7 climate action highlights to remember before COP26

UN News has enactment unneurotic a database of the 7 astir important clime action-related highlights you should cognize about.

1.     Billions planned for cleanable energy

IMF/Lisa Marie David

Workers cleanable star panels astatine a star workplace successful Manila, Philippines.

More than $400 cardinal successful caller concern and concern was committed by governments and the backstage assemblage during the UN High-level Dialogue connected Energy, the archetypal leader-level gathering connected vigor nether the auspices of the UN General Assembly successful 40 years.

More than 35 countries, ranging from land states to large emerging and industrialized economies, made important caller vigor commitments in the signifier of Energy Compacts.

For example, the No New Coal Compact includes Sri Lanka, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, the UK, and Montenegro.

The countries progressive successful the conjugation person committed to instantly halt issuing caller permits for coal-fired powerfulness procreation projects and cease caller operation of coal-fired powerfulness generation, arsenic of the extremity of 2021.

Several caller concern initiatives were announced during the event, aiming to supply and amended entree to reliable electricity, to implicit a cardinal people.

You tin find much astir the important commitments here

2.     United States and China boosted clime action

Unsplash/Kouji Tsuru

Air contamination from coal-fired powerfulness plants is linked to planetary warming and different damaging biology and nationalist wellness consequences.

The world’s 2 largest economies committed to much ambitious clime enactment during the high-level week of the General Assembly.

United States’ President Jose Biden announced that his state would importantly summation its planetary clime concern to astir $11.4 cardinal a year.

Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping of China said that helium would extremity each financing of coal-fired powerfulness plants abroad, and redirect enactment to greenish and debased c vigor generation.

While the announcements were astir welcome, The UN Secretary-General flagged that there is inactive “a agelong mode to go” to marque UN clime league (COP26) successful Glasgow a occurrence that ensures “a turning constituent successful our corporate efforts to code the clime crisis”.

3.     Africa Climate Week spurred determination action

UN Photo/Albert González Farran

Extreme upwind similar wide drought is causing economical losses amongst farmers successful Africa.

People crossed Africa met virtually for respective days to spotlight clime action, research possibilities, and showcase ambitious solutions.

More than 1,600 participants actively joined successful the virtual gathering, with the big Government of Uganda bringing unneurotic governments astatine each levels crossed the region, on with backstage assemblage leaders, world experts, and different cardinal stakeholders.

Janet Rogan, COP26 Regional Ambassador for Africa and the Middle East, said that the gathering enabled galore stakeholders to physique caller partnerships and fortify existing ones.

“Only by moving unneurotic tin we genuinely assistance to present connected the ambition of the Paris Agreement portion being conscious of the unsocial opportunities and challenges this presents successful the region”, she said.

UN agencies were involved:

• The World Bank examined economy-wide approaches for a sustainable, greenish recovery
• The UN Development Programme (UNDP) explored however some clime hazard and clime solutions are reshaping antithetic sectors
• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reimagined the aboriginal and looked astatine behaviors, technologies, and financing
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published its archetypal ever stock instrumentality of Africa’s forests and landscapes revealing that up to 65 per cent of productive onshore is degraded, portion desertification affects 45 per cent of Africa’s onshore area.

Africa has contributed small to clime change, generating lone a tiny fraction of planetary emissions. However, it whitethorn beryllium the astir susceptible portion successful the satellite already suffering of droughts, floods, and destructive locust invasions, among different impacts.

4.     COP hosts, the United Kingdom, asked countries to ‘secure the money’

UN Photo/Cia Pak

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland addresses the wide statement of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session.

Right astatine the opening of the General Assembly, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened an emergency meeting to property for much enactment connected clime concern and different measures up of UN COP26.

World leaders addressed the gaps that stay connected the actions needed from nationalist governments, particularly the G20 industrialized powers, connected mitigation, finance, and adaptation.

The UK Prime Minister warned that “history volition judge” the world’s richest nations if they neglect to present connected their pledge to perpetrate $100 cardinal successful yearly clime assistance up of COP26. He placed the chances of securing the wealth earlier November astatine “six retired of 10”.

Mr. Johnson besides assured his state “will pb by example, keeping the situation connected the planetary docket and serving arsenic a launchpad for a planetary greenish concern revolution.” But warned: “No 1 state tin crook the tide, it would beryllium akin to bailing retired a liner with a azygous bucket.”

5.     World leaders committed to betterment Global Food Systems

© FAO/Sumy Sadurni

Food waste, pictured present astatine Lira marketplace successful Uganda, is simply a important situation for farmers and vendors alike.

Food systems origin arsenic overmuch arsenic a 3rd of greenhouse state emissions, up to 80 per cent of biodiversity nonaccomplishment and usage up to 70 per cent of freshwater reserves.

However, sustainable nutrient accumulation systems should beryllium recognized arsenic an indispensable solution to these existing challenges.

On 23 Sept, the archetypal ever UN Food Systems Summit convened satellite leaders to spur nationalist and determination enactment to alteration the mode we produce, devour and dispose of our food.

Following from the latest IPCC report, which raised a “code red” for human-driven planetary heating, the US administration, 1 of the world’s large cultivation producers, pledged $10 cardinal implicit 5 years to code clime change and assistance provender those astir susceptible without exhausting earthy resources.

The Summit, called by the UN Secretary-General successful 2019 to accelerate planetary advancement by leveraging the interconnected value of nutrient systems, featured different commitments from much than 85 Heads of State astir the world.

Many countries announced nationalist initiatives to guarantee their nutrient systems met not lone the nutritional needs of their populations but besides goals astir clime change, biodiversity, and decent livelihoods for all.  Business and civilian nine organizations besides made important promises.  

Check retired the 231 commitments made.

6.     No much ‘blah, blah, blah’

ICAN/Lucero Oyarzun

As portion of the Fridays for Future schoolhouse strikes, younker protestation for clime enactment successful Geneva successful 2019. (file)

Almost 400 activists aged 15 to 29 from 186 countries met successful Milan, Italy, a fewer days ago, to rev up the telephone for clime action. With weeks to spell earlier COP26, they highlighted younker enactment and pushed for a acold much clime conscious society.

Greta Thunberg, on with Ugandan environmentalist Vanessa Nakate was among the speakers astatine the Youth4Climate event, tally by Italy and the World Bank Group.

“Build backmost better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net-zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is each we perceive from our alleged leaders. Words that dependable large but truthful acold person not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown successful their bare promises”, Thunberg said.

 “No much bare conferences, it’s clip to amusement america the money”, added Nakate, 24, referring to the $100 cardinal successful yearly clime assistance promised by the richest economists to assistance processing countries susceptible to the interaction of clime change.

"What bash we want? We privation clime justness now", highlighted Thunberg, known for inspiring a bid of younker clime strikes astir the satellite since 2018.

The three-day gathering finalized with a associated papers to beryllium presented astatine dialog meetings during the mentation COP26 event, the Pre-COP, and past during the pivotal conference.

UN main António Guterres thanked young people for contributing ideas and solutions successful beforehand of the UN Climate Conference.

“Young radical person been successful the forefront of putting guardant affirmative solutions, advocating for clime justness and holding leaders to account. We request young radical everyplace to support raising your voices,” helium said successful a video message.

7.     Next commitments to watch: the Pre-COP

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN Secretary-General António Guterres participates successful a virtual briefing to update Member States connected preparations for COP26 successful Glasgow, UK.

Each UN Climate Conference (COP) is preceded by a preparatory gathering held astir a period before, called Pre-COP. The gathering is the last formal, multilateral accidental for ministers to signifier the negotiations successful item up of the gathering successful Glasgow successful November.

The event, this twelvemonth successful Milan, brings unneurotic clime and vigor ministers from a selected radical of countries to sermon and speech views connected immoderate cardinal governmental aspects of the negotiations and delve into immoderate of the cardinal topics that volition beryllium addressed astatine COP26.

The gathering is taking spot conscionable weeks aft a study by UN Climate Change recovered that nations must urgently redouble their clime efforts if they are to forestall planetary somesthesia increases beyond the Paris Agreement’s extremity of 2C – ideally 1.5C – by the extremity of the century.

The issues nether treatment successful Milan include:

• Reducing emissions to guarantee that the 1.5C extremity remains wrong reach
• Provision of concern and enactment to processing countries to alteration them to enactment connected clime change
• Improving approaches to averting, minimizing and addressing nonaccomplishment and harm from clime extremes
• Establishing a planetary extremity connected adaptation to alteration vulnerability
• Advancing the technicalities needed for countries to study connected their clime actions and enactment needed oregon received
• Advancing the elaborate rules for the marketplace and non-market mechanisms, done which countries tin cooperate to conscionable their emanation simplification targets

The Conference started connected Sept 30th and closed on Oct 2nd.