Global Fashion Agenda team up with UNFCCC to accelerate fashion’s climate action

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), the non-profit organization that fosters collaboration on sustainability in fashion to drive impact, has formed a new alliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to speed up the fashion industry’s response to climate change.

The UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, which seeks to move the fashion industry to net-zero emissions by 2050 in order to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees, will be accelerated by the new alliance between Global Fashion Agenda and the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).

The collaboration will begin at the GFA’s Global Fashion Summit and the UNFCCC’s annual Conference of Parties, both of which are coming up soon (COP). The organizations will collaborate through these forums to bring together fashion-leaders and key stakeholders to facilitate knowledge sharing, forge meaningful partnerships, and carry out the measures required to accomplish the Fashion Charter’s goals.

Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, said that the GFA is working to form powerful coalitions that will hasten the fashion industry’s transition to a net-zero future. As a result, they’re ecstatic to be working with the UNFCCC, as the Fashion Charter is a critical tool for mobilizing the necessary industry transformation. They intend to bring together key fashion players, create pre-competitive collaboration, and provide even deeper insights and direction to drive development through their collaboration.

Niclas Svenningsen, climate action manager, UNFCCC, said that the climate catastrophe is today the most pressing issue for the fashion sector to address. While the Fashion Charter brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to collaborate on solutions, the Global Fashion Agenda is an important forum for broader conversations about fashion’s sustainability. Through this relationship, they see many potentials to deepen and emphasize both sustainability and climate efforts.

The Royal Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark, will host the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2022 on June 7-8. The Summit’s theme is ‘Alliances for a New Era,’ and it aims to forge relationships inside the fashion sector as well as investigate ‘unique’ cross-industry alliances in order to hasten the transition to a net positive reality.

Meanwhile, the UNFCCC will contribute to the Summit’s content through the Fashion Charter, where they will offer information on the organization’s accomplishments and what more solutions are required. The UNFCCC will also convene its annual Fashion Charter meeting at the Summit, where relevant experts will share resources and discuss tools that can assist the fashion industry to accomplish the charter’s climate targets. In addition to Copenhagen, the alliance will continue for future editions of the Global Fashion Summit in additional cities.

Beyond the Summit, the GFA and the UNFCCC will continue to collaborate to elevate publications and reports, such as the Fashion CEO Agenda, and to inform Fashion Charter meetings at COP27 to raise awareness among leaders about the most pressing issues and priorities, as well as to urge commitments from industry leaders to drive change in the social, environmental, and circular dimensions.