UN
Global Climate Action
11
April
2022 | |
High Level Climate Champions
Newsletter | |
The Science on Mitigation of Climate
Change | |
The
more we use our proven low-carbon solutions to
cut emissions within the 2020s, the greater our
chances of limiting warming to 1.5°C. The more
we delay action, burn fossil fuels and destroy
nature, the more brutal climate change will
become.
It
finds that the world has already used about
four-fifths of the carbon budget that would give
us a 50% chance of staying within 1.5°C, and
makes clear that there is no more room for new
fossil fuel developments. The use of unabated
fossil fuels from existing and planned
infrastructure alone would blow us past that
temperature threshold, it warns.
We
can find hope in the fact that low-carbon
solutions such as renewable energy, batteries
and energy efficiency work, and they are growing
exponentially as their costs fall. But we need
to act quickly if we want to capitalize on their
potential, by mobilizing more businesses,
investors, cities, regions and national
governments in the race to a resilient
zero-emissions future.
The
cost of solar energy and lithium-ion batteries
each tumbled by 85% between 2010 and 2019, while
the cost of wind energy fell by 55%, according
to the IPCC. Solar energy deployment grew more
than 10-fold over that period, and electric
vehicles more than 100-fold. Digital
technologies such as sensors, the Internet of
Things, robotics and artificial intelligence can
increasingly support wider sustainable
development, boosting energy efficiency and
rural access to clean energy.
Work
is already underway to drive transformations
across the hardest-to-abate sectors. The
UN-backed Race to Zero campaign’s 2030
Breakthroughs
sets out pathways for halving emissions within
this decade in over 30 major sectors,
articulating what key actors must do and by
when.
For
example, the aviation sector needs to boost the
share of sustainable aviation fuel to 10% by
2030 in order to reach 100% by 2050; the steel
sector needs to have 20 operational zero-carbon
commercial-scale facilities by 2030 in order to
have fully net zero steel by 2050; and the
amount of deployed green hydrogen needs to reach
25 GW prices below US$2/kg by 2026 in order to
reach 500-800 million tonnes by 2050.
In
addition, Glasgow
Breakthrough Agenda
launched by the UK COP26 presidency creates a
framework for countries and businesses to join
up and strengthen their actions every
year to make clean solutions the most
affordable, accessible and attractive option in
every sector by 2030.
The
International Renewable Energy Agency’s new
World
Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C
states that progress by 2030 depends on
political will, well-targeted investments, and a
mix of technologies, with policies to put them
in place and optimize their economic and social
impact. Similarly, the International Energy Agency’s
roadmap
for net zero emissions by 2050 made clear that
the transition requires a massive deployment of
all available clean energy technologies within
the 2020s.
The
Race to Zero looks forward to working with the
UN’s newly assembled expert
group on net-zero commitments
from business, investors, cities and regions.
This will bring added scrutiny to the field,
building on the High-Level Champions’ work of
monitoring the credibility of Race to Zero
commitments and annually assembling a group of
experts
to peer review the campaign’s criteria.
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Globalizing Locally-Led
Adaptation | |
People
around the world are coming up with
locally-tailored ways to help communities adapt
to the impacts of climate change and thrive in
spite of worsening droughts, floods, diseases,
heat, cold, storms and other
changes.
The
challenge of the 2020s is to bridge the need to
support and finance this on-the-ground with the
need to build resilience at a global scale –
urgently.
There
is no global solution to resilience, unlike
renewables may be to mitigating energy
emissions. Resilience varies according to local
conditions, cultures, ecosystems, industries and
impacts. One community may need early warning
systems, another to diversify its crops, another
to restore its mangroves.
Perhaps
as a result, climate adaptation work has failed
to draw as much finance and attention as
emission reduction projects. To change this, we
need to pool locally-led solutions into global
coalitions that share single messages – for
example on regenerative agriculture or mangrove
restoration – without losing sight of how to
apply these solutions locally, worldwide.
The
UN-backed Race to
Resilience
is already working to foster collaboration and
amplify those overarching messages, and the
Resilience Hub
at COP26 gave a new platform to share
experiences on impacts of climate change and
climate losses. We plan to continue those
conversations on a similar platform at COP27.
Before
we get to Sharm El-Sheikh, the High-Level
Champions will convene meetings over the year to
shore up resilience work within the 2020s.
Through this kind of economy-wide collaboration,
we will begin to globalise locally-led climate
adaptation – without ever losing the local
focus.
The
global resilience community also has an
opportunity to influence political decisions on
climate action by feeding into the global
stocktake
process under the Paris Agreement. This is where
global coalitions with single messages are
likely to have more impact than lots of similar
but diverse inputs. The UN Climate Change
secretariat have started collecting input to the
stocktake from national governments, civil
society, cities, regions, the private sector and
others, which will culminate in a synthesis
and decision on next steps in late 2023.
| |
MENACW 2022 Galvanizes Regional Momentum
for
COP27 | |
The
first-ever
Middle
East and North Africa Climate Week
(MENACW)
was held in Dubai, UAE last month. The first
in-person regional climate week since Covid-19,
the event drew around 4,000 participants to more
than 200 sessions, and approximately 500
speakers from 147 countries. Conversations
brought together ministers and other national
government representatives with leading experts
from businesses, cities, regions, civil society,
youth and academic experts. The event brought
regional momentum
for a successful COP27.
The
Champions also hosted two Marrakech Partnership
deep-dive workshops. The Implementation Lab
brought together participants spanning from
national governments to youth to talk about how
recycled water can play a critical role in
supporting climate resilience and ensuring water
and food security in the MENA region. The
Regionalization Workshop provided an opportunity
for the Champions to explore how to regionalize
the five-year plan
for the improved Marrakech Partnership for
enhancing ambition
and the 2022 work programme. The event convened
in-depth discussions on how to scale up climate
action in the MENA region through the
mobilization of non-Party stakeholders;
regionalization; systems transformation;
collaboration with national governments;
tracking progress and credibility; and
resilience.
The
High-Level Champions also participated in a
global stocktake event, taking forward their
COP26 mandate to support the effective
participation of non-Party stakeholders in the
process and their commitment to make it a
success. They expressed the importance of
converging messages, inclusiveness, regional
balance and highlighting forward-looking
opportunities for ambitious action.
The
Champions will take forward the outcomes and
lessons learned in Dubai towards the upcoming
Regional Climate Weeks to further regionalize
the Marrakech Partnership and support
stakeholders in countries where they need it
most. Watch this space for more on how to
engage! | |
- The
Race to
Zero’s second annual criteria
consultation
is underway, with over 150 independent experts
across eight working groups having gathered to
discuss the Race to Zero criteria, leadership
principles, interpretation guide and lexicon.
Before we open up for a four-week public,
written feedback consultation, we are holding a
webinar
on 22 April to hear the recommendations.
- The
UN
Secretary-General
has assembled a team of experts to develop
stronger standards for net-zero commitments from
the private sector, cities and regions.
- While
the power sector is increasingly moving to
renewables, other major energy-using sectors
remain highly reliant on fossil fuels, including
transport, according to IRENA’s
World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C
Pathway.
A holistic global policy framework is needed to
orchestrate a just transition that strengthens
the international flow of finance, capacity and
technologies.
- 99%
of the population breathes polluted air that
exceeds internationally approved limits, with
negative health impacts kicking in at much lower
levels than previously thought, according to the
World
Health Organization.
Fossil fuels are responsible for most of the
harmful emissions that are linked to acute and
chronic sickness, it said.
- The
world’s 60 largest private banks financed fossil
fuels with US$4.6 trillion between 2016 and
2021, including US$742 billion last year,
according to the Banking
On Climate Chaos
report endorsed by over 500
organizations.
- The
vast potential of groundwater can no longer be
overlooked, and there is an urgent need to
manage it sustainably by developing adequate and
effective groundwater management and governance
policies, according to the UN World
Water Development Report
published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water.
- The
World
Meteorological Organization
is leading efforts to ensure that every person
in the world is protected by early warning
systems within five years, and will present an
action plan at COP27.
- African
nations are showing the way on dealing
with e-waste.
According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 13
countries in Africa had an e-waste policy,
legislation or regulation in place. Their
efforts can be a lesson to other nations around
the world.
- Fisheries
and aquaculture are already under pressure from
climate change, underscoring the need for
companies in the sector to incorporate
science-based emission reduction targets,
according to a UN
Global Compact report
looking at best practices in the area.
- Many
countries are still failing to realize the
potential of including food systems in their
climate strategies, according to the Global
Alliance for the Future of Food.
This work needs to take an equitable and
inclusive approach and ensure a just transition
for people working in the sector.
- Wind
and solar energy were the fastest growing
sources of electricity in 2021, reaching a
record 10% of the global power, according to
Ember.
All clean electricity now accounts for 38% of
supply. However, rebounding demand growth led to
a record rise in coal power and emissions, too.
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