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.
In anticipation of World Sustainable Transport Day on November 26, Bangkok is charging ahead with its electric mobility ambitions. With national partners and 30 new volunteer taxi drivers, UNEP launched the second phase of an innovative electric motorcycle pilot project funded by the European Union.
The initiative addresses Thailand's significant transport emissions, which comprise one-third of the country's CO2 output from its 44 million vehicles.
The first phase showed promising results: electric moto-taxis covered 759,000 kilometres, reduced energy use by 20 per cent, and avoided 39 tons of CO2 emissions. Thailand aims to have electric vehicles make up 40 per cent of new two-wheeler sales by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035, mainly targeting Bangkok.
This project supports Thailand's goals to combat climate change and reduce air pollution, which, if left unchecked, is projected to cause 25,000 annual deaths by 2030.
Learn more about UNEP’s Global Electric Mobility Programme.
COP29 kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday with a host of issues on the table. The gathering is being billed as the “finance COP,” with leaders set to explore how to live up to a pledge made at last year’s COP to transition away from fossil fuels and triple investments in renewable energy. With 2024 almost certain to be the hottest year on record, it’s vital that real progress is made.
So, what can we expect to happen in the next two weeks? Read this handy COP29 preview to find out.
As climate impacts intensify and hit the world’s poorest hardest, UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come hell and high water finds that nations must dramatically step up adaptation, starting with a commitment to act on finance at COP29.
Launched earlier today, the report calls on countries to significantly scale-up adaptation this decade to address rising impacts of the climate crisis. Right now, there is a climate finance gap of US$187-359 billion annually which means countries in the developing world cannot adequately protect themselves against the impact of the climate crisis.
Cities are heating up at twice the global average, driving demand for cooling solutions and putting the 1.6 billion city residents facing extreme heat by 2050 even more at risk.
As this week’s 12th World Urban Forum continues, take a look UNEP’s latest Cooling and Extreme Heat Factsheet.
On 22-23 October 2024, UNEP and the International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee (CITA) Africa hosted a groundbreaking event to discuss improving Africa’s vehicle fleet.
Road traffic deaths in Africa are rising at alarming rate, alongside vehicle emissions. The conference came at a time to push for more action towards the shared commitment to cleaner, safer vehicles in Africa. It offered an opportunity for networking and collaboration among key stakeholders including governments, UN Agencies, universities and car industry stakeholders under the conference theme “Working together to improve the African Fleet”.
With support from UN Road Safety Fund, the European Union and the African Union, the participants were able to gather new insights, strategies and partnerships, a vital step towards meeting the UN’s 2030 vehicle safety targets.
This event, taking place today as part of the 12th World Urban Forum in Cairo, will delve further into the national and sub-national commitments of the Global Cooling Pledge as related to addressing extreme heat in cities. The event will also highlight how cities are scaling up passive cooling: urban design, nature-based solutions, smart buildings, and reflective surfaces, to tackle urban heat.
With COP29 being billed as the 'finance COP', the focus in Baku will be on unlocking public and private finance to tackle climate change.
Blended finance - a mix of public and private loans and grants - is also as crucial to marshalling the billions of dollars necessary to end a global nature crisis that is, among other things, pushing one million species towards extinction.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark 2022 agreement to halt and reverse the decline of nature, calls on the countries of the world to invest a combined US$200 billion annually by 2030 to safeguard biological diversity.
So, can blended finance help save the world's coral reefs?
Join our webinar on 1 November at 1 PM CET to learn more about the 2024 Climate Technology Progress Report: “Unleashing Renewable Energy for Ambitious NDCs”.
The webinar will present the findings of the Report, launched on the same day, and will focus on the current state of renewable energy adoption in selected areas, as well as the feasibility and necessary enabling conditions for technology development and transfer at the sectoral and regional levels, all in the context of strengthening NDC ambitions.
