From 3–13 June 2024, representatives from Soka Gakkai International (SGI) participated in the UN Climate Convention intersessional meetings (SB60) in Bonn, Germany, held in preparation for the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29). The meetings heavily focused on the climate finance issue.

Alexandra M. Goossens-Ishii and Lucy Plummer of SGI engaged in various initiatives and policy discussions focused on advancing synergistic climate action and policy while integrating human rights, biodiversity considerations and meaningful youth engagement.

Plummer continued her support for the Youth Stocktake initiative, which aims to enhance young people's contributions to climate policies. Launched at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, this initiative is gaining momentum.

“The Youth Stocktake is a crucial step towards tracking and monitoring progress on youth inclusion in climate policy processes,” Plummer explained. “At SB 60, we organized an official side event to discuss the future of the Youth Stocktake as a formal process within the UN Climate Convention. It's exciting to see the growing recognition of young people's role in shaping climate policies.”

SGI, in collaboration with the Quaker UN Office, organized an official side event at SB 60 exploring how ethical values can guide more effective climate policies. The panel highlighted how, increasingly, climate policies guided by ethical values are more likely to be experienced as more fair and legitimate, more beneficial to the communities and more protective of nature and the most vulnerable, and therefore the policies are more readily embraced, successful and sustainable.

Recognizing that “ethical values” can mean different things to different people, the panel offered insights from a range of voices, including those from biodiversity protection, agriculture, energy transformation, techno-fix reliance, faith-based groups and youth.

Plummer contributed to the panel, sharing insights on intergenerational equity and meaningful youth engagement. “By embracing intergenerational equity, we can move beyond tokenistic youth participation and create genuine opportunities for young people to shape climate policies,” Plummer emphasized. “It's about ensuring youth perspectives are valued and integrated into decision-making processes.”

Goossens-Ishii focused on advancing human rights and biodiversity considerations in climate action at SB 60. She co-organized and co-facilitated the second inclusive conversation of a dialogue series on advancing a human rights based approach to biodiversity and climate action.

“Our inclusive conversation for member states, supported by SGI, led to important realizations,” Goossens-Ishii noted. “Participants discovered they often face similar challenges in implementing rights-based climate and biodiversity actions, regardless of their country's development status. This led to trust-building and crucial conversations.”

The dialogue series is co-organised by BES-Net, SwedBio, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network and the Forest, Climate and Livelihood research network (Focali) with the support of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. The series aims to improve efforts to address the existing gap between internationally agreed frameworks and the national and subnational implementations of the frameworks. The multi-actor dialogue that will take place ahead of the Biodiversity COP16 will also look for strategic entry points that can catalyze action.

During SB 60, Goossens-Ishii also contributed to an Interfaith Dialogue organized by the Interfaith Liaison Committee and the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which brought together faith representatives as well as representatives from COP28 and COP29 presidencies.

Chiara de Paoli, who joined the SGI delegation from the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai (IBISG), made significant contributions to the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Dialogue. Her presentation focused on concrete actions supporting ACE efforts, showcasing the initiative led by the IBISG via the “Eight per thousand” system, whereby 0.8 percent of an Italian taxpayer’s income tax can be allocated to their chosen religious organization.

“It was inspiring to see how our work on education, awareness-raising and public participation resonated with the UNFCCC community,” de Paoli reflected. “This recognition underscores the importance of grassroots efforts in driving climate action.”

As preparations for COP29 continue, SGI remains committed to advocating for inclusive, rights-based and ethically-grounded approaches to addressing the global climate crisis. The organization's multi-faceted engagement at SB 60 demonstrates its dedication to fostering dialogue, promoting youth involvement and integrating human rights and biodiversity considerations into climate policies.

“Our participation in SB 60 reaffirms SGI's commitment to a holistic approach to climate action, focusing on synergies between the Rio Conventions,” concluded Goossens-Ishii. “By bringing together youth voices, ethical considerations and human rights perspectives, we're working towards more effective and inclusive climate policies that can drive real change at both global and local levels.”