climate finance and dismantling the structural barriers that continue to exclude women from benefiting from climate finance. My colleague Lucile Stengel and I have gathered insights from our growing collection of photo stories Lensational —captured by photographers from climate-affected communities over the past three years under #EnvisioningResilience initiative in partnership with NAP Global Network, to put forward thoughts on the issues that we believe should be at the forefront of discussions at #COP29. Specifically, we focus on considerations for setting the New Collective Quantified Goal (#NCQG) on #climatefinance and for advancing the review of the Lima Work Programme on Gender (#LWPG) and its Gender Action Plan (#GAP). Patricia Nying'uro, HSC Caroline Ouko Obed Koringo Maheen Khan Natalie Sifuma Georgi Y. Wangu Ngari Jhannel Tomlinson-Evans Dainalyn Swaby Voices for Just Climate Action SHE Changes Climate Zeynab Wandati Sofia Kabibi Tumaini AnnRita Njiru- Mugo

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As the impacts of climate change continue to escalate, the call for climate justice has never been more urgent. We have a unique opportunity to amplify our voices, and I am inviting you to join us for a pivotal event the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice on November 15 and 16, 2024. This event is an open invitation for young people to participate in a video campaign aimed at mobilizing world leaders to prioritize climate justice at COP29. Our focus is clear: demanding a future that is both sustainable and just. Through this campaign, we are giving young voices the platform to directly address decision-makers, urging them to take bold actions toward a healthier planet. With COP29 on the horizon, this is our moment to raise concerns, share ideas, and demand accountability. 📅 Recording Dates: November 15 & 16, 2024 📍 Location: CECIC Offices, next to All Saints Church, Mawa Market 🎬 Release Date: November 16, 2024 At CECIC, we believe in the power of collective action and the strength of youth-led initiatives. By lending your voice, you become part of a global movement for change. I encourage all young climate advocates, activists, and supporters to step forward, participate, and make a difference. ➡️ Ready to make your voice heard? Learn more and sign up by filling out our form here. Together, we can drive impactful conversations and create a brighter, sustainable future for all. #ClimateJustice #YouthVoices #COP29 #GlobalDayofAction #Sustainability 4o

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