12 JAN 2018, UN Environment Press Center

“Forests Day,” the flagship event on forests at COP 23, took place on 12 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany, providing a comprehensive look at recent progress and new commitments on protecting and restoring forests with a focus on advancements by non-Party stakeholders.

Building on initiatives of past UNFCCC COP Presidencies and Champions such as the Lima-Paris Action Agenda, days dedicated to the contribution of forests to climate action have been organized at UNFCCC COPs since COP 20 in 2014. At COP 21 in Paris, Decision 1/CP.21 formally recognized that commitments from all actors - non-Party stakeholders (i.e. business, NGOs, indigenous peoples, etc.) as well as Parties - are urgently needed to achieve both the Paris Agreement goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Global Climate Action Agenda was therefore created to be an interface between action on the ground and the UNFCCC negotiation process and to scale up ambitious climate action by all Parties and non-Party stakeholders in the period 2016-2010.