Global climate action needs to go viral. Here's how

The author contends that national governments alone cannot meet the 2-degree Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement and calls for a mechanism to formalize and scale the efforts of sub-national and non-state actors. Highlighting the 'can do' spirit of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, the text proposes that COP24 in Poland should establish a declaration inviting cities, provinces, and organizations to set their own voluntary contributions (SNDCs and ODCs) to create a global norm of climate governance.

• Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to meet the 2-degree Celsius target, with scientists estimating a trajectory toward a 3-degree temperature increase or more relative to pre-industrial levels.
• Sub-national and non-state leadership initiatives have gained momentum, exemplified by the Under2 Coalition of over 200 city and provincial governments aiming for net zero by 2050, and the U.S. Climate Alliance consisting of 17 states and territories.
• Corporate climate action is manifesting through various initiatives: 133 companies have set targets aligned with a sub-2°C increase via the Science-Based Targets initiative, 144 have committed to 100% renewable power through RE100, and 21 companies have signed the Step Up Declaration to use emerging technologies to reduce emissions by 2020.
• The author proposes that COP24 in Poland should adopt a declaration inviting city and provincial governments to develop 'Sub-Nationally Determined Contributions' (SNDCs) and inviting universities, NGOs, and religious organizations to develop 'Organizationally Determined Contributions' (ODCs) as informal mechanisms for social mobilization.

APA

Samans, R. (2018). Global climate action needs to go viral. Here's how. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-make-global-climate-action-go-viral/

Chicago

Samans, Richard. Global climate action needs to go viral. Here's how. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-make-global-climate-action-go-viral/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Samans |first1=Richard |title=Global climate action needs to go viral. Here's how |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=7 November 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-make-global-climate-action-go-viral/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{samans2018global, author = {Samans, Richard}, title = {{Global climate action needs to go viral. Here's how}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-make-global-climate-action-go-viral/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }