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.
The Emissions Gap Report will be launched on Monday November 20, providing a detailed look at the difference between national pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the reductions required to keep the global temperature rise in line with Paris Agreement goals.
In addition to providing an update on where global greenhouse gas emissions are heading and where they should be, the report will focus on energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries and looks at the role of carbon dioxide removal in bridging the emissions gap.
It is the one of three climate-related 'Gap' reports released in the run-up to COP28.
So, why are these reports so important? Read this to find out.
Taking place at 9am local time, this Asia-Pacific Climate Week side event brings together experts, practitioners and locally-led adaptation (LLA) implementers to elaborate on the scale of the needs, opportunities and barriers faced when accessing adaptation finance.
This session will explore how local communities can attract adaptation finance, while understanding that there is no one-size-fits all approach to climate adaptation.
Register for the event here.
A report released yesterday by UN Climate Change revealed the world is off-track to tackle the climate crisis.
The NDC Synthesis Report – NDCs or Nationally Determined Climate Plans are each country’s plan to reduce emissions – showed that there is a large gap between what countries are doing and what needs to happen to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
UN Climate Change analyzed the NDCs of 195 Parties to the Paris Agreement, including 20 new or updated NDCs submitted up until 25 September 2023.
Under current national plans, global greenhouse gas emissions are set to increase 9 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 levels.
Yet the science is clear: emissions must fall by 45 per cent by the end of this decade compared to 2010 levels to meet the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
United Nations Executive Secretary, António Guterres was unequivocal in what needs to happen. “Governments must come together to line up the necessary finance, support and partnerships to increase ambition in their national climate plans and swiftly put those plans into action. And developed countries must rebuild trust by delivering on their finance commitments,” he said. “COP28 must be the place to urgently close the climate ambition gap.”
Where: Room Tanjung Puteri 303, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Peatlands are critical ecosystems for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation. However, their conservation and restoration often require innovative approaches and collaborative efforts including peatland conservation and restoration financing from the private sector to enable climate action at scale.
Exploring innovative financing models is vital, benefiting both the environment and livelihoods of communities residing in and around peatland areas.
This event is part of Asia-Pacific Climate Week.
The Global Stocktake is a report card on how the global community is doing on the goals set in Paris in 2015.
The Paris Agreement set ambitious climate targets that aimed to:
• substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees;
• review countries’ commitments every five years;
• provide financing to developing countries to mitigate climate change, strengthen resilience and enhance abilities to adapt to climate impacts.
The first Global Stocktake will conclude at COP28, where countries decide how they respond to the findings. Initial findings, reviewed in October, show the world is significantly behind in reaching the goals set in Paris – particularly limiting global warming – and urgent action is needed to course correct.
This was reflected in the State of Climate Action 2023 report, released earlier today, which revealed that the world is behind in almost every policy designed to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Read more about climate action here.
Wednesday is another busy day at Asia-Pacific Climate Week, with a number of UNEP events taking place.
At 11.45am local time, this event will focus on how the mining sector can play a positive role in promoting sustainable development and structural economic transformation. This is vital when it comes to critical energy transition minerals – such as lithium, copper and cobalt – which are needed to build renewable technologies.
At 2pm, this session will focus on sustainable urban transport policy solutions and highlight concrete examples, including accelerating e-mobility in public transport, two- and three-wheelers and other non-motorized transport solutions.
At 2pm, this event will highlight the transformative potential of the private sector in driving sustainable growth through the Blue Economy, highlighting the role of the Regional Seas Programme as an avenue for dialogue and regional exchange.
At 2.15pm, this event will focus on three sectors: climate-resilient buildings, green infrastructure (such as low carbon steel and cement) and low carbon mobility. It aims to highlight the importance of international cooperation and the need to integrate the perspectives of non-party stakeholders in climate action.
The Asia-Pacific region is no stranger to climate change.
In just the past few months, it has endured droughts, record-breaking heat, and multiple super typhoons, a bout of extreme weather that experts say will only get worse as the planet warms.
This week, leaders are in Malaysia for Asia Pacific Climate Week, an event designed to explore solutions to the most pressing climatic issues facing the region.
Delegates are expected to discuss what are known as nature-based solutions, which focus on leveraging nature – and the services it provides – to build resilience to the climate crisis. Those types of solutions, which can be less expensive and more effective than built infrastructure, are expected to be crucial in the years to come.
Here is a closer look at eight such projects across Asia-Pacific.
Leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations and civil society are gathering in Malaysia this week to explore ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the climate crisis.
Asia-Pacific Climate Week is the final of the four annual regional climate weeks and the focus will be on building momentum ahead of COP28, which begins in less than three weeks.
Each of the four climate weeks focus on four areas in order to provide region-specific contributions to the global stocktake, where countries and other stakeholders will take stock of where progress is being made towards the Paris Agreement goals, and where it is not.
These 'systems-based tracks' are: energy systems and industry; cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport; land, ocean, food and water' and societies, health, livelihoods, and economies.
There are multiple events taking place this week, focusing on everything from a just energy transition to accelerating sustainable transport solutions and sustainable cooling solutions in Asia-Pacific.
Talks to develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution restart today at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.
The discussions – which represent the third session of what is known as the International Negotiating Committee (INC-3) – come with the world experiencing a plastic pollution crisis.
Humanity produces around 430 million tonnes of plastic every year, two-thirds of which quickly becomes waste. Much of that ends up polluting land, sea and air while increasingly working its way into the human food chain.
Plastic pollution also has a huge impact on the climate. In 2019, plastic generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of GHGs – 3.4 per cent of the global total – with 90 per cent of those emissions coming from plastic production and the conversion of fossil fuels.
So, what can we expect from the latest round of talks? Read the full story here.
Nature-based solutions will be a key topic of discussion during COP28, with the natural world – both on land and in the water – essential for limiting carbon emissions and enhancing the resilience of ecosystems.
One project, 200km north of Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, sees locals replanting mangrove trees, which thrive in the salty waters of coastlines and estuaries.
The project – led by UNEP and funded by the Global Environment Facility – is aiming to revive the district’s once-thriving mangrove forests, many of which have fallen victim to logging and cyclones.
The project’s backers are hoping the mangroves will create a buffer around local communities, shielding them from storm surges and other extreme weather linked to the climate crisis.
Read the full story here.
