UN
Global Climate Action
10
October
2022 | |
High Level Climate Champions
Newsletter | |
Climate Week NYC: Getting it
Done | |
The message
of this year’s Climate Week in New York City was
clear - Get it done.
In this
decisive decade for humanity, urgent climate
action is non-negotiable. We must halve
emissions by 2030, reverse biodiversity loss and
enhance resilience for the millions already
experiencing the devastating impacts of
inaction.
As Simon
Stiell, UN
Climate Change Executive Secretary said during
this year’s United Nations General Assembly,
“Every single leader arrives from a country
affected by climate impacts. We know it’s time
to change course. Let’s stop the backsliding,
regain momentum on climate change and get moving
on the massive transformation that must happen
this decade.”
Against a
backdrop of multiple interconnected crises
around the world, this movement must include a
rapid acceleration of adaptation action and
resilience
to prepare
us for the future impacts we know are
coming.
Some
non-State actors (NSAs) such as communities,
cities and companies are stepping up to deliver
economic, social and environmental benefits. But
in order for these, often disparate actions to
have meaningful impact, a set of milestones is
needed to help direct these solutions into
tangible outcomes by 2030.
The Breakthroughs outline what key NSAs
must do and by when, to reach the Race to
Resilience’s
global goal of making 4 billion vulnerable
people more resilient by 2030.
Whilst action
by NSAs is vital to a net zero future, so too is
an increase in ambition from
states.
At COP
26, 45
countries committed to make clean technologies
the most affordable, accessible and attractive
option in each major greenhouse gas emitting
sector by 2030 under the Breakthrough Agenda.
It provides
an assessment of progress towards each
Breakthrough goal and a framework for tracking
progress in the future.
Its findings
were presented and discussed at the Global
Clean Energy Action Forum and the 13th Clean
Energy Ministerial held in Pittsburgh, United
States where leaders across all sectors were
urged to engage in far greater international
cooperation.
As IEA
Executive Director, Fatih Birol said, “Without
this collaboration, the transition to net zero
emissions will be much more challenging and
could be delayed by decades.”
| |
Nature Risk Is Investment
Risk | |
Nature is the
planet’s greatest asset. Not just for its beauty
and awe-inspiring wonder but the fact it’s
integral to our survival.
Nature is
also fundamental to achieving net zero
emissions. Without ending net deforestation and
transforming the agriculture, food and land-use
sectors by 2030, this won’t be possible.
The health of
ecosystems on which we and all other species
depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever.
This decline is eroding the very foundations of
our livelihoods, health, food security and
economies.
The report finds these companies
could lose up to a quarter of their value by
2030, with permanent sector-wide losses
equivalent to the 2008 financial crash.
Ignoring
these alarm bells makes little business sense.
According to
the same report, a US$4.5 trillion
opportunity awaits companies willing to support
the sector’s transition to a net zero future.
This latest
analysis reinforces research
published by Race to Zero earlier this year which
revealed an urgent need for companies in the
forest, land and agriculture sectors, to make
progress on reducing deforestation. The study
found that without much greater action, over 90%
of these companies that have committed to
net-zero, risk missing their targets.
Progress on
this issue was made at COP26. More than 100
global leaders pledged to halt and reverse
deforestation and land degradation by the end of
the decade. This was underpinned by US$19
billion in public and private funds to invest in
protecting and restoring forests.
In
addition, more than 30 of the world's biggest
financial companies promised to end investment
in activities linked to deforestation.
The plan also reinforced the important role
of indigenous people in protecting their
forested lands.
But as with
all voluntary action, governments and
corporations need to deliver on their
commitments from 2021 and act now to eliminate
commodity-driven deforestation from their
investment and lending portfolios.
| |
Turning the Tide on
Shipping | |
Shipping has
been the backbone of global economies for
thousands of years and today accounts for 90% of
world trade.
It’s also
responsible for approximately
2% of global
emissions. If it were a country, it would be on
a par with the total emissions of
Germany.
The challenge
to decarbonise shipping is huge. With around
60,000 vessels currently in operation emissions
are expected to be 50% higher in 2050 than in
2018.
To reach its
goals of full decarbonization by 2050, the
industry needs to move and move
fast.
There are
more than 200 shipping decarbonization pilot
projects in the pipeline and progress has been
made regarding bunkering and safety guidelines
internationally. But now the key requirement is
moving from pilots to Scalable Zero Emission
Fuels (SZEF) production commitments,
investments, and infrastructure
developments.
While the
report
acts as an
honest stocktake of progress, these commitments
and pledges must be turned into tangible actions
and solutions. All eyes are on COP 27.
| |
Keeping Up With The
Champions | |
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin delivered a keynote speech at the
Global Methane, Climate and Clean Air Forum
2022.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin delivered a video
message
to the 51st regular session of the Human Rights
Council for a panel discussion on the future of
the right to work in connection with climate
change actions, responses and impacts.
- Nigel
Topping
spoke at 'The road to COP 27 & COP 28'
session hosted by The World Cement
Association.
- Nigel
Topping
out three “rules'' for ensuring a successful
transition to a zero-carbon future in
an interview with avivainvestors.com:
“harness ambition loops”, which means locking in
the positive effects of bold climate
commitments; set “exponential goals”, like we’ve
seen in battery production; and “follow shared
pathways” to ensure everyone is taking the
required action to reach net zero.
The
Champions at United Nations General Assembly and
Climate Week NYC
- Speaking
at an event to mark the beginning of Climate
Week NYC, Mahmoud
Mohieldin
said,“We must address data, finance and
implementation to get the job done. We need
equitable access to energy in Africa and
elsewhere in a sustainable way. Climate
finance is insufficient, inefficient and unfair.
We need political will to fix it.”
- Speaking
at the United
Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and
Resilience Forum,
Mahmoud Mohieldin said, “There is a deficiency
of trust and a surplus of crisis. But we are
here today to provide solutions. We need a truly
holistic approach. Sustainability is not only
climate action, this reductionist approach is a
misleading formula. We need to put this all
within the Sustainable Development Goals
framework.”
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin attended the Africa-Europe Foundation
(AEF) Women Leaders Network event at UNGA77 to
discuss Climate
Adaptation and Climate Finance,
and to join AEF’s efforts to reframe and
reinforce the Africa-Europe partnership on the
global stage.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin
spoke at the closing reception of The Climate
Pledge Summit during which he provided an
overview of COP 27 priorities and
recommendations on how businesses and other
non-state actors can engage.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin and Nigel Topping attended the
Marrakech Partnership Stakeholders
Workshop
at Climate Week NYC. Participants discussed
improving the partnership as well as the
implementation and regionalisation of global
climate action.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin
attended
the Green Climate Fund high-level dialogue
during Climate Week NYC. The theme was “Reaching
scale: Catalysing climate finance”. Leaders
spoke about the GCF’s unique role and ability to
de-risk climate investments, mobilise private
capital at scale and deploy blended
finance.
- Mahmoud
Mohieldin
also attended the following events during UNGA
77 and Climate Week NYC:
- UNGA
77: Private Sector Roundtable. Driving Positive
Behavior Change for People and Planet
- Financial
and Technological Solutions for Just Transition
in Agriculture: A Developing Countries’
Perspective
- Resilience
Hub: Collaboration is Key to Building Resilient
Cities: An Interactive discussion on Unlocking
the Interface between Business and
Cities.
- Virtual
roundtable on strengthening climate ambition
with Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director
of Climate Policy Initiative.
- Bloomberg
Emerging and Frontier Forum 2022: Negotiating
the Road to Net-Zero
| |
United
Nations General Assembly and Climate Week
NYC
- Windfall
profits made by fossil fuel companies should be
taxed to pay for climate damage, UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres
told the General Assembly. He said polluters
should pay for the impact of climate-related
events as the question of who funds these losses
has long dogged international
negotiations.
- African
Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina and speakers at the
2nd
ministerial meeting on climate and development
questioned
the commitment of developed countries to deliver
on the promises they made at COP26 in Glasgow
and the 2015 Paris Agreement. Adesina told the
gathering on the sidelines of this year’s UN
General Assembly, “ Africa is suffering,
choking, and is in serious financial distress
for what it didn’t cause. There must be a
greater sense of urgency.”
- Michael
Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition
and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg L.P.
and Bloomberg Philanthropies,
launched the Bloomberg Countdown to COP 27 – a
45-day long series of initiatives and
commitments aimed at delivering on UN
Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for
urgent climate action leading into this year’s
UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh,
Egypt. Designed to turbocharge climate progress
from public, private, and civil society actors
around the world, Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg
Philanthropies will unveil dozens of climate
actions through investments, partnerships, and
capacity-building and educational efforts during
the 45-day Countdown to COP 27.
Other
news
- The International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) and the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) published the Renewable energy and jobs: Annual
review 2022 during the Global Clean Energy
Action Forum in Pittsburgh. It states "worldwide
renewable energy employment reached 12.7 million
last year, a jump of 700,000 new jobs in one
year despite the lingering effects of COVID-19
and the growing energy crisis". The
International Energy Agency (IEA) also provided
their first assessment of energy jobs worldwide
by region and technology through the World
Energy Employment Report. It shows that the
number of energy jobs worldwide has recovered
from disruptions due to Covid-19, increasing
above its pre-pandemic level of over 65 million
people, or around 2% of the total labour force.
The growth has been driven by hiring in clean
energy sectors surpassing the 50% mark for its
share of total energy employment, with nearly
two-thirds of workers involved in building new
projects and manufacturing clean energy
technologies.
- The
two co-facilitators
of the Global
Stocktake's
technical dialogue published the Summary
report
and a
video
of the first meeting (TD1.1) held during SB 56
in June 2022. The report will be presented
during an informal
virtual consultation
on Thursday,
6 October 2022,
from 14:00
to 15:30 CEST.
An information note by the co-facilitators on
arrangements for the second technical dialogue
meeting (TD1.2) to be taking place during COP 27
in Sharm El-Sheikh will also be made available
on the UNFCCC website by Friday, 7 October and
these details will also be outlined during a
second informal
virtual consultation
on Tuesday,
18 October 2022, from 14:00 to 15:30
CEST.
In
addition, the co-facilitators are encouraging
Parties to the Paris Agreement and non-Party
Stakeholders wishing to submit inputs to the
second dialogue (TD1.2) to accompany the
submissions with a one page
poster summary on the submission and inputs to a
creative space
at COP 27 which can consist of performances or
art, among other formats before
Friday, 14 October.
- The
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF announced
plans to launch the Business
Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty,
bringing together 85 businesses across the
plastics value chain, financial institutions and
NGOs, to call for and support the development of
an ambitious and effective global treaty to end
plastic pollution.
- To
further support inclusive participation of youth
voices at
COP27,
the Government of Egypt is offering more than
400 opportunities of subsidized accommodation
for youth delegates.
Applications
need to be received by October
7th.
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