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Oct 23, 2023, 11:41:16 AM10/23/23

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UN Global Climate Action

23 October 2023

High-Level Champions'

Newsletter

Latin America and the Caribbean - A Hotbed of Climate Solutions

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Climate Week is upon us. The penultimate Regional Climate Week will bring together diverse stakeholders of LAC countries in Panama, to recognize and boost the region’s capacity for action on climate change mitigation and adaptation, while informing the Global Stocktake.

With almost half of its area enveloped by forests, including the Amazon, Latin America and the Caribbean represent about 57% of the world’s remaining primary forests. Also, thousands of coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and marshes, enrich its shores. Protecting these assets is key to realising the potential of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) - which can provide more than one-third of the emissions reductions needed by 2030 - to limit global warming to 1.5° C. As well as safely sequestering carbon, NbS can also build adaptation and resilience to climate-related natural disasters in the region, which have numbered more than 1,300; causing almost 30 million deaths, over the past two decades.

For example, tree cover protects people from extreme heat and rainfall, while mangroves and coral reefs buffer shorelines from rising sea levels and punishing storms.

The Climate Week will showcase forward-looking solutions capable of meeting the challenges of the region, to inform the Global Stocktake culminating at COP 28. It will focus on the urgent need for climate finance overall, but especially to fund the protection and regeneration of the area’s rich nature and biodiversity. Responding to the climate and nature crisis in LAC requires between USD 470 billion and USD 1.3 trillion per year of infrastructure and social spending by 2030. That would account for 7-19% of annual regional GDP, according to the IADB. Watch this space for news on closing the region’s finance gap.

Key engagements for the Marrakech Partnership, the Global Ambassadors of the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience, and partners include:

●Track 1: Energy Systems and Industry: ‘The role of non-Party stakeholders in fostering Just, Financed & Inclusive Energy Transitions: A Just Energy Transition Collaboration (JET-Co) Dialogue for LAC,’ will be attended by Gonzalo Muñoz, the Global Ambassador of the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience and former High-Level Champion for COP 25.

●Track 2: Cities, Urban and Rural Settlements, Infrastructure and Transport: Including the events ‘Cities and Regions Dialogue: Resilient Infrastructure for people and nature’ and ‘Unlocking Finance for city-scale transformation through Multi-level Governance.’

● Track 3: Land, Ocean, Food and Water: ‘Nature Positive for Climate Action: A Call to Action for the LAC Region’, will include an address by Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the Global Ambassador of the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience and former COP 20 President.

● Track 4: Societies, Health, Livelihoods and Economies: ‘Accelerating Action for Resilience and Prosperity in the LAC Region’, will include a conversation with Francisco Nuñez, The Nature Conservancy, representing the Water Funds Initiative. Plus, the event ‘Accelerating Just Transition Together: Potential of South-South Partnership’, will be hosted by Race to Zero & World Resources Institute India.

Significantly, both Climate Week and the XXIII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in Panama City next week.

Racquel Moses: “We can do it. Having been the canary in the coalmine... we must save ourselves"

Guest article:

Racquel Moses, Chief Executive of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) and High-Level Champions Global Ambassador, explains the local context for Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week further in the article below. Racquel discusses the region’s climate challenges, transformative investments, groundbreaking innovation, and the indomitable spirit of the region to thrive in the face of adversity.

Why are Latin America and the Caribbean pivotal to solving the climate crisis?

“Latin America and the Caribbean are central to the climate change conundrum for two key reasons. Firstly, the region, especially the Caribbean, is on the front-line of intensifying extreme weather. For example, tropical cyclones like Hurricanes Fiona, Lisa and Ian, recently caused devastating damage. The Caribbean’s exposure to climate-related natural disasters mean that its estimated adaptation investment needs exceed USD 100 billion; equal to about one-third of its annual economic output. Similarly, extreme weather is wreaking havoc across Latin America, with a wave of extreme heat leading to severe fires in Argentina’s central Cordoba province. As well as causing lives and homes to be lost, Latin America produces much of the food that we use in the region, so food insecurity is on the rise.

As a climate-vulnerable region, we understand the urgency of scaling systems-change, we want to be at the forefront of climate and nature solutions.

The LAC region is home to many of the world’s most important carbon sinks, like the Amazon, as well as the forests of Guayana, Suriname and Panama, which are helping to protect the planet by absorbing carbon. There’s major potential for these countries to tap into new and under-used sources of finance, such as forest and ocean-based climate bonds, carbon markets and debt for climate swaps. For example, the largest ‘debt for nature swap’, struck by Ecuador and Credit Suisse this year, will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands.

The LAC region is at the heart of the climate discussion - our long-running exposure to the impacts have also focused hearts and minds on new solutions.

Which of the four Climate Week “tracks” resonate most for you?

“The ‘Energy Systems and Industry’ track really resonates, as that represents such a huge opportunity for the Caribbean.

In the Caribbean, energy consumers face some of the highest energy prices globally due to relatively low generation capacity, a heavy reliance on expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports and outdated power systems. So the transition to clean, reliable energy for all is critical, not just to address climate change, but for our energy security and economic growth.

Many Caribbean islands now see the transition as the key to their own self determinism. For example, Jamaica is targeting a switch to 50 percent renewable energy by 2030. Their astute recent fiscal management has promoted private investment in the transition, which is vital to deliver a transition away from expensive fossil fuel imports, especially gas). When the cost of the transition is offset against current opex, the transition becomes achievable - and a colossal investment opportunity. For example, 10 Caribbean countries have set 100 percent as their renewable energy goal. At the moment, all but one are below 20 percent renewables. Smart investors can play a defining role in delivering renewable targets, replicating best practice across numerous islands.

Track 3 - ‘Land Ocean, Food & Water’ also resonates strongly. The Caribbean is made up of big ocean states, so ensuring that our oceans are healthy and productive is really core to our economic outlook. Several Caribbean countries, including Barbados and the Bahamas, have been actively improving ocean protection by establishing marine protected areas and implementing sustainable fishing practices. These initiatives are vital to safeguarding marine ecosystems and promoting long-term conservation, but they are also very expensive. So we’re looking at innovative finance mechanisms to protect our oceans and encourage more countries to commit to protecting 30 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2030.”

What climate and nature projects are you excited by right now?

“The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) that I lead has recently launched a very exciting project to promote the use of climate smart agriculture solutions - including hydroponic growing.

Hydroponic agriculture is an ideal solution for the Caribbean, which has limited arable land and increasingly challenging environmental conditions. By cultivating crops in a soil-less, controlled environment, hydroponics significantly cuts water usage, while minimizing the need for harmful pesticides and herbicides. This innovative approach holds real promise for increasing food security, reducing agricultural runoff, and providing fresh, locally grown produce year-round. We have rolled out hydroponics projects in Barbados, Cayman and Anguilla, and we’re strategizing expansion to more countries. This is a massive opportunity to get young people back into agriculture; to shape a new reliable food production system. With the level of excitement in this space, the only question is just how big can this food solution get?!

The CCSA also nominates candidates for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, and the level of innovation that we’re seeing is mind boggling. For example, one of the winners, Notpla, has created a bioplastic packaging using seaweed. It’s not just solving a problem, but it’s creating an alternative that is more beneficial in many other ways. For example, instead of packaging pasta in plastic, which has to be removed and disposed of, seaweed packaging can be boiled with the pasta, which provides many nutritional benefits – inspired!”

What do you want to see at Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week?

“What’s most important to me is the focus on the creation of green jobs in the region. That means helping young people with great ideas to create solutions to the climate crisis. I want to see young people getting involved, not just in activism - which is vital, but also in showcasing new solutions.

Overall, we are very encouraged that we have the talent, ideas and solutions that we need, what we now need is change to unblock the flow of finance, to accelerate the pace of our transition of our economies to a hopeful new future. We can do it. Having been the canary in the coalmine dealing with climate impacts, we have decided that we must save ourselves —but we need others to join us in this global endeavour.”

This is an excerpt from the interview with Racquel Moses, the full article can be found here.

Ocean Breakthroughs shore up healthy and productive oceans

The ocean community, united under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, with the support of the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, recently launched the Ocean Breakthroughs.

Resulting from the joint efforts of the Ocean & Coastal Zones community and building on the Ocean for Climate Declaration, the Ocean Breakthroughs are articulated around five key ocean sectors: marine conservation, ocean renewable energy, shipping, aquatic food, and coastal tourism. Accelerated action and investments in each will help unlock the potential of the ocean as a source of solutions to the pressing challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.

Attending the launch, Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP 28, said:

“In the vast expanse of our ocean lies the potential for a brighter, more resilient and nature-rich world. I am honoured to introduce the Ocean Breakthroughs — a science-aligned blueprint which will see five pivotal sectors converge to make over a third of the emissions cuts we so greatly need. Let’s dive deep and unite in purpose for the world we hold dear.”

With this set of sectoral pathways, the Marrakech Partnership Ocean & Coastal Zones thematic group outlines a roadmap for transformative and ambitious action at the scale of entire systems.

Ultimately, the Ocean Breakthroughs will also inform the Global Stocktake - to ensure the potential of ocean-based climate solutions is well recognized in the outcomes of the process to resume at COP 28.

Shipping needs to take rapid action to achieve 5% zero-emission fuel target by 2030, new report finds

Credit: Timelab.

A new report from maritime consultancy, UMAS, Getting to Zero Coalition, and Race to Zero finds that while it is possible for scalable zero-emission fuels to make up five percent of international shipping fuels by 2030 – shipping’s Breakthrough target – the window of opportunity will close soon and rapid action is required from the industry.

Launched in conjunction with the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit in Athens, the report assesses progress towards the goal of having scalable zero-emission fuels account for 5% of international shipping fuels by 2030. This is the minimum threshold needed to rapidly scale the uptake of such fuels in order to peak emissions as soon as possible and reach net zero GHG emissions by or around 2050. Notably, the recently revised IMO strategy sets an important target of at least 5% – striving for 10% – uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission fuels by 2030.

The report, ‘Climate Action in Shipping, Progress towards Shipping’s 2030 Breakthrough,’ paints a mixed picture of the industry’s core challenges of sourcing zero-emission fuels and deploying zero-emission vessels.

● The current zero emission fuel production pipeline is more than double that is shipping’s needs

● However, these projects need to move from announcement to implementation

● Despite headline-grabbing orders for methanol-fuelled ships, continuing the current trajectory of orders might only deliver one-fifth of the needed vessels to achieve the Breakthrough target.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27, said:

"Now that we know the international direction of travel for the maritime sector, national governments need to create incentives for businesses and investors to implement zero-emission ships and freight services.

“Although there is progress towards its 2030 breakthrough target – for zero-emission fuels to make up 5% of international shipping’s energy demand by 2030 – we need to see policy makers create incentives for scaling up, for example, green hydrogen.

“The alignment of advances in technological innovation, supportive policies, and collaboration across the value chain, while recognising the differing challenges that developing countries face and the need for means of implementation, will be key for successfully moving towards a healthier, more resilient, zero-carbon world.”

Global leaders call for urgent climate finance action at Building Bridges conference in Geneva

Recently, over 2000 delegates attended the ‘Building Bridges conference’ in Geneva including representatives from the financial and corporate sectors, the sustainability community, policymakers and entrepreneurs to discuss the importance of shaping a global economic model aligned with the needs of sustainable and just societies already confronting the negative impacts of climate change.

During a session on Mobilising the Private Financial Sector on Adaptation and Resilience, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin joined representatives from The Insurance Development Forum, Institutional Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), UNFCCC and the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center among others.

Together they presented a call to action for both private and public sectors to collaborate on urgently mobilising the USD 160–340 billion needed by 2030 to help developing countries adapt to the increasing severity of climate change.

During the session, Dr. Mohieldin stressed the important role private sector finance can and must play in relation to climate finance, as outlined in the technical synthesis report of the Global Stocktake. Dr. Mohieldin also noted that uncertainty within the finance community is leading to significant underfunding. Corporations and institutional investors provided just USD 1 billion, or 2%, of tracked adaptation finance in 2019 and 2020, compared to 98% from public sources.

Businesses, investors, cities, regions, and civil society respond to the Global Stocktake (GST)

A comprehensive synthesis report designed to help governments reach a decision on the global stocktake at COP28 has been published by UN Climate Change.

As part of the final phase of the stocktake, governments and real economy actors were invited to share their views on how countries could best come together at COP 28 to respond to the gap between ambition and climate action. Two dozen groups representing 180 governments and 44 private sector, sub-national government and civil society organizations, UN Climate Change responded in the follow-up synthesis report.

The submissions also reflect the views of thousands of non-Party stakeholders. For example, the Corporate Climate Stocktake, run by We Mean Business, consulted over 300 businesses across eight major emitting sectors. The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency, which represents thousands of sub-national governments, is inviting cities, towns and regions globally to conduct local stocktaking activities.

The submissions and views offered up by the private sector, sub-national governments and civil society had one simple message: real-economy climate action is happening and growing – but it needs a united response from governments, setting out near-term priorities, actions and national policies, to reach the necessary scale and speed.

Five key areas requiring political leadership were highlighted:

Government policies to fill gaps in the near-term. To transform sectors and systems, governments should provide clear political signals prompting the private sector and sub-national governments to address gaps. This approach would foster economies of scale, and level playing fields to unlock faster innovation, especially when complemented by research and development, standards, deployment policies, and trade action.
Greater public-private collaboration on adaptation: Stronger collaboration between national and sub-national governments, the private sector, and civil society is crucial for system transformations supporting adaptation and resilient development. Policy is particularly needed to accelerate the near-term implementation of solutions, including nature-based solutions, adaptation in water, oceans, food, and urban systems, as set out within the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda.
Financial System Reforms: To facilitate climate action in emerging markets and developing economies, the global financial architecture must be reformed. This includes below-market-rate finance extensions, debt relief for poorer countries, and credit enhancement schemes. To raise investor awareness, the Champions are advancing a global pipeline of implementable, financeable and investable projects for emerging markets and developing economies, covering all areas of adaptation, resilience and mitigation.
Protection and regeneration of Nature: Nature-based solutions are integral to meeting the interrelated goals of the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, and the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The Champions are working to accelerate synergies between climate action, nature regeneration, and agricultural and food system transformation, through the call to action – Nature Positive for Climate Action, aimed at businesses, investors, cities and regions. The recently launched report, ‘Mobilizing private capital for nature to meet climate and nature goals’ - contains six critical priorities for the private sector to co-create the conditions for scaling up private finance for NbS by focusing on six priorities.
Inclusion of all of society and the economy: Multi-level action and collaboration across businesses, investors, cities, sub-national governments and regions, civil society is vital for a rapid, just transition. Multi-level Governance can bridge the gap exposed by the Global Stocktake. It is imperative that the GST acknowledges the vital role of non-party stakeholders, especially Indigenous Peoples, local communities, cities, civil society, youth, and marginalized groups, underscoring the need for their involvement in responding to climate change.

Ahead of the GST outcome at COP28, non-Party stakeholders, the High-Level Champions and Marrakech Partnership offer the Climate Action Pathways, the 2030 Breakthroughs, the Breakthrough Agenda, and the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda as part of a Solutions Pathways framework available to Parties and non-Party stakeholders to accelerate and track progress on actions and commitments, in line with science-aligned pathways to 2030.

Full details can be found here.

Additionally, the Champions for COP 27 and COP 28 recently published a thought piece in the Economist, entitled ‘Climate action at a crossroads’, giving their views on how businesses, investors, cities, regions and national governments should respond to the Global Stocktake.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) secures USD 9.3bn from 25 contributing countries in its second replenishment cycle

Dr. Mohieldin recently chaired the High-level Pledging Conference for the second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund - helping to secure new capital to catalyse financing for global climate action.

The Bonn conference, hosted by the Federal Republic of Germany, brought together government ministers and top climate experts to drive the Fund’s second replenishment cycle or GCF-2.

Mohieldin announced that GCF-2 initially succeeded in mobilizing USD 9.32 billion, with some countries pledging to make their contributions over the coming period. This came during his chairmanship of “The Pledging Session for Interested Contributors.”

Other attendees included Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany; Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition; Ambassador Wael Ahmed Kamal Aboul-Magd of the COP 27 Presidency of Egypt; Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director of Green Climate Fund; Adnan Amin, Chief Executive Officer of COP28; Simon Stiell, UNFCCC Executive Secretary; plus other representatives of governments and countries contributing to GCF-2.

At the event, Mohieldin stressed the importance of the contributions pledged by countries to finance climate projects in developing countries and regions most affected by climate change, explaining that the GCF will work on turning these contributions into actual investment with a tangible effect.

Mohieldin stated that climate finance is inefficient, insufficient, and unfair. He added that closing the wide finance gap to tackle the climate emergency demands speed and affordability of finance through concessional finance, as well as channelling greater funds to adaptation projects in the most vulnerable communities, plus activating de-risking tools.

“The replenishment is not a moment that is solely focused on improving the GCF’s financial position and hence its capacity of undertaking projects, but more importantly it is a moment of revisiting its entire model of operation, which as it stands involves some areas of improvement, especially when it comes to the simplification of the process, speed and efficiency of access to funds, and local private sector engagement,” Mohieldin said.

Climate Week rallies MENA stakeholders ahead of COP 28

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia provided a strong call for decisive, inclusive action to accelerate progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement recently.

H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak attended, participating in a range of events and engagements, including:

● The event ‘Inclusive Finance and Economic Diversification Towards the Goals of the Paris Agreement’, which promoted innovative financing solutions to accelerate climate action and sustainable development in the region.

● The ‘The Role of Arab Philanthropies in Climate Action’ event, where she spoke on the critical role for philanthropy in increasing the resilience of communities in the Arab world and supporting the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

● The event ‘Understanding the Value and Limits of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in MENA: Harnessing Social-Ecological Resilience,’ where she highlighted the shift towards triple-impact NbS projects - benefiting people, nature, and climate.

● H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak provided an address on the Buildings Breakthrough. The video can be watched back here. Key examples of MENA momentum, included:

○Aldar Properties, a prominent UAE developer, joining the Race to Zero campaign, pledging to reduce emissions across its entire value chain.

○Dar Group, Majid Al Futtaim, ICD Brookfield, and Arup all signing up to World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Building Commitment.

The programme brought specific examples of real-economy climate action which reduce emissions and benefit livelihoods now. On-demand videos of the high-level segment, main track sessions and other events can be found here.

COP 28 Champion supports women’s leadership in climate diplomacy

Also, at MENA Climate Week, H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak announced a series of measures

to advance women’s representation and gender parity at COP 28 in UAE.

The measures include financial assistance to encourage stronger attendance of women delegates, technical training sessions, and support for an international conference.

“The gendered aspects of climate change are not widely known, yet they deserve our attention – climate change is by no means gender neutral,” said Ms. Al Mubarak. “Few people know that women and girls, comprising 70 percent of the world’s poor, are disproportionately affected by climate change. For example, they are 14 times more likely to die in climate-related natural disasters. They are also less able to access relief and assistance once disaster has struck.”

“Getting more women involved and giving them the tools to showcase their perspectives and participate in finding the solutions will ultimately yield stronger outcomes that benefit everyone,” added Ms. Al Mubarak.

On December 4, at COP 28’s ‘Finance/Trade/Gender Equality/Accountability Day’, the summit will explore the critical relationship between gender equality and climate action. It will bring together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including researchers, activists, policymakers, and civil society organizations, to discuss the intersectionality of gender and climate change.

COP 28 provides fertile ground for food system transformation

Credit: Alexandr Podvalny.

Gonzalo Muñoz, former High-Level Champion for COP 25 and Chair of the Non-State Actors Pillar of the COP 28 Presidency’s Food Systems & Agriculture Agenda, recently penned an OpEd on transforming the global food system, below.

“The global food system has the power to nurture the world’s growing population, boost livelihoods and jobs, and help us achieve our climate and nature goals.

But today’s food system is not fit for purpose. Although we produce an excess of calories globally, over 700 million people face hunger and more than three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Scandalously, many of those who cannot afford nutritious food actually work in food production.

The food system is both a driver of climate change – responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions – and is severely impacted by climate change, with droughts, floods, extreme heat, changing rainfall patterns, and locust swarms depleting yields.

We need to transform our food system so that it delivers for people, climate, and nature. This means changing both how we grow food and what we produce and consume.”

The full article continues here.

Race to Zero: demonstration of progress

Race to Zero Partners and stakeholders have been demonstrating leading action and advancing knowledge on net-zero implementation.

● During MENA Climate Week, Race to Zero in partnership with UNEP, UNGC, UACA, IRENA and SME Climate Hub explored Opportunities and Challenges for Race to Zero ahead of COP28.

● Also during this week, Commercial International Bank (CIB) co-hosted a panel discussion on the critical role of financial institutions in driving the transition to a low-carbon economy in the MENA region

● Race to Zero Partner and NZFSPA Stock Exchange Group are exploring the agenda for the net zero activities of exchanges and other financial service providers around the world during the UNCTAD World Investment Forum.

● Nature-based solutions are embedded across Race to Zero’s criteria, and under ‘Proceed’ through our 2030 Breakthroughs. Holding one-third of our mitigation potential, we hold an incredible opportunity to mobilize through the Race to Zero campaign a nature-positive, net zero economy. Find out how, through this new video of our members and allies, on nature-based solutions.

Focusing on the need to increase transparency on action, CDP, the global non-profit providing a platform for all companies, financial institutions, and cities to report information on their environmental impacts, and the Net Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU), have announced a significant step toward making high-quality, comparable global climate transition-related data freely available. Read more here.

CDP also announced its partnership with XBRL International to accelerate the digitization of sustainability disclosure Read more here.

Race to Zero is working with the wider data and regulatory communities to better understand how climate data questionnaires (i.e., CDP’s) can become machine-readable so we can find and aggregate data to combat current transparency issues.

Looking ahead:

● WRI India, Transforma, WRI IOs and Race to Zero are partnering on an event to explore just transition - potential of south-south partnership. These discussions will inform Race to Zero’s Working Group on Fair Share, Equity and Justice.

● UN Global Compact Brazil, Mexico and Colombia with WWF are holding an event on boosting companies climate action through the SBTi (a Race to Zero partner) in Latin America.

● #PorElClima, Libelula, IntegrarSE & Race to Zero are also exploring the Ibero-American private sector in the Race to Zero in the context of a weakening narrative and respect for the 1.5ºC limit. We plan to highlight the importance of decarbonization for Latin America and why it is important to build a prosperous economy for people and nature.

Catherine McKenna, previous Chair of the UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non‑State Entities, has written a thought-leadership piece on the Race to Zero. Read or share the article here.

Race to Resilience latest developments:

Race to Resilience Leadership during NYCW

ORRAA accelerates investment for innovation

RTR partner, the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) hosted its inaugural Ocean Resilience Innovation Challenge (ORIC) Investor Forum. The Forum served as a platform to introduce innovative and visionary entrepreneurs committed to ocean and coastal resilience, to potential investors.

In a morning of compelling pitches, the selected enterprises unveiled a diverse array of solutions, including satellite-based coastal risk assessments, upscaling seaweed farming through microcredit and saving schemes, protecting surf ecosystems through parametric insurance, fisheries improvement technologies for ecological, economic and social sustainability, regenerative seaweed aquaculture that support coastal communities, and sustainable leather production from invasive species.

Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) builds momentum on finance, plus the Coral Breakthrough is announced

The roundtable discussion was attended by Dr. Mohieldin, who highlighted the role of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs as a leading partner in the Race to Resilience, delivering in the form of grants and investment for more than $625 million in resilience action.

In addition, the event presented the the recently launched Coral Reef Breakthrough, a major milestone that as part of the Sharm El Sheik Adaptation Agenda, establishes an ambitious goal to secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs with investments of US$12.2 billion to support the resilience of more than half a billion people globally by 2030.

DARAJA at the High-Level UNGA78 side event “Delivering Early Warnings for All”

Mark Harvey, CEO of Developing Risk Awareness through Joint Action (DARAJA), joined the side event as a speaker, providing insights into DARAJA’s efforts in creating and implementing a people-centric, multi-hazard, multi-sectoral early warning system across multiple countries.

RTR Solution stories of the month:

● Manhattan debuts ambitious coastal protection blueprint

● The Medellín Project: A climate insurance success story

● A tale of resilience and restoration in Brazil’s Paraíba do Sul River Basin

● DARAJA: Transforming Weather Information into Urban Resilience in East Africa

● South African province of KwaZulu-Natal leads with community-focused climate adaptation

● A tale of resilience and restoration in Brazil’s Paraíba do Sul River Basin

● Mangroves, climate and community: Cross River State’s holistic approach to resilience building

Coming up next week, Race to Resilience and partners are demonstrating action in Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week

● Resilient Actions to counter fight climate shocks and impacts in the LAC region. Monday 23rd October 9:30am to 10:30 am at Contadora III.

Learn about the transformative initiatives reshaping climate resilience in LAC, from resilient housing with Build Change, innovation and technology with Climate KIC, restoration and regenerative agriculture with Initiative 20x20, and the power of leveraging accessible finance with Scale for Resilience.

● Innovative Finance Solutions for Oceans & Coastal Community Resilience in Latin America & the Caribbean. 24th October 2023 9:00-10:00 at Contadora III

Co-hosted with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, MAR FUND, ACARI and the Ocean Risk Resilience Action Alliance.

● Innovation and entrepreneurship for climate adaptation and resilience in LAC. 24th October 2023 15:30 t0 16:00 at the Action Hub

A session co-hosted with RtR partners Climate KIC and BFA Global/ CIFAR Alliance and Mercy Corps.

● Dialogue Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Youth Participation on the Road to COP28. 26th October 2023 14:00 - 15:00 Ancón II

A discussion centred on Indigenous traditional knowledge for adaptation and resilience action, co-hosted with the COP28 Presidency, Youth Climate Champion Office for COP28 and Race to ResIlience.

● Join us in our networking event: Crafting for Climate Innovation in LAC. On behalf of CIFAR Alliance, MercyCorps Ventures, Climate-KIC, and Race to Resilience, we are delighted to invite you to an intimate happy hour during LAC Climate Week, “Crafting for Climate Innovation in LAC.” Intended for climate innovators and ecosystem builders, join us on Wednesday, October 25th at 6:30pm EST (GMT-5) at La Barbara to connect with the local and regional network of actors focused on climate innovation and action in LatAm and the Caribbean. Our goal is to curate connections and encourage collaboration among like-minded actors in an informal and friendly setting, so please RSVP on this link!

Other partner events during LACCW

● Climate Smart Data for Adaptive Agriculture, Resilient Land Use, and Food Systems

24th October -

● Closing Latin America’s Climate Adaptation Financing Gap Through Venture Capital

24th October

COP 28 Resilience Hub: Registration Opens

Registration for the COP28 Resilience Hub virtual platform is now open, here.

Keeping up with the Champions

● H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak submitted a pre-recorded video to the Japan Climate Action Summit (JCAS) 2023

The event, held by the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), was designed to rally momentum behind climate action in Japan. A video of H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak’s address can be watched back here.

● Dr. Mohieldin participated in a meeting at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva

Mohieldin asserted that the right to enjoy a clean environment is integral to human rights.

● H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak addressed the Global Resilience Forum in Dubai on the need for public/private collaboration of climate-resilient cities at Global Resilience Forum hosted by the Dubai Police and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).