UN
Climate Change
Global
Climate Action
15
September
2021 | |
High Level Climate Champions
Newsletter | |
Only
seven weeks left to go before national
governments, cities, regions, businesses,
investors and citizens meet at COP26 for our
last big chance to unite as a global,
multilateral community forging a healthier,
fairer and more resilient future of net zero
emissions.
The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
latest
findings
made clear that we are running out of time to
limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To do it,
we need to halve greenhouse gas emissions
between 2020-2030 - equivalent to a 7.6 per
cent cut
every year of the 2020s. At the same time, we
need to regenerate nature and build resilience
to the floods, droughts, extreme temperatures
and other impacts we cannot mitigate.
The
number of promising commitments to net zero in
or before the 2040s has reached a tipping point,
yet examples of those already cutting annual
emissions by 7.6% are scarce. So it’s time to
act, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the action needs to be global.
That
is why we welcomed COP26 President Alok Sharma’s
announcement last week
that the UK will fund the quarantine for party
delegates, observers, non-party stakeholders,
and media members arriving from red list area
from red-list countries and support full
inclusion at the summit, especially from those
on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
The
Climate
Vulnerable Forum
of 45 at-risk countries also called for an
in-person COP26, with robust Covid-19 measures
and special support for vulnerable developing
countries and infrastructure to include those
who can only join virtually. “This is the most
important meeting for the future of the planet
and it cannot wait,” the forum said.
Of
course, the work
starts now
- before Glasgow. The G7’s Build
Back Better World initiative
can start mobilizing private capital in
developing countries towards climate action,
health, digital technology and gender equity and
equality. This week’s UN General Assembly can
strengthen the drive for universal Covid-19
vaccinations, while the UN Food Systems Summit
on 23 September can launch public-private
initiatives to transform the food sector. G20
leaders, finally, can reaffirm their commitments
to reaching zero emissions by mid-century and
taking the steps needed to get there.
If
we do this, by COP26 we will have set the
building blocks for a whole-of-society Marshall
Plan for climate action that embeds the IPCC’s
science across the economy and drives ambition
from businesses, investors, cities and regions
up to national governments.
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The Race to Zero
Wastewater | |
One
way to mitigate climate change, build resilience
and reverse biodiversity loss at the same time
is to put an end to wastewater pollution and
stem the rise of freshwater withdrawals within
this decade, in line with the Marrakech
Partnership’s Climate
Action Pathway for the water sector.
Some
80 per cent of wastewater is discharged into the
environment without any treatment, contributing
to the risk of disease for 1.8
billion people
who are drinking contaminated water. Wastewater
also harms freshwater biodiversity and emits
greenhouse gas emissions, including around 6 per
cent of potent methane.
More
than 2 billion people now live in countries
experiencing high water stress. This problem is
likely to grow as the population grows, climate
impacts intensify and industries depend on
good-quality water for operations like power
generation, textiles and apparel manufacturing,
food and beverage production, chemicals
production and mining.
But
industries can help turn the water crisis into a
solution to mitigating climate change and
building resilience - first off, by committing
to phasing out wastewater pollution within this
decade.
The
World Business Council for Sustainable
Development is working with CDP and UN-Habitat
to mobilize businesses to do just that ahead of
COP26, through the Wastewater Zero
Commitment
initiative launched this year and last month’s
World
Water Week events.
The Wastewater Zero Commitment challenges
businesses to eliminate wastewater pollution and
increase the proportion of reused and recycled
water and low-carbon treatment processes across
their operations and supply chains by 2030.
| |
Climate Week NYC: Every Fraction
Counts | |
Joining
the high-level champions, the event features
COP26 President Alok Sharma, UNFCCC Executive
Secretary Patricia Espinosa, UN High Level
Climate Action Champions Nigel Topping and
Gonzalo Muñoz, Google CFO Ruth Porat, Global
Ambassador to Race to Zero and Race to
Resilience Dr Susan Chomba, PwC Chairman Bob
Moritz and other leaders to call for a
gear-shift from ambition to implementation.
| |
Registration
is now open for Africa
Climate Week 2021,
hosted by the Government of Uganda from 26-29
September. The virtual climate week will look at
climate action solutions and ways to incorporate
them into the Covid-19 recovery, as one of UN
Climate Change’s regional meetings ahead of
COP26.
It
will focus on three thematic sessions: national
actions and economy-wide approaches; integrated
approaches for climate-resilient development;
and seizing transformation opportunities. The
High-Level Champions’ line-up of events includes
their Implementation Lab on 29 September, 2-4pm
GMT+3, and looking at a net-zero, resilient
transport future for Africa, as described in
Marrakech Partnership’s
Climate
Action Pathway for the transport sector.
| |
- The
Climate Vulnerable Forum of countries is calling
on the COP26 to deliver a Climate
Emergency Pact
that rebuilds confidence in international
climate cooperation, accelerates adaptation and
keeps the 1.5C limit within reach.
- The
leaders of the
Roman
Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and
the Anglican Communion
have for the first time jointly warned of the
urgency of climate change and biodiversity loss,
warning about their impact on poverty. Pope
Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and
Archbishop Justin Welby called on people to pray
for leaders at COP26, asked people to make
“meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the
planet”, and asked those with “far-reaching
responsibilities” “to choose people-centred
profits”.
- Looking
for real-world examples of progress on climate
action? The new Climate
Progress Snapshots
open-access database pulls together the biggest,
most interesting and most insightful stories of
progress on climate action and the impacts we’re
already seeing. Hosted by the Camda
analytical community, Snapshots is a resource
for communicators, journalists, experts and
social leaders looking for stories and trends
that help tell a wider story of change. Bookmark
it and browse!
- Of
the 124 countries with air quality standards,
only 57 continuously monitor the air, while 104
countries don’t have monitoring infrastructure
in place, according to a UN
Environment Programme
released on International Day of Clean Air for
blue skies.
It also launched an interactive dashboard
showing the state of pollution, major sources,
the impact on human health and national efforts
to tackle it.
- Development
funders around the world are spending 21 per
cent more aid money on projects prolonging the
use of fossil fuels than on projects to improve
air quality, according to the Clean Air
Fund’s
State of
Global Air Quality Funding 2021
report,
released on Clean Air Day. Air pollution-related
deaths in aid-recipient countries are at an
all-time high.
- In
an eight-part podcast series,
Laying
Down Tracks,
the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters
delve into issues and put forward solutions
related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate
change and more.
- “The
greatest threat to global public health is the
continued failure of world leaders to keep the
global temperature rise below 1.5C and to
restore nature,” according to an editorial
published in 233 health journals on Clean Air
Day.
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