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.
03 Dec
2023
16:20
Tackling plastic pollution key to meeting climate goals
UNEP/Duncan Moore
UNEP Executive Inger Andersen today highlighted the role tackling plastic pollution can have on the climate crisis.
"A projected 20 per cent of carbon budget will be used by plastic production by 2040. We need a global deal to beat plastic pollution," she said at COP28.
Inside a research centre tracking the fallout from the climate crisis
Unsplash/Patty Zavala
With climate transparency on the agenda this COP28, how are the increasingly devastating effects of the climate crisis being monitored?
One UNEP centre monitoring these events is the Global Resource Information Database – Geneva (GRID-Geneva). Set up in 1985, it is home to 22 scientists who transform often complex data from multiple sources into accessible information to support the decision-making process related to environmental issues, with a focus on early warnings for environmental disasters.
Watch Now: Enhancing transparency for climate action
Unsplash/Guy Bowden
The Enhancing transparency for climate action is taking place at the UNEP Pavilion now. This event will spotlight successful national practices in establishing national transparency frameworks for mitigation and adaptation, contributing to sustainable development goals and elevating climate ambition globally.
The decision to “operationalize” the loss and damage fund on the first day of COP28 was welcomed, but what now?
Loss and damage refers to the effects of climate change that can’t be mitigated against or adapted too, such as the devastation from flooding, wildfires or sea level rises.
“The fund will mobilize funding to address both economic and non-economic loss and damages, and help support communities with relocation and mobility as well as natural and cultural losses,” says UNEP’s Loss and Damage expert, Alvin Chandra. The fund aims to allow affected communities access finance at speed and scale, he added.
“UNEP estimates that the costs of loss and damage are around US$400 billion to US$500 billion a year,” Chandra says.
So far, more than US$400 million has been promised to the fund, which will be administered by The World Bank. The fund is voluntary and has no hard deadlines or targets, but it is hoped that more countries will contribute the fund in the coming days and weeks, and that funding will start to reach the communities that need it as soon as possible.
UN Secretary General: promises falling short of what is required
COP28
The fossil fuel industry is not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis, United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres said earlier today.
“The fossil fuel industry – the giant behind the climate crisis – is finally starting to wake up. But the promises made clearly fall short of what’s required,” he said at COP28.
Guterres also said that while a pledge on Saturday from a number of oil and gas companies to dramatically reduce methane leaks from their pipelines by 2030 is a “step in the right direction”, the promise “falls short of what is required” – which is eliminating emissions from fossil fuel consumption.
“Science is clear: we need to phase out fossil fuels within a timeframe compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius,” he added, mentioning that Saturday’s announcement “provided no clarity on the pathway to reaching net zero by 2050."
Guterres’ quotes come as it is revealed that CO2 emissions have risen more than at any point since 2015 when the Paris Agreement was signed. The data, from Al Gore’s Climate Trace project, also shows that methane emissions have risen.
03 Dec
2023
11:23
Buildings Pavilion hopes to drive progress in climate action
Unsplash/Sebastien Cordat
Hosted by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, the Buildings Pavilion at COP28 is designed to be a space for businesses and policymakers to interact, a meeting place for the buildings and construction community, and a space to showcase solutions through events, presentations, exhibitions.
The construction industry accounts for 37 per cent of global CO2 emissions, and according to UNEP's 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, the sector is not on track to achieve decarbonization by 2050. Indeed, the gap between the actual climate performance of the sector and the decarbonization pathway is widening.
Today is Science-Policy Day at COP28, which will highlight the importance of integrating key scientific findings and results in policymaking processes for achieving climate goals.
UNEP Pavilion: AMR and environment: Linking AMR and the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss, and pollution and waste
Aligned with UNEP's publication 'Bracing for Superbugs,' this event will explore the environmental dimensions of AMR, with focus on the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on AMR in 2024.
UNEP event: What we need from the Global Stocktake? Insights from the UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2023
The event will highlight key findings from the Emissions Gap Report 2023, focusing on addressing the emissions gap in 2030 and beyond. UNEP's 14th Emission Gap Report assesses the disparity between current global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trajectories and the 2030/2035 targets required for achieving the Paris Agreement's temperature goal.
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) is used in electricity grids and has a global warming potential 25,300 higher than CO2. SF6 emissions are strongly rising with the extension of grids and the electrification of industries. This event will see a number of experts will provide insights on the regulatory and technology requirements as well as the success case of the recently adopted EU regulation on phasing out SF6 from switchgear and discuss the pathway to phasing out SF6 for developing countries in more detail.
Time: 12.30-13.30pm
UNEP event: What Human Rights at 75 Means for Climate Justice Now
In celebration of 75 years of Human Rights, this event will explore how human rights – including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – can reshape how states, businesses, people and courts address climate change, climate action and their impacts to achieve transformative change.
Time: 13.15-14.45pm
UNEP Pavilion: Partnering to bridge the Science-Policy Gap
Effective climate adaptation requires sound scientific knowledge, yet currently adaptation isn’t yet as effective as it should be due to the lack of innovative, validated knowledge. This session will address these issues by clarifying why this is a priority, what is adaptation effectiveness and how knowledge can and should inform better adaptation for increased effectiveness.
UNEP Pavilion: Enhancing transparency for climate action
This event will spotlight successful national practices in establishing national transparency frameworks for mitigation and adaptation, contributing to sustainable development goals and elevating climate ambition globally.
UNEP Pavilion: Addressing climate and air pollution together: A matter of health
99 per cent of the global population breathes air that does not meet WHO Guidelines. The climate crisis often shares the same pollutants and sources calling for integrated action. The event will highlight the interlinkages of climate and clean air and how targeted solutions that reduce short-climate pollutants across key sectors yield health and wider sustainable development outcomes. The event will also look at the role of political will and strategic partnerships.
UNEP event: Circularity as a game changer for climate action
This session examines key challenges and opportunities and reflects on real examples of success and best practices from the research-policy space and the real economy.
Fifty oil and gas companies have committed to setting interim targets to reduce methane emissions to 0.2 per cent of oil and natural gas production by 2030, and to end routine flaring.
Angola, Kenya, Romania, Kenya, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have also joined the Global Methane Pledge, a voluntary initiative set up at CO26 with the aim of slashing methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030. More than 150 countries have now signed up.
UNEP's Methane Alert and Response System has already notified operators of 127 major methane plumes around the world, and will monitor compliance of the new pledges.
Methane is responsible for around a third of global emissions, and while it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than CO2, it is up to 80 times more powerful. While the majority of methane emissions comes from agriculture, the fossil fuel sector accounts for about 35 per cent of anthropogenic methane emissions, which is why today's announcements are so welcome.
02 Dec
2023
17:04
Why nature is needed to fight the climate crisis
Unsplash/Ashley Inguanta
Although the main focus of COP28 is climate change, nature plays a central role in mitigating against and adapting to the effects of the climate crisis.
UNEP research shows that land-based and marine ecosystems play a vital role in regulating the climate. They currently absorb half of the human-made carbon emissions, with the ocean and the world’s forests, mangrove and peat bogs acting as natural carbon sinks.
Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems also act as buffers against extreme weather, protecting houses, crops, water supplies and vital infrastructure. Conserving and restoring natural spaces, both on land and in the water, is essential for limiting carbon emissions and adapting to the climate emergency.
Approximately US$133 billion per year currently flows into nature-based solutions, with public funds making up 86 per cent and private finance 14 per cent. But more urgent action is needed.
The Coral Reef Breakthrough Launch event marks a watershed moment in the history of global action to save the world’s most threatened ecosystem. The event will bring together state leaders, renowned experts, and private sector executives to launch the first-ever global targets for coral reefs, aiming to secure their future existence and their vast ecosystem benefits supporting more than 500 million people globally.
