This one-day conference will be a first step towards concretising the coalition of politics, administration and civil society called for by the EESC NAT/684 Opinion. It will also deliver a strong message on multi-stakeholder collaboration as enabler of accelerated implementation and the generalisation of concrete actions (scaling, replicating, extending) as well as a pathway for the practical implementation of many key components of the Paris Agreement to be debated during COP22, such as financing, capacity building and adaptation, among others.

On 20 July 2016, the European Commission released two proposals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the non-ETS sectors (transport, buildings, agriculture and waste), the so-called “Effort Sharing Regulation” for the 2030 climate and energy framework, as well as a separate Regulation for the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector. These proposals aim to contribute to the goal of the overall reduction of EU's emissions in 2030 by at least 40%. The EESC is currently drafting its Opinion on the two proposals, foreseen to be adopted in December 2016. The public hearing will provide a platform for various stakeholders to express their views on the Commission proposals and exchange views with the EESC Members from the Study Group preparing the Opinion.

The idea of "nudging" starts from the assumption that behavioural sciences can help decision makers get public policies right. Nudging implies indirectly influence people's choice with very limited, easily implemented, sometimes very unexpected, signals to deliver massive effects, without forbidding anything. It assumes that individuals are not perfectly rational and involves small and cheap incentives for them to change their behaviour in a specific field; it can be applied in a wide range of contexts, including public policies. The European Commission created a "Foresight and Behavioural insights Unit" within the Joint Research Centre. The purpose of this own-initiative opinion is to explore how the nudge theory could help European policies be more effective, in particular under a sustainable development angle.

On 2 June 2016 the SDO will hold its meeting in Brussels. This date falls during the European Sustainable Development Week and as a partner of that week, the SDO organises the screening of the movie "Demain" in the context of its meeting.