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Spotlight on climate action

Photo: Unsplash/Tobias Rademacher

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.

This live feed will keep you up-to-date with all the latest news from the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

21 Nov 2024 12:23

Water is in the spotlight during COP29. Here’s why.

River
Pexels/Rido Alwarno

Water is the lifeblood of our planet and freshwater ecosystems play a key role in sopping up planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions and making our societies resilient to climate disasters. But the delicate balance of water availability and the habitats that keep it clean and supply it are under mounting pressure from climate change and often receive short shrift during international climate talks. 

That is poised to change this week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29). On 21 November, COP29 Presidency Azerbaijan will launch the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action, a formal series of discussions to be held each year during the UN climate summit. These dialogues will bring together governments, businesses and other groups to ensure that water remains central to negotiations on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

So, why exactly is all this so important? Susan Gardner, Director of UNEP’s Ecosystems Division, explains the importance of the Baku Water for Climate Action Dialogue and how action on water and freshwater ecosystems can help keep the Paris Agreement goals alive.

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21 Nov 2024 11:58

Draft texts published to mixed response as negotiations intensify

Baku
UN Climate Change/Habib Samadov

The draft texts were released early this morning in Baku and met with a muted response, particularly on climate finance where no figure has been yet put forward, instead being marked with an “x” on the page.  

It’s vital that countries agree on a New Common Quantified Goal of Climate Finance (NCQG), and raise the amount of annual climate finance provided by developed to developing countries from a floor of $100 billion. Developing countries need the finance ensure they can reduce emissions and ensure their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - or climate plans, due in February -  are ambitious enough to cut emissions in line with the 1.5C figure.

Delegates, campaigners are observers will all hope that common ground can be found in the next 48 hours.

 

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21 Nov 2024 11:50

On now: Launch of COP29 Presidency Baku Dialogue on Water

mountain valley
Pexels/Pexels/Tomáš Malík

The COP29 Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action High-Level Launch Event will see countries endorse the Water Declaration, a call on stakeholders to take integrated approaches when combating the causes and impacts of climate change on water basins and water-related ecosystems, strengthen regional and international cooperation, integrated water-related mitigation and adaptation measures in national climate policies. 

The Baku Dialogue will see a formal series of discussions to be held each year during the UN climate summit, developed with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the World Meteorological Organization.

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21 Nov 2024 11:25

Next month’s COP16 to try to stop desertification, land degradation

Sand Field, Wadi Rum Village, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan
Oday Hazeem

While COP29 in Baku is focusing on climate, next month another COP is taking place in Saudi Arabia from Dec 2- 16. UNCCD COP16 will focus on accelerating action on land, drought resilience and green transition in Saudi Arabia, the region and beyond. Desertification and land degradation is a huge issue, with the planet losing 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land each year.  

Global Leaders Dialogue: Aligning Climate Action and Biodiversity Conservation for Achieving a Nature-Positive Future and the Paris Agreement Goals 

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21 Nov 2024 07:46

Hope for progress in Baku as COP29 talks enter final stretch

Today focuses on the rather wide-ranging themes of nature and biodiversity, indigenous people, gender equality and ocean and coastal zones. It’s also a day where we will hopefully see progress on negotiations in Baku although much work needs to be done.  

This event will highlight how the UN system is supporting Parties' strategies and plans to scale up and implement water-related mitigation and adaptation measures, including through National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).   

Climate change is taking a toll on the South Caucasus, so how can science best translate into policies for adaptation? What does successful regional cooperation look like? This event will dive into these questions and feature the launch of UNEP’s Caucasus Environment Outlook.  

This event will focus on overcoming the predominant barriers faced by nature-based solutions inside urban areas, particularly around policy and regulation; finance; and space and scale. A panel discussion will offer several examples from cities that demonstrate how Nature-based Solutions can be rolled out in cities and made attractive to policymakers. 

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20 Nov 2024 17:38

Battery swapping stations speed the shift to electric vehicles in Thailand

batteries
Adobe Stock

Taxi driver Chanjira Ruangchan is weaving her electric motorcycle through the crowded streets of downtown Bangkok when she spots what looks like a bank of airport lockers.     

Ruangchan, 53, pulls over and with a few presses on her phone, a door pops open. Inside is a freshly charged battery. Ruangchan swaps it in for the nearly depleted power cell in her bike and in two minutes speeds off in search of her next fare.  

The battery swap station, which sprung in part from a project supported by UNEP, addresses a major drawback of electric vehicles: the relatively long time it takes to charge a battery from scratch.  Read the full story. 

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20 Nov 2024 16:09

New report: 44 per cent of coral reefs face extinction

coral reef
Pexels/Francesco Ungaro

Forty-four per cent of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction, it was revealed in a new report today. 

The conservation status of 892 warm-water reef-building coral species has now been reassessed for the IUCN Red List, and analysis shows that 44 per cent are threatened. The threats to reef-building corals were last assessed for the IUCN Red List in 2008, and at that time one third were found to be threatened. 

The report highlights the impact the climate crisis is having on ecosystems, with warming oceans and increased CO2 levels leading to ocean acidification - both impacting coral reefs.  

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20 Nov 2024 15:27

Listen now: How restoring nature can heal the climate

Resilience podcast graphic

On the latest episode of UNEP’s Resilience podcast, we ask what could be one of the most important questions of the 21st century – to what extent can restoring nature tackle the climate crisis? 

The award-winning restoration hero Constantino Aucca Chutas explains what drove him to plant ten million trees in the Andes to protect his indigenous community from the impacts of melting glaciers. Plus, UNEP's Mirey Atallah highlights why a grand restoration project in Africa is generating hope for the future. 

 

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20 Nov 2024 14:10

Questions about who should pay, and how much, dominate COP29 negotiations

negotiators at COP29
UN Climate Change/Kiara Worth

Negotiations continue in Baku, with next round of draft texts expected at midnight tonight, with a number of big issues remaining.

There is debate about what constitutes a “developing country” with some pushing for the likes of China and the Gulf countries to be taken out of that category, given the growth of their economies since 1992 when the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). 

Under the UNFCCC’s classification system, developing countries are not obligated to provide financial aid to poorer countries and are instead eligible to receive aid.  

There is also, unsurprisingly, debate about the amount developing countries should provide for the new climate finance goal (NCQG) – the main outcome expected at COP29. The figure of US$200-US$300 billion per year has been bandied about, although Developing Countries want at least US$1 trillion a year. 

Speaking at a stocktaking plenary earlier today, Bolivian negotiator Diego Pacheco said on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) group – which includes economies like China and India – that the lower figure was not acceptable. 

“We are unable to fathom this $200 billion to step up ambition in developing countries,” said Pacheco. “This is unfathomable. We cannot accept this.” 

Climate finance is vital for poorer countries – which are hit the hardest by climate change – to adapt to the climate crisis and be able to transition away from fossil fuels.  

So, what happens now? Currently, negotiators, under the eye of a “ministerial pairs” - one minister from a developing country and one from a developed country – are attempting to find consensus on everything from adaptation funding to carbon trading.

The next texts are due at midnight tonight Baku time, according to Yalchin Rafiyev, the COP29 presidency’s lead negotiator. These texts are eventually narrowed down (often very slowly) until the final decision is released, hopefully at some point on Friday. 

Last updated at
20 Nov 2024 13:48

As plastic pollution piles up, mountain tourism reaches a crossroads

rubbish on a mountain slope
GRID-Arendal/Jason Sheldrake

Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja has spent years scaling the world’s highest peaks. During a seven-month stretch in 2019, he climbed all 14 of the world’s 8000m-plus mountains. The fastest anyone had ever accomplished the feat.

But during a 2021 visit to Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain, Purja wasn’t going for the summit. He was there to clean up piles of rubbish, including ropes and oxygen canisters, left behind by other climbers.

While they appear imposing, mountain ecosystems are fragile, say experts. Rubbish is a threat to wildlife and pollutes water, posing a health risk to downstream communities. Most plastic and other waste is moved by wind, melting glaciers and rain, and eventually ends up in rivers and in the oceans. This is especially worrying as the mountain ranges with their glaciers, snowpacks, lakes and streams act as water towers of the world, providing freshwater to 1.9 billion people. Read the full story.

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Related Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1

Goal 1: No Poverty
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Goal 7

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
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Goal 11

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Goal 12

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production
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Goal 13

Goal 13: Climate Action
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Goal 14

Goal 14: Life Below Water
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Goal 15

Goal 15: Life on Land
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