Background:
From a perspective wide enough to encompass the planet in its entirety, humanity can be seen as one people living in one global homeland. Consciousness of this oneness, expressed through relationships of justice, constitutes the only foundation on which sustainable societies can be raised. Humanity has often struggled to appreciate diversity while working to build unity, to respect and protect the particular while drawing on the strength of the shared stewardship of the natural world offers a powerful means to reconcile these interconnected ideals.
Moving humanity to a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with the natural world will require a strong and actionable consensus, along with collective will, around key principles that are to shape the affairs of the international community. A level of agreement has been established around foundational principles such as stewardship, interdependence, and justice. But such ideals have yet to take hold as the accepted foundation for collective global action.
The gap between rhetoric and action is indicative of a deeper challenge, namely that principles related to sustainability are not embedded deeply enough in the collective consciousness to shape the choices and behaviours of nations. Consensus that has been well settled is demonstrated not merely by the name and claim of text on a page, but through coordinated, collaborative action; its touchstone is deeds, not words. Strong commitment to key principles and values at the international level assists national and local leaders to overcome the barriers that inevitably arise in implementing necessary changes. It clarifies the rationale for nations to provide one another with the resources necessary to bring agreements to life. And it helps societies move past objections based on limited or self-serving interests.
No longer can the peoples of the world be asked to tolerate the disjunction of agreements signed but left unimplemented. Action must be made coherent with principles that are collectively embraced and championed by all. The international order must be placed on a footing that effectively facilitates planetary responses to planetary challenges.
The Values Roadshow
During COP28, a group of organizations are coordinating a “Values Roadshow” that creates spaces across many different Pavilions and events to explore humanity’s shared values and the coherent principles to be collectively embraced to advance climate justice. These events may take on a variety of formats, but ultimately the goal is to offer an opportunity to explore the following questions:
1. What values must underlie initiatives and advancement on [this issue]?
2. What values currently underlie work on [this issue] – consciously and subconsciously?
3. Where do we see misalignment between the two previous questions and how can we overcome it?
4. What are examples where we see an evolution of thinking at the level of values on [this issue]?
Diversity of thought, background, and approach are critical. It is through the interaction of diverse perspectives and experiences that higher degrees of insight can be gained. We are therefore aiming to explore values through the lens of a diversity of intersecting themes and constituencies, including potentially:
⇉ Climate induced migration
⇉ Resilience
⇉ Disaster Risk Reduction
⇉ Faith
⇉ Food Systems
⇉ Gender equality
⇉ Indigenous issues
⇉ Small Island Developing States
⇉ Youth
We are seeking organizations and individuals willing to coordinate and host events based on humanity’s shared values throughout the various Pavilions. If you are interested, please add the relevant information in Google Docs. We plan to circulate this list of events through a number of civil society networks in the lead up to COP28.
Sponsors of the COP28 Values Roadshow
Tags: COP28 “Values Roadshow”
