The climate emergency is a direct consequence of carbon-heavy land-use and agriculture, transport, buildings and industrial processes and polluting energy sources. Without profound changes to these sectors and a drastic cut to carbon footprints, there is little hope of protecting the planet from the devastating effects of a warmer world.
Below are climate-related news and events from the United Nations and partners.
This day next week the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5) will start in Busan, Republic of Korea. The hope is that an agreement will be reached that is based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. With plastics causing 3.4 per cent of global emissions in 2019, it’s vital that progress is made in Busan.
This UNEP side event features high-level opening remarks from UNEP’s Executive Director, UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary, and the Special Adviser to the UN Secretariat General on Climate Action and Just Transition and a presentation of the key findings of the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2024. This is followed by a panel discussion focusing on the importance of closing the enormous adaptation finance gap
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed water body on Earth. It has a unique ecosystem with 400 endemic species facing a number of threats, including coastal zone degradation, habitat destruction and pollution from oil and gas production. This Caspian Sea Ministerial event aims to address the pressing issue of long-standing sea level decline induced by climate change in the Caspian Sea. Time: 09.00-10.30.
After yesterday’s rest day, COP29 is back in full swing ahead of what promises to be a very busy week in Baku. This event highlights what is needed from the next NDCs, using insights from the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report and UNFCCC NDC Synthesis Report. UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen and the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell will both underscore the importance of the reports and what they mean for climate action. The Global Cooling Pledge marks the world’s first collective effort to reduce cooling related emissions across all sectors by at least 68 per cent globally by 2050. This event will showcase what has been achieved so far and what needs to happen for the aims of the Pledge to be achieved. Clean air is a fundamental right, yet 1 in 6 people die because of air pollution every year. This event will highlight the importance of an integrated approach on climate and clean air, Azerbaijan’s State Program for Improving Air Quality for 2024-2030, and how regional cooperation on air quality and ambitious national legislation on clean air can help move the needle on cutting air pollution.
While much of talk in Baku is about the warming atmosphere - with 2024 set to be the warmest year on record - the ocean is also heating up. Last year saw the hottest ocean temperatures ever recorded, a trend that set to continue this year.
So, why is the ocean heating up and what does that mean for the climate and for marine life?
Innovation is not just being used in the battle against climate change, but also to help stop biodiversity loss. With global agricultural production having more than tripled between 1960 and 2015, leading to the clearing of forests, grasslands and other natural spaces, and spurring a wave of land degradation, this is very much needed.
Here are five ways non-profit groups and farmers around the world are working to make agriculture more planet friendly.
Climate action is a win-win, resulting in "stronger growth, more jobs, less pollution, and more secure and affordable energy." That is UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's message to the G20 ahead of the G20 Leader's Summit next week in Brazil.
While acknowledging that there was much work to do on achieving climate finance goals at COP29, he pointed out that "two trillion dollars will flow to clean energy and infrastructure this year alone. Double what’s gone to fossil fuels."
He called on G20 leaders to ensure more "grant and concessional finance will be available" as well as reforms of multilateral development banks and ensuring debt relief for developing countries so they can take bolder climate action.
He added that "G20 Leaders must signal loud and clear that international cooperation is still the best and only chance humanity has to survive global heating. There is no other way."
The circular economy is crucial to achieving the Paris Agreement goals, UNEP's Executive Director, Inger Andersen said at an event at COP29 yesterday.
"This is because our linear growth model of take, make and waste is the key driver of the whole triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature, biodiversity and land loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste," she said.
She highlighted the huge costs of the current development model: "Material extraction and processing contribute up to 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiversity loss is costing the global economy 10 per cent of its output. Pollution-related losses have been estimated at US$4.6 trillion annually."
Solutions are at hand however, as she pointed out the role circularity can play in the move to clean energy technlogies.
While AI has lots of climate benefits from its ability to map the destructive dredging of sand and track methane emissions, it is not without its problems. Data centres that house AI servers produce electronic waste, while they are large consumers of water, which is becoming scarce in many places. They rely on critical minerals and rare elements, which are often mined unsustainably. And they use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases. So, what can be done to fix AI’s environmental problem?
