SATURDAY
16 NOVEMBER
Welcome
to the Top of the COP daily newsletter,
brought to you by the UN Climate Change High-Level
Champions. The Top of the COP will highlight
action of non-State actors — businesses,
investors, cities and regions, Indigenous Peoples
and youth — accelerating progress towards 2030
goals.
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Driving
the day
Industry
is rising to the challenge of climate change
making steady progress across certain sectors. But
we need to pick up the pace. Rapid decarbonization
is needed to meet the global goals of the Paris
agreement and build resilience.
At
COP 29, industry leaders are supporting enhanced
national government ambition with new insights on
how policies for stimulating green demand can
rapidly transform heavy industry.
Moving
in the right direction
At
COP 29, global business leaders and a network of
more than 700 financial institutions called
on governments to use policy to stimulate demand
for green products and seize the potential of
industrial decarbonization in a letter
issued by the Industrial Transition Accelerator
(ITA).
New
data
from Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) shows that
out of an estimated 700 commercial-scale projects
that need to be operational by 2030, 136 projects
have successfully moved beyond the Final
Investment Decision (FID) stage.
In
addition, the ITA,
together with the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD)
and its Center for
Decarbonization Demand Acceleration
(CDDA)
released the Green
Purchase Toolkit
to equip businesses that intend to purchase green
commodities with the practical solutions necessary
to stimulate and deliver on demand signals.
Breakthrough
in international collaboration
The
Breakthrough Agenda
- launched at COP 26 to accelerate the global
adoption of clean technologies - has announced
that more than 61 countries, responsible for 80%
of global emissions, have pledged to support a new
series of priority actions to cut carbon in the
coming years. These "Baku Priority International
Actions" aim to strengthen collaboration in key
sectors and advance climate action in the run up
to COP 30 in Brazil.
The
Hydrogen
Breakthrough: Priority International Actions for
2025
aims to expand political support for scaling clean
hydrogen production and use to accelerate progress
towards the Breakthrough goals.
Taking
concrete action
Earlier
this week, global cement leaders called for urgent
government action to support their net zero
mission. The call is included in the Global Cement
and Concrete Association’s (GCCA) Cement Industry
Net Zero Progress
Report
2024/25.
This follows the announcement of industry for
low-carbon cement definitions in recent weeks, an
important signal for faster green market
creation.
Finance
flowing to industry
Last
month, the multilateral Climate
Investment Funds announced
that it will deploy up to USD 1 billion in funding
to decarbonize heavy-emitting industries,
including cement, steel, iron, and chemicals.
These currently represent nearly a quarter of
global greenhouse gas emissions.
Supporting
developing countries through cross-border
collaboration
The
Global
Matchmaking Platform
(GMP)
was launched today. Its aim is to fast-track the
decarbonization of heavy-emitting industries in
emerging and developing economies by offering a
gateway for governments to raise customized
requests and identify globally leading technical
and financial solutions to decarbonize their
energy and emissions-intensive industrial
sectors.
The
GMP is part of the Climate Club. Launched at COP
28, it comprises 43 countries and provides a forum
for exchange on industry
decarbonisation, serving as an enabling
framework for increased collective action across
diverse geographies.
Improving
energy efficiency in Africa
The
African Union and Denmark will provide USD 2
million over three years to support
the implementation of the African
Energy Efficiency Programme
and enable the establishment of an African Energy
Efficiency Alliance, bringing together
governments, businesses, financial institutions,
and donors. The Programme aims to double energy
efficiency by 2030 through grid loss reduction and
development of minimum energy performance
standards.
Rising
demand
To
further accelerate the transition, the Zero
Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA)
announced
this week the first commercial deployment of
e-fuels in the maritime sector through its next
tender to be launched in January 2025. This
would equate to 1.4 million twenty-foot containers
transported across the Pacific Ocean by e-fuels.
Earlier
this week, Norwegian shipping company
Höegh
Autoliners
joined forces with Australian green technology,
energy and metals group Fortescue to call on
global shipping regulators to fast-track the
adoption of green ammonia. The
First
Mover Coalition members
have committed to working together to explore the
technical and commercial requirements for a
green
ammonia
supply
chain for bunkering, from Fortescue’s proposed
global portfolio of projects to Höegh Autoliners’
global bunkering.
Spotlight
on Small and Medium-Enterprises (SMEs).
Today,
the UN High-Level Climate Champion of the COP 29
Presidency, Nigar Arpadarai will host a signature
event for the Climate-Proofing SMEs campaign.
Launched earlier this year, it brings together
more than 40 collaborator organisations and
leaders working to empower SMEs as critical
players in the green transition.
To
date, the campaign reaches almost 90 million SMEs
in more than 100 countries. Almost 9,000 SMEs are
taking ambitious action as members of the
Race to
Zero
through the SME
Climate Hub.
Ms.
Arpadarai will be joined at the event by
representatives of business, finance, academia,
subnational governments and cities, international
organizations, and policymakers to elevate the
role of SMEs as critical drivers of the transition
to a net-zero resilient future.
SMEs
are offering their solutions and insights that
countries can consider in the design of and
implementation of their NDCs. See the new
set of guidelines
by the International Trade Centre, a Climate
Proofing SMEs campaign collaborator.
Earlier
this week, Acumen,
a leading global nonprofit impact investor and
collaborator of the Climate-proofing SME
campaign, announced a USD 300 million climate
finance commitment over the next five years to
support agricultural adaptation founders,
entrepreneurs, and social enterprises across East
and West Africa, India, Latin America, and
Pakistan. This latest commitment makes Acumen one
of the largest adaptation investors in agriculture
for small and vulnerable farmers in developing
markets.
Support
for eco-innovation
Earlier
this month, the Earthsoft Prize announced
a
new global
network,
with 17 initial members, to foster collaboration
between accelerators, incubators and other
organizations supporting climate innovation around
the world, aiming to help a wide range of climate
startups tackle the world’s most pressing
environmental challenges.
The
new programme aims to scale up 10,000
eco-innovations this decade. It has been formed in
collaboration with Undaunted@Imperial
- a partnership between Imperial College London
and The Royal Institution, and home to the UK’s
longest-running specialist climate
accelerator.
Innovative
climate technologies and artificial intelligence
are also enhancing industrial resilience. For
example, Race to Zero member Google’s Flood
Hub
is an operational early warning system that
produces real-time flooding and river level
forecasts to more than 80 countries.
Making
an impact
In
the face of the climate crisis, solutions are
emerging faster than ever, tackling every aspect
of the challenge. The new High-Level Champions’
series, Impact Makers, shines a spotlight on those
leading this change from the ground up.
Explore
today’s Impact Makers, revolutionizing industries
from wine and textiles, to energy and
transport.
REYHAN
JAMALOVA -
Harnessing the power of rain to solve energy
poverty
PABLO
CASTELLANOS RAMELLI
-
Extending the life of lithium-ion batteries for
clean energy in Latin America
FRANNY
COLLINGHAM
- Creating a sustainable fashion future through
low-impact, timeless design
MIGUEL A
TORRES
- Paving the way for a climate-resilient future in
winemaking
Call
for inputs: COP29 climate action
announcements
The
UNFCCC secretariat is tracking climate action
announcements made at the twenty-ninth session of
the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), including
the launch of:
- climate
initiatives;
- pledges
and declarations;
- publications
and reports;
- any
other climate action announcements.
This
information will be used to inform the Global
Climate Action Portal (GCAP), formally known as
Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA),
in particular, its COP 29 event page. Please find
the online form to submit your inputs here
or
via the QR code below.
For
further information please visit: https://climateaction.unfccc.int/Events/COP29).
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