Global Ethical Stocktake

Centering Ethics in Climate Action

What is the Global Ethical Stocktake?

In recent years, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) has begun to assess global climate progress through a formal process known as the Global Stocktake (GST). The GST, established in the Paris Agreement and first conducted at COP28, focuses on scientific and technical analysis of emissions targets and national commitments—often behind closed doors.

Now, under the leadership of the COP30 Presidency, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate and the UNFCCC, a groundbreaking initiative has emerged: the Global Ethical Stocktake (GES).

The GES elevates the moral, ethical and philosophical dimensions of the climate crisis with a broader invitation to civil society. The GES is a unique and necessary moral intervention that asks not only what we have done to the Earth, but what we have allowed ourselves to become in the process. By integrating ethics into climate negotiations, the GES aims to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement by rooting action in values, justice and conscience.

The Center for Earth Ethics is honored to announce that Executive Director Karenna Gore will serve as the regional co-convener for the North America dialogue of the Global Ethical Stocktake.

"For COP30, we must bring factors and methods into consideration that may have been left out before—and the Global Ethical Stocktake gives us the strength and courage to do so. It is especially heartening to support a vision that includes culture and all those beauties and interrelationships in life that cannot be measured by money, yet fill us with the sense of meaning and belonging that has the power to motivate our behavior."

A New Kind of Dialogue

As part of this initiative, six regional dialogues will take place around the world—in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Each dialogue will gather diverse voices—including youth, elders, Indigenous leaders, artists, philosophers, scientists and faith representatives—to reflect on the deeper values that should guide climate action.

These dialogues will inform a collective ethical statement to be delivered to world leaders at COP30 in Brazil in November 2025. This statement will help shape a global moral framework to accompany the technical and policy-driven pathways set forth in the Paris Agreement.

Regional Dialogue Co-Conveners

Wanjira Mathai

Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute (African Dialogue)

Karenna Gore

Executive Director, Center for Earth Ethics (North America Dialogue)

Mary Robinson

Former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (European Dialogue)

Host Your Own Dialogue

In addition to the official regional dialogues, the GES leadership invites people around the world to join in. Organizations, communities and individuals are encouraged to host self-organized dialogues to reflect on climate ethics in their own settings. These grassroots dialogues can include artistic interventions like storytelling, poetry, music, dance and drama. Insights will be collected and considered as part of the collective ethical statement to be delivered to world leaders at COP30. This is a rare opportunity to help shape international climate negotiations from the ground up—with your voice and your values.

Use the resources below to learn more about the GES process and organize a dialogue in your community.