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2020-09 04
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UN Climate Change Meetings Highlight Cool Solutions for Buildings

Date:2020-09

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UN Climate Change News, 4 September 2020 – The building sector is the sector with the most potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The uptake of sustainable buildings with climate-smart cooling solutions can therefore play a major role in helping countries transition to low-emissions societies, which is crucial to tackle climate change. To drive this forward, a series of four regional technical expert meetings took place between 19 and 27 August 2020 showcasing climate-friendly technology solutions for cooling systems in buildings and demonstrating innovative and on-the-ground actions. The meetings were organized by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and the Regional Collaboration Centers (RCCs, with the support of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction GlobalABC. According to the GlobalABC, greenhouse gas emissions from the use of energy by buildings account for some 20% of global emissions. This illustrates the pressing need to establish projects and policies to strengthen energy efficiency in the sector as governments prepare to submit their national climate action plans under the Paris Climate Change Agreement by the end of the year. To date, 104 out of 194 countries that signed the Paris Agreement committed to improve energy efficiency in buildings as part of their mitigation targets.  “As we move towards the review of our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, climate smart cooling solutions can offer a huge opportunity in meeting our NDC goals and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said  Peter Tarfa, Member of the Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network and Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of the Environment of Nigeria. Source:UN Author:UN Date:September 4, 2020

2020-08 24
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UN Carbon Offset Platform Reaches 2 Million CERs Milestone

Date:2020-08

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UN Climate Change News, 24 August 2020 – The United Nations Carbon Offset Platform  has reached 2 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) purchased and cancelled since its launch in September 2015. CERs are emission reductions units emanating from projects located in developing countries under UN Climate Change’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These projects not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also support sustainable development in the project countries. The platform, developed by UN Climate Change, enables anybody interested to take climate action by supporting these projects, thereby also contributing to sustainable development in developing countries. Certified Emission Reductions are issued following a rigorous registration, validation, and certification process based on rules established at intergovernmental level within the climate change process convened by UN Climate Change. One CER represents one tonne of greenhouse gas emission that has been reduced, avoided or captured. This means that if one has a twenty-tonne climate footprint, it can be compensated by cancelling 20 CERs.  The general public, individuals, businesses and organizations, can browse the UN platform and find the projects they wish to contribute to through their purchase, and immediately cancel CERs to compensate their GHG emissions, or simply to support climate action. The 2 million CERs cancelled roughly corresponds to 2 million dollars in climate investment that are directly channeled from individuals and organizations to their selected CDM projects. Climate Action calls on everybody to do their part Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, a steadily increasing number of organizations, companies, cities, sub-regional governments and others have started to take action against climate change. The Paris Agreement itself also recognizes the important role of these “non-party stakeholders” in helping to implement the Paris Agreement. A fundamental requirement is that each of us walk the talk and try to become climate neutral as soon as possible. Whether a global corporation, a local bicycle shop or a concerned individual, one should estimate their climate footprint and reduce it as much as possible. Any emissions remaining can then be compensated or offset by supporting CDM emission reduction projects elsewhere. In the past, this option was largely only available to the parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, but thanks to the UN Carbon Offset Platform, anybody can take this third step. In addition to helping companies, organizations and individuals to directly access CERs to compensate for their climate footprints, and in addition to generating financing for emission reduction projects, the voluntary cancellation of CERs also hepls to send a signal that the emission of greenhouse gas emissions comes at a cost. “Many people misunderstand offsets as a way to avoid having to reduce emissions at home, by offsetting instead of reducing emissions. In fact, the intention is just the opposite. Once you have identified your climate footprint and reduced it as much as possible, offsetting puts a price on the remaining emissions and offers a way to work with the global community to reduce emissions globally. The United Nations Carbon Offset Platform provides easy direct access for anybody to be part of this global endeavor.  The steadily increasing use of the Platform, including the 2 million CER milestone, is a token that more and more people understand this”, said Niclas Svenningsen, Manager, Global Climate Action at the UN Climate Change Secretariat. Source:UN Author:UN Date:August 24, 2020

2020-07 30
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UN Climate Change Launches New Publications to Boost Climate Technology

Date:2020-07

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UN Climate Change News 30 July 2020 - The UN Climate Change Secretariat has presented three new climate technology publications that document the climate technology “journey” - the pathway from the identification of technology needs to the full implementation of technologies that are required for countries to green their economies and build resilience to climate change. Zooming in on different aspects of the journey, the publications highlight how best to respond to countries’ technology needs, the important role of innovation in speedy technology implementation and new technology approaches for increasing resilience in coastal regions.   A launch event for the publications was organized virtually by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), which is the policy arm of the technology mechanism under the UNFCCC. The mechanism was designed to support developing country efforts to address both policy and implementation aspects of climate technology development and transfer. Its implementation arm is the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Welcoming the three publications, the Chair of the TEC, Mr. Mareer Husny said: “While we are aware of the challenges posed by COVID-19, they should not be an excuse for us to delay our work to address climate change. These publications are timely. As governments prepare green economic recovery packages for the period after COVID-19, the publications show the crucial role of technologies in the transition to low-carbon, resilient economies.” Climate technology publications provide multiple examples of action on the ground The topics of the publications are interlinked and provide examples of action on the ground. The first publication, ENHANCING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESULTS OF TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS (TEC Brief #13) , is part of the TEC’s regular briefing series and explores the starting point of the climate technology journey -the identification and prioritization of the best suited climate technologies for countries. To determine their climate technology priorities, countries undertake technology needs assessments (TNAs). A TNA supports national sustainable development, builds national capacity and facilitates the implementation of prioritized climate technologies. One example is in Senegal, where the uptake of biomass-based technologies for electricity production, as prioritized in its Technology Needs Assessment, has been accelerated through public–private collaboration, that has resulted in biomass-based electricity production that supports the inclusion of biomass use in Senegal’s energy transition programme for its Nationally Determined Contribution (national climate action plan under the Paris Agreement). The implementation of the identified technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation is the next step. This is taken up in the second publication, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO ACCELERATING AND SCALING UP CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION FOR MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION, which focuses on how to accelerate and scale up the implementation of such technologies through innovative approaches. An example of an innovative approach is the Plantwise programme in Bangladesh that established a global plant clinic network, run by trained plant doctors, where farmers can find practical plant health advice and solutions. The third publication, POLICY BRIEF: TECHNOLOGIES FOR AVERTING, MINIMIZING AND ADDRESSING  LOSS  AND DAMAGE IN COASTAL ZONES takes a sector specific perspective and showcases country examples of implemented climate technologies in coastal zones, a home for millions of people, including those that are particularly vulnerable to loss and damage from the impacts of climate change. “As a citizen of a Small Island Developing State from the Caribbean, I believe what this policy brief covers is a synthesis of current knowledge on loss and damage experienced in coastal zones, an overview of available technologies, and illustrating good practices from different regions and possible ways for countries to overcome the challenges for scaling up their use. This adds value to inform policy-makers and practitioners on technological solutions to assess and manage climate-related risks comprehensively in coastal zone,” said Ms. Dawn Pierre-Nathoniel, the Co-Chair of Executive Committee of the Warsaw International mechanism on loss sand damage. The publication features, for example, technology to assess risk such as ecosystem risk assessments that are being used at the local, regional and global levels to understand the level of risk of collapse that coastal ecosystems face, and identify which ecosystems are a priority for conservation actions. Source:UN Author:UN Date:July 30, 2020

2020-07 15
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Tackling the Environmental Crisis Can Boost the Economy Says WEF Report

Date:2020-07

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UN Climate Change News, 15 July 2020 – Tackling the global nature crisis could create 400m jobs and $10tn in business value each year by 2030, according to a report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Entitled ‘The Future of Nature and Business’, the report warns that when the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic there can be no business-as-usual, with today’s destruction of the natural world threatening over half of global GDP. The report says: “We are reaching irreversible tipping points for nature and climate. If recovery efforts do not address the looming planetary crises, a critical window of opportunity to avoid their worst impact will be irreversibly lost.” As governments respond to the economic fallout from COVID-19, the report underpins the growing chorus of demands from politicians, economists, health professionals and climate experts  to “recover better”, ensuring that the trillions of dollars spent by governments on recovery packages are used to invest in a low-carbon and resilient economy. The United Nations has also warned that the world is currently only treating the health and economic symptoms of the pandemic, not the cause – the environmental destruction. The UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, earlier this year underlined that the recovery from the Corona virus should lead to a better world. He said: “Now is the time to redouble our efforts to build more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change and other global challenges. The recovery must lead to a different economy. Our roadmap remains the 2030 agenda and sustainable development goals.” This new WEF report further zooms in on the advantages that a recovery based on sustainability can yield. Three sectors are cited in the report as being responsible for endangering 80% of threatened species – food and land use, infrastructure and building, and energy and mining – but these sectors are also cited as having the most to gain from a nature-led recovery. The report proposes a range of measures for boosting jobs and economies, such as cutting food waste by providing crates to keep food from rotting. It states that in cities, retrofitting to increase energy efficiency could save $825bn by 2030, while renewable energy presents a huge investment opportunity and already matches the cost of fossil fuels in 30 countries. The WEF report follows another study released last week - the most comprehensive to date on the economic implications of protecting nature – which concluded that nearly a third of the world’s oceans and land area could be protected while bolstering the economy, with the benefits outweighing the costs by a ratio of at least 5-to-1. The new assessment turns the conventional analysis on its head, showing that nature conservation is in fact a net contributor to the global economy, not a drain. Source:UN Author:UN Date:July 15, 2020

2020-07 13
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An Economic Recovery That Builds a Greener Future

Date:2020-07

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UN Climate Change News, 13 July 2020 – In a virtual address today to the Oxford Climate Society, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa stressed the importance of a multilateral approach to addressing climate change, particularly in these difficult times of COVID-19. She pointed out that the pandemic also presented a rare window of opportunity to build a clean and climate-friendly future. She outlined the stark choice facing the international community in attempting to recover economically from COVID-19: Either a “back to normal” scenario, where the global rise in temperature is on pace to more than double by the end of this century, or a “build forward” one, with policies that promote green growth, protect biodiversity and embrace renewable energy. “Far from standing at the edge of the apocalypse, we stand instead at the precipice of a transformational moment in human history - a moment future generations will identify as pivotal; one that moved us from one era to the next,” she said. The good news, she added, is that the international community doesn’t have to start from scratch to build forward, as the plan already exists in the shape of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. This is a crucial year for climate ambition, with countries submitting their national climate action plans, or NDCs, which happens every five years. This year, governments have the opportunity to spell out some of their post-COVID-19 recovery plans and policies in their NDCs. Ms. Espinosa also highlighted how the work of UN Climate Change has continued unabated during the COVID-19 pandemic. June Momentum, held last month, was a series of online events offering an opportunity for stakeholders to continue exchanging views and sharing information in areas such as mitigation, science, technology, transparency, gender, and more. In parallel, the Race to Zero campaign was launched with the aim of mobilizing leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors who are working to create a resilient, zero-emissions recovery. While acknowledging the scale of the task ahead, she concluded on an optimistic note: “We must truly embrace the long view of history and recognize that some generations are given the opportunity to truly impact its trajectory. This opportunity has been given to your generation,” she said. See full speech: It’s a pleasure to speak with a group dedicated to policy issues related to climate change. While we’ll certainly talk about policy today, I want to begin with some context on how the world continues to address climate change during these difficult times—and why it must. People throughout the world have been through a harrowing experience in the last few months because of COVID-19. The suffering is still widespread, and the end not yet in sight. We’d be forgiven if we were to imagine the future and see nothing but a bleak, Dickensian dusk. It’s bad out there. As Secretary-General Guterres recently said, if nations do not start pulling together, things will get worse. We’ll reverse the incredible progress we’ve made in recent years to lessen extreme poverty and hunger. Access to vaccines will be reduced. Women and children, who always bear the burden of troubled times, will be even more vulnerable. It doesn’t have to be this way. It is completely within our power to, as one leader famously put it, embrace the better angels of our nature. Today, that means addressing our challenges together, through multilateralism. While we know that COVID-19 presents the single largest challenge to humanity since the Second World War, our anticipated recovery from it has opened a rare window of opportunity... an opportunity—if we have the willingness and fortitude to seize it—to build a clean, green, healthy and climate-friendly future. I ask you to consider the possibility that far from standing at the edge of the apocalypse, we instead stand at the precipice of a transformational moment in human history...a moment future generations will identify as pivotal; one that moved us from one era to the next. I’m not asking that you to hope that this will happen—only that you believe it’s possible. Because once we believe something is possible, we can act…and action is what transforms possibility into progress.  Progress means the development of plans and policies. It means strengthening logistics and legislation. It means identifying foundations we already have and perfecting them, rather than chasing the new and shiny. Action also means making choices. And we collectively face a big choice if we truly believe post-COVID 19 recovery can lead to a better future. Will we choose to “go back to normal”? The normal where global temperature rise is on pace to more than double by the end of this century? The normal where our oceans acidify at an alarming rate? The normal that makes deserts out of deforested land and overworked soil?  Or will we choose to—not build back better, as some say, but build forward? To enact policies that promote green growth, protect biodiversity, embrace renewable energy and more? Will we accept that transportation can be different? Construction? Supply chains? Production? This is the choice we face, the moment of decision for national leaders and businesses as they map out their post-recovery plans and discuss economic recovery. Some already say that it is too hard, too tough, too bad for the economy, that mapping out a more sustainable plan for the planet will take decades.  My response is simple: we already have the plan. It’s called the Paris Agreement and it’s one of the most successful multilateral agreements of modern times and a covenant of hope with the people of the world for a cleaner, greener, healthier, more climate-friendly future. It’s reinforced by the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, which is a global plan to tackle some of the most pressing issues humanity currently faces. I am invited to speak to many groups these days and they all ask me the same thing: what new policies do we need to build a more climate-friendly future? I tell them: we don’t necessarily need new policies, we need nations to finish and enact the ones they already promised! With respect to climate change, the biggest policy task nations had heading into 2020 was to complete their national climate action plans—or NDCs. Under the Paris Agreement, each nation must submit a five-year plan that outlines exactly how they will tackle climate change. They’re due in 2020 and that deadline has not changed. Why are these so important? And why are we so inflexible with the timeline? Two reasons. First, science tells us that the window of opportunity to address climate change will likely close in the next five years. So, we need incredibly strong plans. By the next round of NDCs, we may be playing defence instead of offence. The second reason is the one I just mentioned: nations can spell out some of their post-COVID-19 recovery plans and policies in these NDCs. Not in the distant future, but in the next six months. While each plan is different, many cover policies addressing not only emissions, but also issues related to forestry, land use, energy, transportation and more. Influencing the shape and the scope of these national plans is the single most significant action you can take to shape climate policies, programs and legislation for the next five years. Those national plans were but one of three main tasks we needed to achieve from a climate change perspective in 2020. The two other challenges include getting nations to complete their unfinished work with respect to climate negotiations. Primary among that unfinished work is getting an agreement on how carbon markets will operate—a big part of the climate change picture. Nations made some progress at COP25 but we’re simply not there yet. The third main challenge is to ensure nations—as well as businesses, investors and civil society—continue raising their climate ambition. Alone, each of these three areas is significant. Coupled with a global pandemic, they are truly challenging. Yet, we have no other choice: Climate change has not stopped for Covid-19. But neither has the work of UN Climate Change. Perhaps you are wondering how this is possible, given that COP26 is delayed until 2021. Let me assure you, we are busier than ever. Like you, we have simply changed the way we work. We’ve held substantive discussions in almost every topic area, including adaptation, finance and capacity building. Recently, we held the June Momentum, a series of online events offering an opportunity for stakeholders to continue exchanging views and sharing information in areas such as mitigation, science, technology, transparency, gender, and more. We also launched our Race to Zero campaign. Its purpose is to mobilize leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors who are working to create a healthy, resilient, and zero-emissions recovery...one that creates jobs, unlocks inclusive sustainable growth, and reduces the risk of future shocks. The coalition driving these net-zero emissions initiatives are setting interim targets in 2025 and 2030, and the response has been significant. We’ve seen other progress as well. 114 countries have already announced they will enhance their national climate plans—the ones I spoke about earlier. And 121 countries have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. We are also encouraged that the majority of climate and environment ministers in the EU back a call to put the European Green Deal at the heart of a post-Covid-19 recovery. We continue to encourage the EU to continue showing global leadership. Looking ahead, the Secretary-General has proposed six climate-related actions to shape the COVID-19 recovery. First: as we spend huge amounts of money to recover from the virus, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition. Second: where taxpayers’ money is used to rescue businesses, it must be tied to achieving green jobs and sustainable growth. Third: fiscal firepower must drive a shift from the grey to green economy, and make societies and people more resilient Fourth: public funds should be used to invest in the future, not the past, and flow to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and the climate.  Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying for their pollution Fifth: climate risks and opportunities must be incorporated into the financial system as well as all aspects of public policy making and infrastructure. Sixth: we need to work together as an international community. The value of multilateralism in a global crisis is unmistakeable. If we get it right, we can help steer the global recovery towards a more sustainable and inclusive path. Again, we must remind nations that they already have a framework for action – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Ladies and gentlemen, All of this is possible. We can build a better future. But we must first believe that it is possible and then act. I know it can be difficult to be motivated when everything seems so bad. But we must truly embrace the long-view of history and recognize that some generations are given the opportunity to truly impact its trajectory.   This opportunity has been given to your generation. So, what will you do with it? Are you ready? You have the plan—the Paris Agreement. You have a path—the 2030 Agenda. And while you have a short window of time, I know you have the initiative. Youth around the world have significantly changed the climate change debate in just two or three years. UN Climate Change is ready to work with you to do all of this and to build a future that is clean, green, sustainable and healthy for all. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. Source:UN Author:UN Date:July 13, 2020