Hidden handbrakes: tracking the invisible barriers slowing climate action
Progress on climate change mitigation, adaptation and addressing loss and damage is painfully slow. While many of the reasons are well known, there are several major blockers to climate action and social justice that are barely discussed and far from the public eye. Action to halt or reduce further climate change is being blocked by a range of ‘hidden handbrakes’ that the public are broadly unaware of, and which range from legal obstacles to subsidies for fossil fuel companies and the architecture of the global financial system. With funding from the Generation Foundation, IIED will present the research, communications and influencing campaign that is focused on exposing these hidden handbrakes and finding ways to release them, while launching a web-based platform for others to come together to surface and tackle their hidden handbrakes.
The event will coincide with the release of new analysis examining how slow governments have been to take action on climate change. Specifically, the research will look at whether countries have met a series of deadlines for reporting on their climate action plans (known as NDCs in the UNFCCC process), and whether their ambitions have increased over time. Our panellists will reference this new research and shine a light on the handbrakes holding back action so we can better understand them, expose them to wider scrutiny and discuss ways the world can begin to address them. The panel discussion will be introduced and moderated by Tom Mitchell, executive director of IIED. Other panellists to be confirmed.
This event will be in person and online allowing panellists and audiences to join from around the globe. An in-person networking breakfast will be available 30 minutes ahead of the event, with online audiences joining at 9am (EDT) / 2pm (BST).