UN
Global Climate Action
15
September
2022 | |
High Level Climate Champions
Newsletter | |
Propelling Climate
Finance | |
As with all
countries, putting the environment and climate
resilience at the heart of sustainable
development is fundamental for western Asia. But
to ensure the region weathers the storm of
climate breakdown – and maintains water, energy
and food security – more must be done to
mobilize finance among Arab
States.
This is the
focus of the fourth of five Regional Finance
Forums, taking place in Beirut,
Lebanon, on 15
September, which aims to accelerate this kind of
progress by showcasing bankable projects with a
view to accelerating implementation in the
region. (Register
here).
The projects
presented within the forum, to be catalyzed by
innovative forms of finance and regional
initiatives, can create opportunities for public
and private investment.
This follows
the Finance
Forum in Latin America and the
Caribbean,
held in Santiago, Chile earlier this month, with
a focus on the need for public and private
finance and different financing mechanisms to
strengthen human capital, creating green jobs,
addressing inequalities and building resilient
economies – while driving the clean energy
transition.
The high cost
of energy infrastructure is currently delaying
the region’s transition to net zero emissions,
and calls for more investment in electricity
storage and transmission, delegates agreed.
Legal certainty and regulatory frameworks and
improved interest rates are also essential to
increasing investments. Innovating blended
public-private financing mechanisms can help to
reduce risks.
A
number of projects ready to be financed in the
areas of climate change, environment, water and
energy were presented in the forum. The process
of project preparation and building the
narrative of champion projects in Latin America
and the Caribbean ready to be funded will
continue until COP27.
Electromobility was also
a major focus, as a lack of research and
development and human capital has made it hard
to cut emissions from transport in the region.
There was a consensus during the meeting that
Latin America and the Caribbean cannot be just
an exporter of raw materials such as copper and
lithium, but also needs to develop productive
and technological capacities at
home.
The forums
are convened by the High-Level Champions, the
Egyptian COP 27 Presidency, and the UN Economic
and Social Commission. The final forum takes
place in Geneva, Switzerland on 17
October. | |
Making good
on promises – proving that ambitious targets are
for real and being backed by immediate
implementation – is the theme of this year’s
Climate
Week NYC, on
19-24 September.
Thousands of
businesses, investors, cities and regions are
taking action to halve emissions within this
decade and build resilience, but thousands more
are not. The events the High-Level Champions are
taking part in over the week aim to change this,
and to elevate attention on resilience work to
the level of mitigation.
Among them,
the Champions on 20 September are taking part in
a ‘nature
positive for a net zero future’ investor convening,
which will underline actions that financial
institutions should be taking to tackle
commodity-driven deforestation; and hosting a
workshop, Action
After Impacts,
which focuses on actions businesses are already
taking and how they can be scaled
up.
The Champions
are also hosting a summit
on 21 September with Michael R.
Bloomberg, convening business, finance,
government, civic and cultural leaders. It aims
to ensure the fulfilment of promises and drive
radical collaboration, and highlight the need to
accelerate the mobilization of
capital.
Other events
include an in-person meeting of Marrakech
Partnership stakeholders to collectively respond
to developments during Climate Week and discuss
strategic coordination leading up to
COP. | |
How To Put Solutions Into Action In
Africa | |
Africa is
often thought of as a continent of problems
related to climate change – in terms of
adaptation, resilience and mitigation. But its
wealth of resources – from renewable energy
sources, to rare earth needed for low-carbon
technologies, to nature and biodiversity – makes
it a huge and crucial
part of the solution.
Making
the most of this potential requires dedicated
work from national, regional and local
governments, investors, businesses, civil
society and others within this decade, with a
holistic approach, a stronger focus on
implementation, the translation of commitments
into action, mobilization of finance, and
localization.
This was the
High-Level Champions’ opening message at
Africa
Climate Week
this month, which worked to spur action by
creating an open and reflective space in which
to discuss how to unlock shared opportunities
and manage shared risks. The climate week, held
in Libreville, Gabon, drew an attendance of more
than 2,300 people.
Over the
week, delegates explored solutions
including:
High-quality
carbon credits: Strengthening the integrity of
carbon markets and urging corporations to invest
in high-quality credits is crucial to reaching
net zero emissions by 2050, which requires both
emission reductions and removals. Carbon credits
need to support nature and biodiversity
regeneration, and benefit local and indigenous
communities.
Climate-smart,
nature-positive, nutritious food systems in
Africa: Strengthening the economic underpinnings
that connect input suppliers, producers, food
processors, retailers and consumers to
sustainable and healthy food systems. This
requires aligned land ownership policies,
de-risking investments, and technical assistance
and know-how – including smallholder farmers and
small and medium enterprises.
Waste
management and circular economy: Growing
urbanization is putting more pressure on waste
management, but shifting to a circular economy
can feed waste back into the African economy.
Women, young people, marginalized communities
and people working in informal sectors must be
placed at the centre of new governance
structures, to ensure that they benefit from the
shift.
A report on open waste burning
in Africa earlier this year, produced in
partnership with the High-Level Champions, found
that 70-80% of the municipal solid waste
generated in African cities is recyclable and
could be worth US$8 billion per year if kept in
a circular economy.
Regionalization: The
Champions and Marrakech Partnership were
encouraged to adopt an inclusive, holistic,
bottom-up and needs-based approach, including
and supporting indigenous peoples, local
entrepreneurs, women, youth and other groups,
and ensuring that regional contexts and needs
are heard across the Global Stocktake
processes.
A just energy
transition: Africa needs to decarbonize in order
to advance in a future low-carbon world, and
build resilience to climate change impacts. But
the energy transition is difficult for a
continent where 43% of the population (600
million) lack access to electricity and soaring
energy and food prices are reversing the
improvement of energy access. The energy
transition is therefore not just about a
transition from fossil fuels to clean sources,
but also about providing affordable and reliable
energy for African people.
Climate
finance and gender considerations: Africa
Climate Week reiterated the need to channel and
dramatically scale finance for the whole of
Africa, turning the trillions pledged into
billions invested now without exacerbating debt
burdens and placing women at the heart of the
solutions.
The Africa
Development Bank is leading on developing green
banks across the region to provide local,
specialised finance facilities ready to invest
in sustainable projects. The Africa
Cities Water Adaptation Fund and Africa
Forests Restoration fund aim to accelerate
financing for resilience in Africa. Standard
Chartered bank has also set aside US$300 billion
of sustainable financing in Asia and Africa –
the type of action that needs to grow
exponentially across the private sector.
| |
Keeping Up With The
Champions | |
- Africa must be a key
partner in climate action, and policies must be
developed in African countries to activate
innovative financing tools including debt swaps,
Mahmoud
Mohieldin
stressed in a speech at the International
Cooperation Forum.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin took
part in a meeting between representatives of
multilateral development banks, led by European
Investment Bank, and the Egyptian COP 27
Presidency to prepare points of common interest
in climate finance.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin met
Singaporean Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and
discussed the importance of activating blended
finance to encourage investment in smart green
projects.
- Nigel
Topping and
Mahmoud
Mohieldin
attended the Africa
Adaptation Summit in Rotterdam
alongside African Heads of State,
Kristalina Georgieva, Amina Mohamed, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala and other world leaders, where
discussions set the foundation for effective
adaptation financing measures for Africa at COP
27.
- Mahmoud Mohieldin met
Jari Kaupilla, head of the International Transport
Forum, in
Paris to discuss Egypt’s COP 27 priorities and
mobilizing the transport
sector.
- Nigel Topping and
Mahmoud Mohieldin took part in the Latin America
and the Caribbean Finance Forum in Santiago,
Chile. Topping talked
about the need
to finance the complete energy transformation of
the carbon economy while driving a just
development of emerging economies. Mohieldin
discussed the need to focus
implementation and alignment of policies for
both the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable
Development Goals for 2030.
- Mahmoud Mohieldin
met with Andrew Forrest, CEO of Fortescue
Metals Group, to discuss green energy
investments in Egypt.
- At the 3Zero World Forum
in Paris, Mahmoud
Mohieldin
discussed how Africa’s food systems and
malnutrition rates have been impacted by climate
change and how climate action has to be targeted
specifically in Africa, being the world’s lowest
emitter yet one of the continent’s worst
affected.
- At Africa
Climate Week
in Libreville, Mahmoud
Mohieldin
described it as “unprecedented matchmaking”
event for real-world climate projects; Nigel
Topping
disputed the myth that there is no business case
for adaptation investment; and the Champions’
Africa Director Bogolo
Kenwendo
called for greater focus on adaptation and
resilience in Africa.
| |
- The expression of interest to participate in
the Global
Stocktake
technical dialogue at COP 27 is now open. The
technical dialogue will help countries and
stakeholders see where they’re collectively
making progress towards meeting the goals of the
Paris Agreement. Cities, subnational regions,
businesses, investors and civil society are
encouraged to participate in order to highlight
opportunities for transformational climate
action and apply by 22
September.
- Climate action finance
is falling short by US$2-3 trillion per year,
with large economies failing to commit to their
pledges totalling around US$100 billion per
year, Mahmoud Mohieldin told Daily
News Egypt. It
is unfair for developing countries to accumulate
debt in order to fund the climate adaptation
gap.
- Climate change in Africa
is disrupting rainfall patterns and causing
glaciers to disappear and key lakes to shrink,
according to a World
Meteorological Organization report. Rising water
demand, combined with limited and unpredictable
supplies, threatens to aggravate conflict and
displacement.
- The lack of access to
clean cooking is the most underinvested health
and environmental problem in the world, and
should be scaled up as a solution to conserving
and regenerating nature, according to a
Clean
Cooking Alliance report. It offers
recommendations for achieving this.
- Only 0.5% of
international development funding – or US$11
billion – went towards improving outdoor air
quality between 2015 and 2020, while US$46.6
billion went to projects that prolong the use of
fossil fuels between 2015 and 2021, according to
a report by the Clean
Air Fund.
Philanthropic funding for air quality rose by
36% to US$63.8 billion in 2021, but accounts for
just 0.1% of total philanthropic
funding.
- 99% of people are
exposed to air pollution exceeding the World
Health Organization’s guidelines for human
health, but the impacts are much greater on low-
and middle-income countries and vulnerable
populations, according to a report by Greenpeace. India has the highest
proportion of people exposed to particulate
matter levels five times higher than WHO
guidelines, followed by Turkey, Thailand and
South Africa.
- The Climate Action Data
2.0 community is launching a datathon during
Climate Week NYC to support the Global
Stocktake, which will culminate with three
winners presenting their work on Science Day at
COP27. A successful Global Stocktake requires
publicly available data to measure progress
towards the Paris Agreement. The datathon runs
for three weeks from 21 September.
- The California State Teachers’
Retirement System, a member of the
Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, has
approved four initial measures for integrating
the net zero strategy across its portfolio, with
a focus on emission reductions. This includes a
goal to halve emissions across its investment
portfolios by 2030, in line with the latest IPCC
science.
- The early-stage climate
syndicate 4WARD.VC, which supports
companies working on climate action, has
published a climate
investor guide
to help startup companies find their ideal
investor and secure funding. It’s a database on
more than 600 climate venture capitals and
accelerators.
| |
- UN
General Assembly in New York, US: 13-27 September
- Regional
Finance Forum in Beirut, Lebanon: 15 September
- Under2
Coalition General Assembly in New York: 19 September
- Uniting
Business LIVE:
19-21 September
- Climate
Week NYC:
19-25 September
- Towards
COP27: UNECE Forum on Climate Initiatives in
Geneva, Switzerland: 20 September
- United
Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and
Resilience Forum: 21 September
- Global
Methane, Climate and Clean Air Forum
2022: 26 - 29
September
- Global
Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh,
US: 21-23
September
- Daring
Cities 2022:
3-7 October
- OECD
Forum on Green Finance and Investment: 5-7
October
- 2022
Daejeon United Cities and Local Governments
World Congress in Daejeon, South Korea: 10-14
October
- IMF-World Bank Autumn Meetings in
Washington, DC, US: 14-16
October
- World
Food Day 2022:
16 October
- World
Health Summit 2022: 16-18
October
- Cairo
Water Week:
16-19 October
- Regional
Finance Forum in Geneva, Switzerland: 17
October
- C40
World Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires,
Argentina:
19-21 October
- G20
Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia: 30-31 October
- COP27 in
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: 6-18
November
- Convention on Biodiversity COP15,
Canada: 7-19
December
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