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UN
Global Climate Action
01
September
2023 | |
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High-Level
Champions'
Newsletter | |
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Africa’s
Moment is Upon
Us | |
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Africa Climate Week is the first
of four Regional Climate Weeks
coordinated by the UN Climate Change. It is taking
place from 4-8 September 2023 in Nairobi, Africa,
hosted by the Government of Kenya. The climate
weeks, which will also take place in the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the
Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific, provide vital opportunities to
rally policymakers, cities, subnational regions,
business, investors, practitioners, and civil
society to address barriers and unlock climate
solutions in regions. The climate weeks will also
contribute to the Global Stocktake process,
concluding at COP 28, by bringing focus to
specific, region-relevant, forward-looking actions
to accelerate progress towards a resilient 1.5 C
trajectory.
Both UN Climate Change
High-Level Champions will be attending in Nairobi,
as a culmination of their engagement to galvanise
stakeholders, from all levels of governments to
civil society groups to investors, over preceding
months in support of climate action and nature
restoration opportunities in Africa. An overview
of the High-Level Champions’ engagement at the
Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week is
available here.
Transforming Africa into
a green powerhouse
This
is Africa’s moment. There is now an
enormous opportunity for the continent to show its
importance as a driver of global markets on
energy, heavy industry and the burgeoning market
for ecosystem services, as a key solutions
provider for a net zero and resilient future. For
example, according to the IEA, Africa could supply the
entire world with affordable low-carbon energy in
the form of hydrogen. In addition, Africa could
power its rising industry and provide green energy
to 600 million Africans who today
do not have access to electricity, plus
approximately one billion people without means
of clean cooking.
The UN Climate Change
High-Level Champion for COP 27, Mr. Mahmoud
Mohieldin, as well as Ms. Frannie Leautier, CEO of
SouthBridge Investments, recently wrote an article in ‘African Business’ on
how African countries, such as Egypt, Morocco,
Mauritania and Kenya, could be electrified with
renewable power. In doing so, they would create
the conditions to produce, use and export green
hydrogen. These solutions and many others can
combine to power Africa’s economic growth, as well
as helping regions such as Europe to realise their
climate
commitments. | |
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Realising
Africa’s bioeconomy opportunity | |
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After renewable energy, the
next best action to support halving net
emissions by 2030 is to halt the destruction of
forests and instead invest in Africa’s abundant
nature and the ecosystem services that it
provides. Africa is home to many critical
biodiversity hotspots and more than 20% of the
world’s protected areas, yet it receives less than
3% of global climate finance. This has to change.
The continent is particularly well placed to
develop a bioeconomy; by capitalising on restoring
and protecting vital carbon sinks. Sustainably
managing Africa’s natural gifts would allow
numerous Sustainable Development Goals to be met
by 2030, while creating jobs, improving health and
food security, as well as generating wealth by
connecting smallholder farmers to new bio-based
value chains.
To realise the
opportunities for Africa’s bioeconomy, it’s
critical to draw upon the traditional knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and farmers
who understand the importance of working with
nature, not against it. | |
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Pioneering
African climate
solutions | |
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In the wake of the shocking
recent wildfires and flooding - in Europe and
North America - it’s crystal clear that financing
climate adaptation and mitigation is far more
cost-effective than financing crisis responses to
shocks (not accounting for the tragic human toll
of extreme weather events). That’s why the
High-Level Champions are supporting actions for
investment of public and private finance into
projects in developing countries. This drives
major impact - firstly in boosting the economy and
resilience of regions, as well as supporting the
globally-agreed mission to curtail the climate
crisis.
Africa Climate Week is no
exception - it will showcase a pipeline of 15
shortlisted projects that can be quickly activated
across the continent. For example, investors will
be presented with the following bankable
opportunities:
- Imperative Global’s $180
million carbon credit program to restore
Malawi’s forest and provide improved cookstoves
in the country.
- A
$192 million project, led by Oando Clean Energy, to
transform Nigeria’s transport system through
procurement of e-buses and charging
infrastructure.
Numerous game-changing
African projects are seeking projects to raise
investment by COP 28, with funding requirements
ranging from $3 million to $200 million. For
example, a new series of videos below demonstrates
the wide range of qualified investment
opportunities.
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Guest
interview: Susan Chomba, Global Director of Vital
Landscapes at the World Resources Institute
(WRI) | |
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Susan leads the
institution’s work on Forests, Food systems and
People which includes forest landscape
restoration, sustainable agriculture/food systems
and thriving rural livelihoods in Africa. Susan is
a distinguished global ambassador for the Race to
Zero and Race to Resilience under the High-Level
Champions.
Realising
Africa’s latecomer advantage - empowering a global
climate leader in waiting
In her role at the WRI,
Ms. Susan Chomba leads the Food, Land and Water
programs in Africa under the Vital landscapes
pillar. Susan is leading the nature track and has
contributed to the Food Systems as a whole at the
Africa Climate Summit and the Africa Climate Week
next week. Here, Susan explains her vision for the
summit - and the opportunity to transform Africa’s
food systems - while setting in motion a reset of
the global food system as a whole.
Increasingly, the world
is waking up to Africa’s potential as a pivotal
leader in the climate crisis. Why is Africa
central to the climate change
conundrum?
Africa does not bring
all of the historical baggage of major emitting
countries to the climate crisis. The entire
continent contributes less than four per cent of
global greenhouse gases, an amount that is
absorbed by African forests currently. So, Africa
comes to the table with an even ledger in terms of
carbon debt. This allows African countries to see
two things clearly.
Firstly, we must avoid
coupling the growth of our economies with
volatile, polluting fossil fuels. Secondly, we
must protect Africa’s existing ability to act as a
carbon sink - and more than this, on the way to
2050 we must massively boost the capacity of
natural systems to absorb the emissions already
locked into the atmosphere.
I call this “Africa’s
latecomer advantage” - it’s a clear perspective
that a different path is vital and possible. But
make no mistake, Africa cannot realise the
opportunity by itself.
What are the key
opportunities for Africa?
Africa has all the
ingredients of a global climate leader. Firstly,
Africa’s natural resources are unsurpassed,
accounting for 30% of the world's mineral
reserves, many of which are critical to renewable
and low-carbon technologies, such as electric
vehicles. The continent is also home to vast areas
of uncultivated land and forests, for example, the
Congo Basin absorbs four per cent of global carbon
emissions annually - even more carbon than the
Amazon. These factors add up to huge potential for
Africa to pioneer climate mitigation, direct
carbon capture, and the transformation of global
food systems.
Secondly, Africa is
projected to overtake Asia as the world's
fastest-growing region, with a ready market of
over 1.4 billion people, twice that of Europe. As
Africa also has the youngest population in the
world, we’re not entrenched in conventional ways
of working. With the right steer new innovation
can be designed by Africa’s young people and
rapidly scaled across the countries of the
continent.
What are the key food
challenges faced by Africa?
Africa is one of the
world’s critical bread baskets but it’s facing a
perfect storm leaving nearly 290 million Africans
facing hunger. Almost 60% of arable land on the
continent is degraded - and rising, largely due to
failed industrial farming methods, placing yields
on a downward trajectory.
Climate change is
exacerbating food shortages. Agriculture is also
one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate
change, especially droughts and cyclones, which is
increasing in frequency and severity in the Horn
of Africa countries, such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and
South Sudan. Cyclone Freddie was also one of the
most dangerous cyclones of the last few decades;
having a massive effect on food security in
countries like Malawi. And when extreme weather
events of this scale hit, they wipe out previous
attempts to bolster food security.
Simultaneously, the
cost of traditional fossil fuel-based fertiliser
has soared in African countries such as Kenya, due
to the war in Ukraine. With yields falling, prices
rising, and without adequate support systems,
African farmers are increasingly clearing areas of
forest, wetlands and grasslands to feed
themselves, which drives further biodiversity and
habitat loss. To break this cycle, we must
urgently scale-up innovative, regenerative and
agroecological practices.
And lastly, the global
food system, including the processing, transport,
and retailing of food, is responsible for at least
a third of GHGs. So, it’s impossible to meet the
1.5 target unless we address emissions from the
food system as a whole - from farm to fork -
including food production, transport, processing,
through to retail. The good news is that the
solutions to decarbonising the core emissions of
food production, can also enable land degradation
to be addressed, while drastically improving the
resilience and health of African
communities.
How can the upcoming
Africa Climate Week catalyse African climate
leadership?
The
summit is a major moment to unify African
stakeholders to address the climate and finance
issues ahead of the COP 28 climate talks.
Crucially, the summit is open to all. It’s not
just about politicians negotiating at a top-level
- it’s an opportunity for the voice of private
sector actors, especially smallholder farmers, to
be heard. This is crucial. Also, it’s an
opportunity to match up innovative ideas and new
models with investors that are seeking bankable,
long term solutions to the climate crisis. The
summit should connect large-scale investors with
small-scale innovators on the ground in Africa, so
that investment is not just absorbed by big-scale
corporate players. We need to consciously catalyse
small-scale initiatives, allowing them to grow and
attract investors of their own.
What does success look
like for this Africa Climate Week?
Beyond the talks, I
want to see changes in policies, new deals for
sustainable innovation on energy, food systems and
nature. I want to see more positive engagement
with civil society, with new faces bringing forth
innovative ideas, more innovators farmers,
smallholder farmers, and Indigenous Peoples
explaining what they’re already doing and what
help they need, so that we can link them up with
investors, and policymakers. Every segment of
African society can be involved, and by working
together we can put tangible outcomes on the
table.
To read the full
interview, including details of the AFR100 and
Niger’s Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)
restoration projects, please click here.
A
video excerpt of the interview can be found
here | |
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ACTO
Summit: Drawing on Indigenous knowledge to save
the forest
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The Amazon rainforest is
crucial to a stable global climate. And so, the
recent Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation
(ACTO) Summit was a vital moment to focus leaders’
minds on their duty to protect the rainforest from
further damage from deforestation and the impacts
of a warming climate. The Summit, held in the
Brazilian city of Belém in August 2023, gathered
Heads of State from the eight countries spanned by
the Amazon, plus international leaders, and civil
society, including Indigenous Peoples who have
traditionally been overlooked in climate action
campaigns.
On the coinciding
International Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the
High-Level Champion for COP 28, H.E. Ms. Al
Mubarak strongly advocated for Indigenous Peoples,
the true guardians of the forest, who can draw on
centuries of knowledge of protecting their
ancestral lands. Indigenous Peoples make up just
6% of the global population, yet their lands are
home to an astounding 80% of the world's biodiversity. To empower
Indigenous Peoples, H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak called for direct access to finance for
Indigenous Peoples and the integration of the food
and forest agendas.
H.E. Razan Al Mubarak
commented:
“It is time to embrace a
rights-based approach to climate justice that
centers on the Indigenous Peoples from the Amazon
basin… In doing so, we can ensure Indigenous
Peoples and Local Communities have the agency and
support needed to protect their lands,
livelihoods, and, ultimately, the health of our
planet.”
This sentiment was echoed
by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who called
for a fairer share of benefits from the Amazon's
natural resources - and international finance - to
go to forest communities, as part of a "just
ecological transition."
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The summit's final declaration did not
address a range of urgent priorities, including a
proposed goal to end deforestation by 2030, plus
ending oil development and illegal gold mining in
the Amazon. It’s paramount that stakeholders rally
behind the solutions to these issues at the
upcoming
Latin America and Caribbean Climate
Week (LACCW 2023): Panama City,
in 23-27 October, and further at COP 28.
However, the ACTO
declaration’s strong support for Indigenous
Peoples’ rights and protections was welcomed as a
starting point by Indigenous leaders and
environmental groups, although they called for
promises to be followed up with action.
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Declaration
Puts Food on the Table at COP
28 | |
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The Leaders Declaration on
Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Action,
recently launched at the UN Food Systems Summit+2
(UNFSS+2) in Rome on
24-26 July, strongly urged nations to align
their food systems with their climate
commitments.
As a co-chair of the Food
Systems and Agriculture Agenda at COP 28
(alongside the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development and Boston Consulting
Group), the High-Level Champions’ are now rallying
leaders from across food value chains, from
farmers, manufacturers, financiers to civil
society, to fast-track the regenerative transition
of agricultural landscapes and food systems.
Together, these actors can drive major progress
across food production, consumption, loss and
waste. Food systems are not only vital for meeting
societal needs and enabling adaptation to climate
impacts but are also responsible for significant
greenhouse gas emissions – representing up to 33%
of total global emissions. By engaging food system
players in this way, nations can correctly
understand the opportunity to drive down emissions
in our food systems, allowing them to, in turn,
strengthen country climate commitments.
Aligning food systems with
nature not only yields ecological and health
benefits – but also helps to maintain soil
health and increase long term crop yields,
reducing the cost of inputs like fertiliser,
boosting resilience, and meeting growing demand
for sustainably produced foods. As Gonzalo Munoz,
former UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for
COP25 recently highlighted, “Embracing
these solutions can be a win-win-win situation: a
healthy planet, healthy people, and a healthier
bottom line.”
The Declaration
preceded a forecast that global heating is likely to disrupt
food supplies well before temperatures rise by the
1.5C target; threatening global
agriculture faster than previously expected. The
warning, issued by Alain-Richard Donwahi, who led
last year’s UN Convention to Combat
Desertification summit, COP 15, is yet another key
reason for the food value chain to collaborate to
create a food system that is resilient to
increasing water
scarcity. | |
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Race
to Zero latest developments:
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Race
to Resilience latest developments:
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The
Resilience Hub is returning to the annual Conference of
the Parties (COP) for its third year. Through the
partnership with the UN Climate Change High-Level
Champions, the
Resilience Hub pavilion will continue to serve as
the home of the Race to Resilience campaign. This
year the Hub will feature a diverse program –
available online and in-person, that places
resilience front and centre on the climate action
agenda at COP 28, delivering on the mission of the
partners to accelerate knowledge, action on and
investment in climate resilience.
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News
from Race to Resilience
Partners | |
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- The Extreme Heat Resilience
Alliance led by
Arsht-Rock has appointed Hillary
Rodham Clinton,
67th United States Secretary of State, as Global
Ambassador for Heat, Health, and Gender. In her
new role, Secretary Clinton will raise awareness
on the disproportionate impacts of climate-driven
extreme heat health-related risks on women and
girls.
- The Risk Informed Early Action
Partnership (REAP)
welcomed The Republic of Gambia´s National
Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) as its newest member.
- Scale for
Resilience
launched the Women in Resilience Finance
Mentorship Program (WiRF). The WiRF Mentor
Program will unite women across the entire
financial value chain in order to build strong
relationships among the women in Resilience
Finance, empowering them to take leadership roles
in their fields.
- Global
Evergreening Alliance (GEA) is kicking off the next phase
of the Restore Africa Programme with Climate Impact Partners
in Kenya. A further USD 180 million is being
invested into Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia,
Tanzania and Zambia.
Solution
Stories: Learn
more about the Race to Resilience partners leading
action from the ground -
- Nepal: Protecting farmers with flood
insurance
Partner:
Insuresilience
- Reviving Brazil’s Babassu: A
sustainable alternative to imported palm
oil
Partner:
Initiative 20×20
- The guardians of the mangrove forest
in West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Partner: Global Mangrove
Alliance | |
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Keeping up with the
Champions | |
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H.E. Ms.
Al Mubarak attended Earth Overshoot Day
event
H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak joined
leaders including the President of Slovenia and a
range of the country’s Government Ministers, plus
the International Resource Panel at UNEP, to mark
the annual day when humanity's demands on nature
exceed Earth's biocapacity. H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak’s
address can be found here. | |
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Dr.
Mohieldin chairs the GFANZ Africa Network Meeting
Mohieldin joined the GFANZ
Africa
Network Board Members in a virtual meeting to
advance discussions on regional Climate Finance
priorities ahead of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) and Africa
Climate Week (ACW) during the first week of
September in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr.
Mohieldin joined the Sharing Actions Africa
Meeting
The High-Level Champions in
partnership with Sharing Strategies have convened
the third of their series of Sharing Actions
Africa meetings to discuss the upcoming ACS in
Kenya. During the meeting, Mohieldin shared his
views around the ideal narrative of the Summit
encompassing the intersection of climate and SDGs,
followed by a presentation from Joseph Ng’ang’a,
Africa Climate Summit CEO.
Champions
attended Independent High Level Expert Group
(IHLEG) on Climate Finance talks
Both Champions attended two
days of talks held in Abu Dhabi, where
they highlighted the importance of blended
finance for climate action. The talks were
convened by the COP 28 Presidency, with delegates
including the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action
& Finance, the International Monetary Fund,
and the World
Bank. | |
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Independent
High Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance
roundtable. Credit: Gulf
Today | |
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Dr.
Mohieldin calls for urgent replenishment of the
Green Climate Fund in Financial Times
Mohieldin highlighted
the status of the centrepiece of the climate
finance landscape, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) -
in a Financial Times column. The article
explained that new finance commitments at the
upcoming GCF pledging conference on October 5th in
Germany can provide a key signal to the developing
world, ahead of COP28.
Dr.
Mohieldin participated in a meeting on Climate
Finance Capacity Building
Mohieldin participated in a
virtual roundtable meeting convened by GFANZ in
collaboration with the UN Climate Action Team to
discuss the establishment of a global coalition of
organisations providing capacity building support
to emerging markets and developing country
financial institutions to facilitate their
transition.
Dr.
Mohieldin and AlKhulaif discuss Bahrain Efforts to
Achieve SDGs
On the sidelines of
the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development 2023 in New York, Mohieldin met Noor
Bint Ali AlKhulaif, Bahraini Minister of
Sustainable Development. They discussed Bahrain’s
progress against its dual goals of boosting
economic development, and meeting the sustainable
development
goals. | |
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● The Summary
Report of the
third meeting of the Global Stocktake’s technical
dialogue (TD 1.3) which took place from 6-13 June
2023 during the SB 58 sessions has been published
on the UNFCCC website here. An overarching factual
synthesis report is expected to be published by 8
September. The co-facilitators intend to organize
an informal consultation on both of the reports
tentatively in mid-September and the exact date
will be confirmed on the GST website.
● Submissions from Parties and non-Party
stakeholders
of views on the
elements for the consideration of the outputs
component of the first Global
Stocktake are
still welcome by Friday,
15 September 2023. Guidelines on how to make
submissions can be found here.
● Ahead of the second global dialogue and the
second investment-focused event under the Sharm
el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation
Work Programme (MWP) which will take place from 15–17
October, 2023 in Abu Dhabi with the theme of
accelerating just energy transition in transport
systems, all stakeholders are invited to submit their views on opportunities,
best practices, actionable solutions, challenges
and barriers relevant to the topics of the
dialogues by Friday,
15 September 2023.
● The Expression of Interest
for organizing a Side Event or Action Hub at the
Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2023, scheduled for 13-17 November
in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, is now open. To express
your interest, apply here
before 12
September.
● The Expression of Interest to
organize capacity-building related events at
the
5th Capacity-building Hub hosted by the Paris Committee
on Capacity-building (PCCB) from 4-10 December at
COP 28 is now open! EOI submissions are welcome by
1st September 2023 at 23:59 CEST. | |
- Korea Global Adaptation Week
2023: Incheon
(South Korea), 28 August - 1 September
- GCF Private Investment for Climate
Conference 2023:
Nairobi (Kenya), 4-5 September
- Africa Climate Week (ACW
2023): Nairobi (Kenya), 4-8
September
- Africa Climate Summit: Nairobi (Kenya), 4-6
September
- New York Climate Week: 17-24 September
- SDG Summit: New York (USA), 18-19
September
- IEA Critical Minerals and Clean
Energy Summit:
Paris (France), 28 September
- High-Level Pledging Conference of
the second replenishment of Green Climate Fund
(GCF-2): Bonn
(Germany), 5 October.
- Middle East and North Africa
Climate Week (MENACW 2023): Riyadh (Saudi Arabia),
8-12 October
- 8th World Investment Forum
2023: Abu Dhabi (UAE),16-20
October
- Latin America and Caribbean
Climate Week (LACCW 2023):
Panama City (Panama), 23-27 October
- Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW
2023): Johor
(Malaysia), 13-17 November
- Net Zero Festival:
London (UK), 31 October - 1 November
- COP 28: Dubai (UAE), 30 November -
12 December
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