TALANOA DIALOGUE — CHRONOLOGICAL & CONCEPTUAL NOTES

INTRODUCTION

The Talanoa Dialogue was a major climate negotiation and consultation process initiated under the Paris Agreement framework to increase global climate ambition before 2020 and guide countries toward stronger climate commitments. It emerged as an important bridge between:

• Climate science
• Political negotiations
• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
• Long-term global climate goals

The Dialogue became especially significant after scientific findings showed that limiting warming to 1.5°C was essential for the survival of vulnerable countries and ecosystems.

ORIGIN OF TALANOA DIALOGUE

BACKGROUND

The Paris Agreement adopted at COP21 (Paris, 2015) required countries to progressively increase climate ambition through updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years.However, the first round of NDCs submitted in 2015 was insufficient to achieve:

• 1.5°C target
• Even the 2°C pathway

This created the need for a global stocktaking and ambition-enhancing mechanism before 2020.

WHY THE TERM “TALANOA”?

The term Talanoa comes from the Pacific region, particularly Fiji.It represents:

• Inclusive dialogue
• Collective storytelling
• Trust-building discussions
• Participatory decision-making

The process was designed to encourage countries to:

• Share experiences openly
• Build mutual understanding
• Increase collective ambition without confrontation

TALANOA DIALOGUE — FORMAL INITIATION

COP23 (Bonn, 2017)

PRESIDENCY

• Fiji Presidency
• Hosted in Bonn, Germany

At COP23, Parties agreed to launch the Talanoa Dialogue as a facilitative political process to:

• Assess collective climate efforts
• Inform preparation of stronger NDCs
• Encourage greater ambition before 2020

The Dialogue was formally initiated through the Paris Decision process.

CORE OBJECTIVES OF TALANOA DIALOGUE

MAIN PURPOSES

1. Assess Collective Progress

Countries reviewed whether current climate actions were sufficient to meet Paris goals.

2. Encourage Higher Ambition

The Dialogue aimed to push countries toward:

• Stronger NDCs
• Faster emission reductions
• Greater adaptation commitments

3. Integrate Climate Science

Scientific evidence became central to climate ambition discussions.The Dialogue strongly relied upon:

• IPCC scientific findings
• Global temperature projections
• Climate vulnerability assessments

4. Promote Inclusive Participation

Talanoa encouraged participation from:

• Governments
• Civil society
• Indigenous communities
• Businesses
• Non-Party stakeholders

STRUCTURE OF TALANOA DIALOGUE

The Dialogue revolved around three central questions:

This structure helped simplify highly technical negotiations into a cooperative political process.

IPCC SPECIAL REPORT & TALANOA DIALOGUE

2018 — CRITICAL TURNING POINT

The Talanoa process became deeply connected with the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C released in October 2018.

MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE IPCC REPORT

The report concluded that:

• The world had already warmed by about 1°C
• A rise to 2°C would be catastrophic
• Limiting warming to 1.5°C was significantly safer

The report warned that:

• Sea level rise
• Droughts
• Floods
• Heatwaves
• Cyclones
• Ocean acidification
  would intensify sharply beyond 1.5°C.

1.5°C VS 2°C — TALANOA CONTEXT

The scientific findings strongly shaped Talanoa discussions because:

• Vulnerable island states
• African countries
• Agricultural economies
  were expected to suffer disproportionately at 2°C warming.

The report highlighted that:

• Crop yields would decline
• Poverty would rise
• Extreme weather would intensify
• Marine ecosystems would face severe threats

SCIENCE AS THE BASIS OF AMBITION

Talanoa Dialogue increasingly promoted the idea that:

• Climate ambition must be science-driven
• NDCs should reflect latest scientific evidence
• Countries must move beyond weak voluntary commitments

The Dialogue became an important mechanism linking:

• IPCC science
• COP negotiations
• Paris implementation

TALANOA DIALOGUE & NDC AMBITION

LEGAL CONTEXT UNDER PARIS AGREEMENT

Under Article 4.9 of the Paris Agreement, countries are legally required to submit updated NDCs every five years.The Talanoa Dialogue was intended to:

• Inform the next round of NDCs in 2020
• Encourage countries to increase ambition
• Prevent countries from repeating old targets

ARTICLE 4.3 — PROGRESSION PRINCIPLE

Paris Agreement established that:

• Every successive NDC must represent progression
• Countries cannot weaken previous commitments
• Climate ambition must increase continuously

Talanoa became politically important because it operationalised this progression principle.

TALANOA CALL FOR ACTION (2018)

At the conclusion of the Dialogue:

• A synthesis report was released
• Countries were urged to strengthen climate action
• Scientific urgency was emphasised

The Dialogue strongly influenced discussions leading into:

COP24 — Katowice, Poland (2018)

COP24 & TALANOA DIALOGUE

CENTRAL EXPECTATION

Many countries and civil society groups wanted:

• Talanoa findings
• Scientific evidence
• 1.5°C urgency
  to be reflected in the Paris Rulebook negotiations.

DEVELOPED VS DEVELOPING COUNTRY DIVIDE

At COP24, tensions emerged over:

• Equity
• Climate finance
• Reporting flexibility
• Differentiation between countries

Developing countries argued for:

• Greater climate finance
• Equity-based implementation
• Recognition of CBDR-RC

However, negotiations increasingly shifted toward:

• Weak finance commitments
• Reduced differentiation
• Flexible obligations mainly for least developed countries and island states

TALANOA & CLIMATE AMBITION

Civil society organisations and vulnerable countries argued that:

• Talanoa Dialogue required stronger climate ambition
• Science must guide policy
• Paris Rulebook must reflect equity and urgency

But many observers felt:

• Final COP24 texts did not adequately reflect Talanoa ambition
• Scientific urgency was weakened in negotiations

TALANOA DIALOGUE & CLIMATE JUSTICE

Talanoa increasingly became linked with:

• Climate justice
• Equity
• Historical responsibility
• Vulnerable communities

The Dialogue strengthened arguments that:

• Developed countries must lead emissions reductions
• Finance and adaptation support are essential
• Climate ambition cannot ignore developmental inequalities

TALANOA DIALOGUE & THE UNITED STATES

The process also exposed divisions with the United States.During discussions surrounding the IPCC 1.5°C report:

• US questioned scientific findings
• Opposed stronger equity language
• Indicated withdrawal intentions from Paris Agreement

This created concerns that:

• Global ambition would weaken
• Multilateral climate cooperation could fragment

TALANOA DIALOGUE & GLOBAL STOCKTAKE

Talanoa is often viewed as a precursor to the formal:

Global Stocktake (GST)

Both processes aim to:

• Assess global climate progress
• Enhance ambition
• Inform future NDC cycles

Talanoa helped establish the political culture of:

• Collective review
• Facilitative dialogue
• Science-based ambition enhancement

SIGNIFICANCE OF TALANOA DIALOGUE

POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Talanoa shifted climate diplomacy toward:

• Cooperative ambition-building
• Participatory negotiations
• Inclusive climate governance

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

It mainstreamed:

• 1.5°C science
• IPCC assessments
• Science-policy linkage

into mainstream climate negotiations.

LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE

Talanoa reinforced:

• Binding obligation to submit NDCs
• Requirement of progression
• Accountability under Paris framework

DIPLOMATIC SIGNIFICANCE

The process highlighted:

• Equity concerns
• Finance gaps
• Vulnerability of developing countries
• Climate justice narratives

IMPORTANT STATIC POINTS