The Toward 2015 dialogue convened by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions brought together senior officials from more than 20 countries to discuss options for a 2015 climate agreement.

The dialogue provided an informal opportunity for participants to examine issues related to the ongoing Durban Platform negotiations. The goal of the Durban Platform talks is a new agreement under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in late 2015 in Paris.

Participants took part in their personal capacities, meeting eight times from March 2014 to May 2015 to exchange ideas and deepen understanding.

The dialogue co-chairs, Valli Moosa and Harald Dovland, released an interim report in October 2014 and a final report in July 2015, which was presented at the Major Economies Forum. Also, the co-chairs and several dialogue participants held a public panel discussion April 23, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

Toward 2015 was made possible with financial support from the governments of Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

Read how the Toward 2015 dialogue helped on the road to a Paris Agreement.

CO-CHAIRS

The dialogue was co-chaired by Valli Moosa of South Africa and Harald Dovland of Norway.

Mr. Moosa served as South Africa’s Minister for Environment from 1999 to 2004. As a leader of the African National Congress, he supported President Mandela in negotiating the transition from apartheid to democracy. He has served as President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Chairman of Eskom, and Chairman of the UNFCCC High Level Panel on the CDM Policy Dialogue. He is chairman of WWF (South Africa) and a Director of Lereko Investments, Sun International, Anglo Platinum, Sanlam and Imperial Holdings.

Mr. Dovland has served as Co-Chair of the UNFCCC Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Kyoto Protocol, and Chairman of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice. A former head of the Norwegian delegation to the UNFCCC, Mr. Dovland retired from the Ministry for the Environment in 2011, and is currently Climate Policy Director for the consulting firm Carbon Limits.

PARTICIPANTS
(Participating in personal capacities. Title and affiliation included for informational purposes only).

Additional C2ES resources on the international climate talks

Video: The Path to Paris: National Perspectives on a New Global Climate Agreement

Participants:
Harald Dovland, Former Chief Negotiator, Norway, Co-Chair, Toward 2015 Dialogue
Valli Moosa, Former Minister of Environment, South Africa, Co-Chair, Toward 2015 Dialogue
Gao Feng, Special Representative for Climate Change Negotiations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China
Jake Werksman, Principal Adviser, DG Climate Action, European Commission
Pa Ousman Jarju, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Water Resources, Parks and Wildlife, Gambia
Jo Tyndall, Climate Change Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand
Moderator: Elliot Diringer, Executive Vice President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions