UN
Global Climate Action
12
November
2021 | |
COP 26
Transport
and Cities, Regions & Built Environment
Days in
Review | |
Wednesday,
10 November, and Thursday, 11 November,
saw important steps towards the end of
fossil-fuel powered cars, planes and ships, and
subnational leaders and built environment
players take action towards a zero carbon
future. | |
Towards
the end of fossil fuel-powered
transport
Governments and
private sector actors took important steps to
transform the way we move by land, air and sea
for a zero carbon future. Find more in-depth
news
here.
● Companies,
countries, regions and cities committed to accelerate the
roll-out of electric vehicle charging
infrastructure and called
on others to recognize its importance and
follow suit.
● A
number of Latin American cities including
Bogotá, Cuenca and Salvador committed to turn
their public
transport fleets to zero-emission by
2035, helping to transform the wider
transport sector - one of the region’s biggest
emitters.
● Over
200 businesses from across the shipping value
chain committed to scaling and
commercializing
zero-emission shipping vessels and fuels by 2030
and called on governments to get the
right regulations and infrastructure in place to
enable a just transition by 2050.
● The International
Chamber of Shipping, the International Transport
Workers’ Federation and the UN Global
Compact
joined
forces
to help workers transition to a zero-emission
shipping industry, including
learning new skills and creating new, quality
jobs.
● Nine big-name
brands including Amazon, IKEA, Michelin,
Unilever and Patagonia announced they
will
shift 100% of their ocean freight to vessels
powered by zero-carbon fuel by 2040.
● 19 countries signed
the Clydebank declaration to support the
establishment
of zero-emission shipping routes, collectively
aiming to create at least six zero-emissions
maritime corridors by the middle of this decade
while aspiring to see many more in operation by
2030.
● 28 shipping and
wind energy companies launched Operation Zero,
committing
to work together to accelerate the
decarbonization of operations and maintenance
vessels working in the North Sea offshore wind
sector. They will aim to
deploy zero-emission operations and maintenance
vessels in the region by 2025.
● The shift to
sustainable aviation fuels is approaching a
breakthrough, with over 80
aviation industry businesses and large corporate
customers now aiming
to boost the green fuel to 10% of global jet
fuel demand by 2030. That’s a one
thousand fold increase from today and would save
60 million tonnes of CO2 per year and provide
300,000 green jobs.
● Three-quarters
of corporate sector commitments submitted to the
Science-based Targets Initiative so far this
year have been aligned with 1.5°C of warming, as the
Business Ambition for 1.5°C’s campaign has grown
from 28 to 1,000 companies in two years. They
represent $23 trillion in market capitalization,
according to the campaign’s newly released
status
report.
| |
Cities,
regions and the built environment
The
conditions for political leadership are set:
society wants it, business is counting on it,
the money is there, and cities will benefit.
Find more in-depth news
here.
● The
Yearbook
of Global Climate Action was published,
outlining the High-Level Climate Champions’
five-year vision for enhancing the
implementation of commitments and accountability
for progress. It’s seen a 22% increase in the
number of actors registered on the Global
Climate Action portal compared to
2020.
● In
an event
on Thursday – Racing to a Better
World – UN Secretary-General António
Guterres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia
Espinosa, COP26 President Alok Sharma, Scottish
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and others joined
High-Level Climate Champions Gonzalo Muñoz and
Nigel Topping in outlining the plan for the next
five years for an improved
Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate
Action to shift the focus of businesses,
investors, cities, regions and civil society
from ambition to implementation.
● The
£27.5 million Urban Climate Action Programme launched, which will provide
technical
assistance to at least 15 mayors of mega-cities
in developing countries, helping them to
shape and deliver goals to reach net zero
emissions and build resilience to climate
change.
● 1,049 cities and local
governments are now part of the UN-backed Race
to Zero, representing 722 million people.
This has the potential to reduce global
emissions by at least 1.4 gigatonnes per year by
2030, C40
announced at the start of COP26.
● Among
those, 593
cities have committed to shift towards resilient
and sustainable energy systems, 501 are
working to build zero-carbon buildings and 415
aim to shift to zero waste. 222 have committed
to divest from fossil fuels.
● In
addition, 260
governments representing 50% of the economy and
1.75 billion people now aim to reach net zero
emissions by 2050, as the Under2
Coalition updated its membership
criteria ahead of COP26 in line with a 1.5°C
warming. The Race to Zero campaign already
counts 67 state and regional governments.
● And
68 state,
regional and city governments have signed up to
a range of ambitious sectoral actions to
accelerate climate progress by 2030,
including on clean transportation, the built
environment, energy, nature-based solutions,
waste, agriculture, environmental justice, and
inter-governmental cooperation and
planning.
● Meanwhile,
33 cities and more than 76 regional governments
- including Maharashtra, India’s largest state
by GDP with a population of over 124 million -
are now committed to help build resilience
within the decade as members of the UN-backed Race to
Resilience
campaign.
● C40’s
Mayors Migration
Council Task Force will champion
investments to boost adaptation and reduce
displacement in migrant communities, facilitate
dignified movement and other efforts as part of
their new agenda. The Robert Bosch
Stiftung foundation is putting $1 million into
supporting efforts in Africa.
● 16 regional
governments and networks, led by Scotland
and Lombardy with Regions4, called
on national governments to drive emission
reductions, measurable and coherent actions on
coherent and solutions-oriented
collaboration.
● 42
businesses announced that they have signed the
World Green
Building Council’s updated commitment to drive operational
emissions to net zero by 2030. It now
addresses embodied emissions - from initial
construction - as well.
● US$1.2 trillion in
real estate assets under management are
now committed to halving emissions by 2030,
along with 20% of architects and engineers,
hitting a Race to Zero breakthrough on the path to
net zero before 2050. The number of construction
companies in the campaign has also
doubled in the lead up to COP26.
● San
Francisco joined Los Angeles, Mexico City, Oslo
and Budapest in committing to at least
halving emissions from the initial construction
of buildings by 2030, with a 30%
reduction by 2025. This is as part of C40’s Clean
Construction Declaration.
● The Beyond
Oil and Gas Alliance, an international
coalition of national and subnational
governments and other stakeholders working to
facilitate the managed phaseout of oil and gas
production, launched, led by Costa Rica and
Denmark.
● Nine new Partners
joined
the Race to Resilience to deliver
stand-alone transformative actions including on
digital finance, urban water infrastructure,
early-warning weather systems and knowledge
sharing.
● 11 forest sector
companies, including seven of the top 100
companies, have now signed
up to the
Race to Zero, representing 10%
of global forest and forest product
sales.
The aim is to reach 20% by 2023. They are:
Finland’s UPM, Chile’s CPMC and Arauco, Brazil’s
Suzano and Klabin, Sweden’s Holmen and Austria’s
Heinzel.
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