UN
Global Climate Action
17
February
2023 | |
High-Level Champions'
Newsletter | |
2nd anniversary of the Race to
Resilience | |
The bill
for financing a resilient future by 2050 is
estimated to run into hundreds
of billions of dollars. Where the money will
come from remains a hot topic of debate. What
isn’t up for debate is the need to deploy it and
fast. 3.6-3.9 billion
people are
already vulnerable to climate change.
Last year,
the 10 costliest extreme climate events each
caused more than USD 3
billion in
damages. The numbers speak for
themselves.
According
to the World Economic Forum’s Global
Risks Report
2023, in the short term (two years) three of the
top five risks are all related to sustainability
in the form of extreme weather, failure to
mitigate climate change and finally erosion of
social cohesion. Whilst in the long term (10
years), sustainability-related risks including
climate, biodiversity and inequality, account
for 8 of the top 10 risks.
Speaking in
Davos last month, Peter Bakker, CEO of the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD), a CEO-led organization of more than 200
leading companies, said: ”Despite the
uncertainties in the global economy,
sustainability is now mainstream. Climate risks
and the need for climate action are high on the
agenda. An emerging view is that the
solutions need to connect and cover the three
big global challenges - Climate, Nature and
Inequality, in a systemic and transformative
way.”
Launched
two years ago, the Race to
Resilience
has been working to do just that. Led by the UN
Climate Change High-Level Champions, it aims to
mobilise the non-State actor (NSA) community to
help build resilience for 4 billion people
impacted by climate change by 2030.
To date,
the campaign has 39 partners, representing over
2,000 organisations, delivering action in 192
countries. Through this vast network, it helps
the most vulnerable, frontline communities build
resilience and adapt to the physical impacts of
climate change, such as extreme heat, drought,
flooding and sea-level rise, in rural, urban and
coastal areas.
Following
the success of The UN
Biodiversity COP (COP 15) in Montreal last
year, which underscored the overlapping
significance of the biodiversity and climate
agenda, Race to Resilience is placing
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) at its front
and centre of a number of projects.
Examples
include, firstly combining mangrove replanting
with breakwater building to protect 11 island
villages in in the Philippines, and secondly
introducing “pocket parks” in Athens to provide shade
during heat waves And finally enhancing the
livelihoods of 1.5 million farming families
across Africa through the
restoration of 1.9 million hectares of degraded
agricultural land.
These are
just a few examples of the tangible, positive
impacts the Race to Resilience through its
partners and members are having on communities’
lives and livelihoods across the
globe.
Building on
this implementation, the Sharm El
Sheikh Adaptation Agenda was launched by
the COP 27 Presidency in collaboration with
the High-Level Champions. It’s the first
comprehensive global plan to rally both States
and NSAs behind enhancing resilience for 4
billion people, from vulnerable groups and
communities, by 2030.It sets out 30 global
adaptation outcome targets across five impact
areas: Food Security and Agriculture; Water and
Nature; Human Settlements; Ocean and Coastal
Systems and Infrastructure Systems. The
Champions will seek this year to elevate this
Agenda and showcase global progress to
accelerate investments on adaptation and
resilience.
As Vivian
Amasan, Community Leader of the Bagongon
Fisherfolks Association in Concepcion,
Philippines said: “We did not have an
appropriate plan in place to respond to the
emergency of climate change as we were not
actively engaged as a community. We’ve
now achieved this through the participation
of our members and community in the Race to
Resilience and are more prepared to face the
challenges of climate change.”
Hear (link to Empower
video) more inspirational stories on how the
Race to Resilience is helping billions of people
across the globe adapt to the increasing
severity of climate change.
Join our community in
making a difference and become part of the Race
to Resilience.
| |
UN Climate
Change High-Level Champions, Dr. Mahmoud
Mohieldin and Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al
Mubarak recently participated in the World
Government Summit in Dubai.
Speaking at
the summit’s Women in Government Forum, Ms.
Mubarak elevated the role female leadership can
and must play in advancing us to a net zero,
resilient and more equitable world.
Together
with esteemed colleagues in the climate arena,
H.E. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment
of Egypt, and H.E. Khadeeja Naseem, Minister of
State for Environment, Climate Change and
Technology in Maldives, Ms. Al Mubarak discussed the need for
prioritising women’s participation in the COP 28
process.
Speaking at
the event Ms. Al Mubarak said: “I am incredibly
proud to be one of the high calibre females we
see coming out of the Arab region, not on the
periphery but really leading negotiations and
demonstrating the value of collaborative
thinking, the values of empathy. Having women
front and centre, leading these efforts is a
recipe for success and we look to carry this
over into COP 28.”
Meanwhile,
Dr. Mohieldin attended the Seventh Annual Arab
Fiscal Forum hosted by the Arab Monetary Fund,
International Monetary Fund and the UAE’s
Ministry of Finance. The outcomes of COP27 in
Sharm el-Sheikh were discussed, notably the
launch of the Loss and Damage Fund and placing
of adaptation at the centre of climate action
with the launch of the Sharm El-Sheikh
Adaptation Agenda. Dr. Mohieldin also discussed
ways to enhance private sector funding for
adaptation projects and emphasised the
challenges currently facing developing countries
in financing sustainable development given their
increasing debt burdens.
He
also underscored the instrumental role COP27
played in advocating on behalf of the developing
world at the Global Councils on SDGs: Climate
and Partnerships session he attended alongside
Ibrahim Al Zu'bi, Senior Vice President, Climate
Change and Sustainability, ADNOC and Khawla
AlMehairi, EVP of Strategy and Government
Communication, Dubai Electricity and Water
Authority. On the road to COP28, he also called
for the implementation of recommendations of the
High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions
Commitments of Non-State Entities and the full
involvement of non-State actors in activities
addressing loss & damage.
Dr.
Mohieldin also met with
Francesco La Camera, Director General of
the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) to discuss bridging
the renewable energy investment gap in
developing countries. He also met with
Lisa Kurbiel, Head of the Joint
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund to
discuss impact driven
solutions.
| |
Shoring up Nature-based solutions in East
Africa | |
Around
the world, healthy ocean ecosystems - a key
source of food and livelihoods for coastal
communities and beyond, are under threat.
Climate change and biodiversity loss have caused
coastal erosion and that jeopardize the
economic, social and environmental viability of
coastal regions, particularly those in
developing countries where the impacts are
highest.
To
address this, the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will partner with
Mission
Inclusion to reduce the
physical and socio-economic vulnerability of
East African coastal communities to the
devastating effects of the climate
crisis.
The
Regenerative Seascapes for People,
Climate, and Nature project will be
implemented in coastal and marine regions of the
West Indian Ocean, in Kenya, Tanzania,
Mozambique, Madagascar and the Comoros. The
biodiversity degradation and fish stock
depletion caused in large part by the climate
crisis are major challenges for these
communities.
The
project will directly benefit 350,000 people,
including 225,000 women and 12,500 people in
vulnerable and marginalized
situations.
At the
recently held IMPAC5 (the 5th International
Marine Protected Areas Congress), the Honourable
Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of
International Development, announced USD 30 million in
government funding for the three-year project
under the country’s Partnering for Climate
program.
IUCN
will lead on delivering two of the project’s
three major objectives - improving biodiversity
conservation and implementing sustainable and
effective management of marine protected
areas.
Mission
inclusion will be responsible for the third
objective, ensuring the economic empowerment of
women in the blue economy. The
organisation will work with local partners
to build the skills of women and girls in blue
entrepreneurship and strengthen the voice of
women’s organizations and networks to ensure
that their rights are better
protected.
The
project is a significant contribution to the
Great
Blue Wall
(GBW) initiative which aims to create a network
of marine and coastal protected areas for the
preservation of biodiversity and local
livelihoods, involving local communities as
stewards of the ocean.
| |
●
In
a recent interview
EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said the
continent of Africa is probably going to be the
most important partner for Europe in terms of
developing the renewable energy sector. He said
while Europe is growing its domestic renewable
energy production, it will also need to look
beyond its borders to secure the levels it
needs. To help fill the gap the EU is looking to
Africa, where there is a high potential for
renewable energy production – in particular
solar power.
●
Fewer than one in 200 companies who submit
climate change-related data to CDP
have
a credible climate transition plan according to
its latest review
of corporate submissions. The data underlines
the scale of the gap between company pledges to
transition to net-zero carbon emissions and the
detailed plans that show how a firm will align
its entire business model to meeting those
targets.
●
The Climate
Investment Funds (CIF) will
lend Colombia USD 70m at a low interest rate so
that it can invest in its transition from dirty
to clean energy. The funds are aimed at
infrastructure which helps get renewable
electricity to communities and businesses
including batteries to store renewable
electricity, transmission lines to move it
around and facilities to make green hydrogen
with it. The money comes from a US 300m pot made
up of one-off donations from the governments of
the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland.
●
Worldwide investment in the green energy
transition amounted to USD 1.1 trillion in 2022,
setting a new record according to a report by
BloombergNEF. This
represents a rapid acceleration from the
year before as the energy crisis and policy
action prompted faster deployment of low-carbon
technologies. The report also states investment
in low-carbon technologies appears to have
reached parity with capital deployed in support
of fossil fuel supply. Energy Transition
Investment Trends is BNEF’s annual accounting of
how much funding businesses, financial
institutions, governments and end-users are
committing to the low-carbon energy
transition.
●
Speaking
at
the United Nations General Assembly,
Secretary-General António Guterres warned the
world is at risk of exceeding the Paris
Agreement goal of limiting global warming to
1.5°C. He called for three game-changing climate
action, halving global emissions this decade,
promoting transition to renewables, and provide
adequate finance for climate action.
● At
Oslo Energy Forum, the UNFCCC Executive
Secretary Simon Stiell emphasized in his
speech
that
there is incredible opportunity in the next ten
months to make 2023 the pivot point for the
energy transition, a definitive moment in what
must be a decisive decade for climate action.
For years, the world was told the difficulties
of energy transition, yet precisely the opposite
has occurred and global momentum for the global
energy transition has been witnessed.
●
While they may be competitors on the catwalk,
several big-name brands are marching in lockstep
to tackle climate change. UN Climate
Change convened
the members of the Fashion Industry Charter for
Climate Action both in Bonn and virtually, which
saw the attendance of about 100 representatives,
amongst which LVMH, Nike, adidas, H&M Group,
Inditex, Kering Group, GAP Inc. to define next
steps in the decarbonization of the industry.
The UNFCCC Executive Secretary participated with
an opening remark commending the industry for
choosing the path of collaboration, calling on
it to do more, think systems and use their
communications to win the hearts and minds of
people. Over the two days, participants agreed
to continue to work on 2030 transition plans,
ramp up efforts on policy engagement and
advocacy, work on mobilizing their supply chain
and strengthen decarbonization efforts through
collaborative action.
●
UN
Climate Change , Gold Standard and the Clean
Cooking Alliance , among others, are working
to
harness the potential of carbon markets and
build awareness for market-oriented solutions.
More than 2.4 billion people around the world
cook with polluting stoves and fuels. Clean
cooking - for example using energy efficient
stoves and solar energy - contributes in a major
way to the health and well-being of poor
communities by reducing indoor pollution and
driving down fuel bills. It is also an essential
part of the solution to climate change. Carbon
markets represent a critical resource in support
of clean cooking by helping to finance
alternatives.
| |
Keeping up with the
Champions | |
●
The High-Level Champions Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin
and H.E. Razan Al Mubarak met the
Marrakech Partnership
to share their reflection from COP 27 and
priorities and key timeline towards COP
28.
●
Dr. Mahmoud’s co-authored book: Business,
Government and the SDGs: The Role of
Public-Private Engagement in Building a
Sustainable Future was published.
It discusses the interlinkages between
government, the business sector and community,
offering ideas for emerging and developing
countries.
●
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin spoke at the
launch
of the volume titled “Keys to climate action:
How developing countries could drive global
success and local prosperity”, where he
co-authored a chapter on Egypt’s climate
challenges and opportunities. Together with
prominent scholars and policy experts, he
emphasised the need for urgent investments in
adaptation and resilience as well as a just,
managed and financed transition for Africa and
fossil-fuel dependent developing
countries.
●
H.E. Razan Al Mubarak continued to engage on
Nature-based solutions, Inclusion, the Global
Stocktake and a Just Energy Transition through
various meetings with Germany, Australia, the
Netherlands, FAO, and stakeholders from the
private sector and civil
society. | |
● IADB
Annual meeting 16-19 March
| |
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