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.
On the first ever International Day of Clean Energy, explore how UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre is driving impactful change in the realm of clean energy, focusing on two initiatives targeting local action and some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Energy poverty among displaced populations is a major challenge leading to deforestation, relatively high emissions and a range of risks to human life and health. The Solar-Electric Cooking Partnership for Displacement Contexts (SOLCO) aims to transition more than 250,000 households to solar-electric cooking by 2027, leveraging a minimum of $100 million in of private and public funding and finance.
In Argentina, municipal buildings are being renovated to improve energy efficiency and local budgets as part of a broader initiative, designed to enhance energy efficiency. The renovations will deliver substantial energy savings ranging between 45% and 56%.
Technology plays a fundamental role in galvanizing climate action and building a greener and more sustainable future. Technology is also a foundational means of implementation to deliver the unprecedented social and economic transitions that are needed to keep the goal of holding the global average temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5°C alive.
Explore the latest developments in climate technology.
With the annual average global temperature fast approaching the critical threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, 2023 officially smashed the global temperature record, the UN weather agency, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), confirmed on 12 January 2024.
“Humanity’s actions are scorching the Earth. 2023 was a mere preview of the catastrophic future that awaits if we don’t act now. We must respond to record-breaking temperature rises with path-breaking action,” UN chief António Guterres said in response to the latest data.
Applications are now open for the 2024 cohort of the Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassador Program!
The Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassador Program is a six-month online program designed for young individuals aged 18-35 who are passionate about climate action. It aims to foster youth climate leadership through peer-to-peer collaboration, and learning opportunities with World Bank experts, the Global Youth Climate Network (GYCN), and Connect4Climate Partners.
By participating in this program, young people can make a tangible impact on climate action both locally and globally.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) closed today with an agreement that has been hailed as the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era.
On the final day of COP28, nearly 200 countries pledged to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels and dramatically scale up investments in renewable energy.
"COP28 has delivered, for the first time at climate talks, a clear call on countries to transition away from fossil fuels," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. "The deal is not perfect, but one thing is clear: the world is no longer denying our harmful addiction to fossil fuels."
The agreement, which comes amid what is likely to be the hottest year on record for the planet, is designed to keep global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C, the most-ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.
“Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. “Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.”
There's no news of any updated text being released today and it looks like it will be another long night of negotiations in Dubai.
The hope is that the new text will be considerably more ambitious than the first version released on Monday, but that remains to be seen.
We will be publishing an overview of the highs and lows of COP28 on UNEP's homepage later this week. Thanks for following all the updates on the blog, and remember to follow UNEP on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Negotiators continue to discuss the draft text published yesterday with many delegates and observers hoping the revised text will show far greater ambition.
Yesterday's text got a very mixed response with the EU calling it "unacceptable," Samoa calling it "insufficient" and Bangladesh calling it "weak and contradictory."
Carbon Brief's very handy tracker allows you to see where progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations and where it has not.
It is hoped a revised draft will be finalised today but it will not be surprising if talks drag on into tomorrow and beyond.
COP28 officially ended at 11am local time this morning, but its unclear when any agreement will be reached on the final text. The text released yesterday by the COP28 Presidency was met with an underwhelming response, mainly due to the lack of mention of gas or oil or the need for them to be "phased out".
Nations – ranging from Pacific Island States to Canada and the UK – have said the text is not nearly good enough and won't enable the Paris Agreement goals to be reached. There are also concerns over the vagueness of the language around issues such as climate finance and the loss and damage fund.
The COP Presidency is now working on another draft of the text, which should be released at some point today.
