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.
Each morning in Addis Ababa, the bustling capital of Ethiopia, the same scene plays out.
As the sun rises, thousands of commuters jostle for space on public minibuses. Others hop on the city’s light rail line, the first network of its kind in Africa. Notably absent are bicycles; cyclists are not something seen regularly on these streets.
Ephrem Bekele Woldeyesus wants to change that. The 34-year-old co-founded a community organization, Along the Way, that aims to make cycling common in the capital, in part to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the climate crisis.
“It’s good for the environment and people’s health,” Woldeyesus said of cycling. “But here, people think it’s not safe. There are too many cars.”
Woldeyesus is among a growing number of campaigners and government officials who want to make cycling and walking safer in Africa’s cities, where roads are notoriously dangerous. They believe that will lead more people to choose what’s known as active mobility, reducing gridlock and helping to counter a climate crisis that is already sowing chaos on the continent of 1.3 billion.
Mangroves are often misunderstood and undervalued ecosystems. These coastal forests are sometimes perceived as “dirty” or “dead areas”, a wasteland that could be cleared in favour of sandy beaches, tourist resorts or other developments.
These myths about mangroves could not be farther from the truth. They are the only trees that thrive in salty waters and improve water quality by filtering out nutrients and sediments.
They are also teeming with life: more than 1,500 plant and animal species depend on mangroves. This includes fish and birds who use the shallow waters beneath mangrove trees as nurseries. Research now indicates that mangroves are also critical for larger mammals, such as monkeys, sloths, tigers, hyenas and African wild dogs.
COP28 has entered its final weekend with pressure mounting on governments to agree to phase out fossil fuels as part of the final text.
Countries are currently discussing the global stocktake, which examines progress towards meeting the Paris Agreement goals of keeping global temperature rise “well below” 2C and “pursuing efforts” to keep them to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Right now the world is wildly off track to meet those goals, which is why it is vital that there is an agreement to phase out fossil fuels – which more than 100 countries are pushing for – as part of the global stocktake’s recommendations.
As revealed by UNEP's Emissions Gap Report 2023, 86 days this year saw temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial.
Fossil fuel producing countries are however pushing for the stocktake to refer to “abated” fossil fuels, which refers to the burning of fossil fuels whereby a portion of it is captured and stored.
Other issues remain around climate finance, with developing countries arguing that developed countries must take on more responsibility for cutting emissions and providing financial help to the countries currently experiencing the brunt of the climate crisis.
It is hoped that progress will be made in the coming days, but as always with COPs, nothing can be taken for granted.
A few dozen kilometres inland from northern Panama’s coast is the Hato Chami school. Set amid winding roads, green trees and stunning mountains, it has more than 1,000 pupils, most of whom hail from one of Panama’s largest indigenous groups, the Ngäbe.
The single-storey school stands out from other buildings in the impoverished Hato Chami region because of the solar water heaters fitted to its roof. The recently installed devices allow students to take hot showers and make it easier for staff to boil water when preparing meals.
“People think that because Panama is a hot country there is no need for hot water,” said Luis Navntoft, an advisor at Termosolar Panama, a broad-based partnership that installed the solar water heaters. “They are often not aware about the need for heat, either for hot water or cooking."
The Big Nature Turnaround – Repurposing $7 trillion to combat nature loss report is an annual report that tracks global financial flows – both positive and negative – to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and estimates the investment needed to limit global warming to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss and achieve land degradation neutrality.
The report, published earlier today, highlights the fact that public funding and private investment into nature-based solutions is at least three times smaller than it needs to be to tackle the biodiversity, land degradation and climate crisis.
The amount of money governments spend that negatively impacts nature, is 10 times higher than amounts spent on or invested in nature-based solutions.
Doubling or tripling nature-positive expenditure will not solve the crisis, unless the far higher nature-negative expenditure is also tackled. For example, despite pledges by governments to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, these have doubled from US$563 billion in 2021 to a staggering US$1.1 trillion in 2022.
Nature, Land Use and Oceans Day will focus on scaling robust solutions that protect, restore and effectively manage natural ecosystems and forests, address drivers of nature loss, empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and create resilient livelihoods.
UNEP Pavilion: Finance for nature: Unleashing a $7 trillion opportunity for realignment
UNEP will launch the third edition of its State of Finance for Nature Report which tracks the global financial flows towards Nature-based Solutions and estimates the investment required to limit global heating to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss and address land degradation. The event will centre around a series of strategic actions intended to act as drivers for governments, finance institutions and the private sector to close the finance for nature gap.
Time: 9.15-10.00am
Watch here.
UNEP Pavilion: Everything all at once: High-level dialogue on supercharging forest solutions to the climate crisis
The race to decarbonization requires an ‘everywhere, everything, all at once’ approach. Beyond the transport and energy sectors, forests offer an untapped mitigation potential of at least 4 gigatonnes of emissions reductions per year. Forests also have enormous potential to generate resources for the communities that inhabit them. This event will bring together forest-rich countries and experts to discuss solutions, including the role of carbon markets, monitoring systems, and safeguards framework to supercharge the impacts of forest-based climate action.
Time: 10.30-11.15am
Watch here.
UNEP event: High Level Event on Artificial Intelligence for Climate Action
This event will provide a space for policy discussion, awareness raising and exchange of knowledge and experience on opportunities and challenges of AI-powered climate solutions. The event will discuss various aspects of the application of AI for climate action to help accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Time: 13.00-14.30pm
Watch here.
UNEP Pavilion: Empowering people, strengthening partnership: Improving ecosystem restoration to ensure climate-resilient future
The event will highlight the pivotal role of ecosystem restoration in addressing global environmental challenges. This event will serve as a platform for showcasing the achievements and success stories of the UN Decade on Restoration, focusing on its general outcomes and the establishment of a digital hub for knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Time: 14.00-14.45pm
Watch here.
UNEP Pavilion: Climate Action Showcase: Beyond carbon – realizing untapped potential of forests to combat climate changes
From lowering temperatures to providing renewable materials, livelihoods and employment, the world’s forests play a larger role than just cutting carbon emissions. The Collaborative Partnership on Forests – made up of 16 international organizations – recently unveiled its Joint Call to Action for Forests towards 2030. This event will focus on best practices and case studies as well as highlighting the potential of renewable materials and green jobs.
Time: 15.15-16.00pm
Watch here.
UNEP Pavilion: Launch of Amazonia Viva in 4D: a virtual journey into the heart of the forest
Throughout COP28, come experience the award-winning virtual reality film, Amazônia Viva, a 10-minute film that transports viewers to the Tapajós River region of the Brazilian Amazon. The 360° immersive virtual reality experience unveils one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. Raquel Tupinambá, a cacique indigenous leader from the Surucuá community, welcomes the viewer into her homeland and guides them through a fully interactive virtual journey. Along the way, the majesty of the world’s largest rainforest is revealed, as are the imminent threats it faces.
Time: 16.30-17.30pm
Watch here.
UNEP event: Driving Integrated implementation of national climate and biodiversity frameworks for 2030 action
This event will see panellists discuss the importance, challenges, and opportunities in adopting a joined-up approach in the design and implementation of national climate and biodiversity plans and strategies, in support of achieving the goals of both the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
Time: 16.45-18.15pm
As the world’s population grows, so does the demand for animal-sourced foods like meat and dairy. The challenge: animal agriculture can be environmentally destructive, worsening the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. But a new report from UNEP finds there are more sustainable ways for humanity to source its protein.
The report, launched today, casts a spotlight on a range of increasingly popular animal protein alternatives, from lab-grown meat to fermented fungi.
The report finds that by 2050, meat and dairy alternatives could make up as much as half the global market for animal proteins. Here’s a closer look at some of these culinary innovations and how they can help create more sustainable food systems.
With COP28 negotiations heading into their critical, final few days, it can sometimes get lost that in all the abstract language and politicking, the effects of the decisions made at COPs have profound, real-world consequences.
Illustrating this, the Guardian has run an interesting article on the difference between a 1.°5 world and a 2.°C world. It interviewed five climate scientists about what that difference would mean for food, water and conflict; marine ecosystems; the Amazon and terrestrial biodiversity; sea level rise; and adaptation and the value of compensation. Read some excerpts below:
Food, water and conflict
Seventy million more people in Africa are projected to suffer acute food security at 2°C than 1.°5C, according to Catherine Nakalembe, who heads the Africa programme of Nasa Harvest.
Sea level rise
The existence of the most low-lying nations potentially depends on the half-degree between 1.5°C and 2°C, which will add at least 10cm to sea level rise by the end of this century, leaving an extra 10 million people at risk of flooding and storm surges.
Terrestrial biodiversity
At 2°C, 18 per cent of insect species, 16 per cent of plants and 8 per cent of vertebrates are projected to lose half of their habitats, at least double the proportions at 1.5°C.
Marine ecosystems
At 1.5°C, it may already be too late to save [coral reefs] in the Caribbean and parts of the western Indian Ocean. This would leave between 10 per cent and 30 per cent remaining in good health. At 2°C, the survival rate goes down to between 1 per cent and 10 per cent as the healthy patches become more isolated, vulnerable and unable to reproduce.
Air pollution causes 1 in nine deaths globally and the climate crisis and air pollution are inextricably linked. Pollutants such as black carbon and methane contribute to global heating and reduce air quality.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a UNEP convened voluntary partnership of more than 160 governments, intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs working to reduce powerful but short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) – methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone – that drive both climate change and air pollution.
The Climate & Clean Air Coalition’s annual Climate & Clean Air Ministerial meeting provides strategic guidance and leadership for the Coalition. Government ministers from country Partners and heads of Partner organisations participate in the meeting, and meet at least once per year.
The meeting will also see the launch of the Clean Air Flagship which aims to bring more attention to the global air pollution crisis, highlight readily available solutions, elevate ongoing regional collaboration, strengthen government cooperation, and offer direct support to countries.
Sunday is Food, Agriculture and Water Day at COP28, and one of the day’s events is a meeting about the Freshwater Challenge, which will see new country signatories announced, highlighting their commitment to protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems, which are essential to mitigating and adapting to climate change, and which are currently the most degraded type of ecosystems worldwide.
The Freshwater Challenge is the world's most ambitious freshwater restoration initiative and aims to restore 300,000km of rivers – equivalent to 7 times the Earth's circumference – and 350 million hectares of wetlands – an area larger than India – by 2030.
One-third of the world’s wetlands have been lost over the past 50 years, and and they are being lost still faster than forests. Rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems in the world, with fish populations, many of which are vital for community food security, pushed to the brink.
