Government Ministers at COP27 Call for More Ambitious Climate Action
Government ministers attending the roundtable delivered a collective call to urgently ramp up ambition across the board, with many developing countries stressing the need for support and sustained financial flows. Most ministers agreed the 1.5°C temperature limit is a “red line” that cannot be crossed.
In his remarks; Mr. Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said “The conference decision on the mitigation work program – the decision that all Parties support – must reflect the level of urgency, the gravity of the threats we are facing, and the shortness of the time we have remaining to avoid the devastating consequences of runaway climate change,”
Mr. Stiell called for an ambitious mitigation work program that would reduce emissions faster, catalyze impactful action, and secure assurances from key countries that they have to take immediate action to raise ambition and keep us on the path towards 1.5°C.
Dr. Jim Skea, the IPCC’s Working Group III Co-Chair, added a sense of hope to the roundtable discussions by illustrating the availability of solutions in all sectors that can be deployed immediately to close the gap by 2030.
According to the IPCC, the available mitigation solutions have the potential to halve emissions from 2019 levels by 2030 and cost less than USD 100 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. Marking the vast potential in the energy sector, for example, Dr. Skea pointed out that the costs of wind and solar solutions have dropped dramatically in recent years. He also highlighted the huge potential of emission reductions in agriculture, land use, and forestry, including better soil management and ecosystem restoration. “We know how to do this, it’s as if we’ve laid out all our tools on the tool bench but have yet to pick them up,” said Dr. Skea.
Source: https://unfccc.int/news/government-ministers-at-cop27-call-for-more-ambitious-climate-action
COP27: The Climate Summit of Implementation
IRENA’s global finance platform ETAF just recently managed to close in on USD 1 billion to advance project funding in developing markets. IRENA is also closely working with the Egyptian COP27 Presidency. Under the Marrakech Partnership, IRENA is coordinating the Energy Action Day with partners from countries, regions, cities, and companies. It is encouraging to see that net zero commitments are steadily growing, inside and outside the NDC process and beyond the 2030-time horizon. Surveys show that 35% of the 2,000 largest publicly traded companies globally have or are considering a net zero target.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cop27-climate-summit-implementation-unclimatechange/
Countries pledge added support to GEF funds for urgent climate adaptation
Announcing a total of $105.6 million in new funding, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Walloon Region of Belgium, stressed the need for even more support for the Global Environment Facility funds targeting the immediate climate adaptation needs of low-lying and low-income states.
The GEF programming strategy for the next four years anticipates that the LDCF will provide between $1 billion and $1.3 billion for Least Developed Countries and that the SCCF will provide between $200 million to $400 million for Small Island Developing States and other climate-vulnerable developing states.
Global Environment Facility (GEF) announced the allocation of 70.6 million USD to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and 35.0 million USD to the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). Additional countries expressed their strong political support to the two funds, with several in the process of securing resources. The new contributions to the LDCF and SCCF will continue supporting adaptation priorities identified by recipient countries.
Sources:
- [1] https://www.thegef.org/newsroom/press-releases/countries-pledge-added-support-gef-funds-urgent-climate-adaptation
- [2] https://www.thegef.org/newsroom/news/joint-statement-donors-pledge-105-6-million-and-confirmation-support-least-developed
COP27 Energy Day Focuses on Balancing Energy Trilemma
- Africa Just and Affordable Energy Transition Initiative (AJAETI) launched
- Green hydrogen discussed as critical growing energy source
- Ministers address strategies countries can adopt to improve energy security
The COP27 Presidency initiative to present pathways for an Africa Just and Affordable Energy Transition Initiative (AJAETI) was launched at Energy Day. The initiative focuses on solutions to help Africa overcome the energy transition dilemma by identifying risks, and opportunities, and empower the critical enablers that are required to succeed.
Commenting on Energy Day, COP27 President H.E. Mr. Shoukry said: “Energy is one of the most carbon-intensive sectors in any given economy, making it one of the most important areas to effect meaningful mitigation measures that contribute to addressing climate change and transitioning to a green economy for the future. Science is clear: global emissions need to be reduced by half by 2030, reaching net-zero by 2050. To achieve this, we need to invest in new sources of energy that are clean, affordable, accessible, sustainable, and reliable.”
Source: https://cop27.eg/#/news/251/%20COP27%20Energy%20Day%20Focuses%20on%20B
The COP27 Presidency launched the Africa Just & Affordable Energy Transition Initiative (AJAETI) during the opening session of COP27’s Energy thematic day. AJAETI aims to focus on three key objectives:
- Consolidate and facilitate technical and policy support that will make just and affordable energy transitions in all African countries financially viable, securing access to affordable energy by 2027 for at least 300 million Africans, and contributing to SDG 7.1 target of universal access by 2030.
- Transition 300 million out of the 970 million, who do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, towards clean cooking by 2027, contributing to the SDG 7.1 target of universal access by 2030.
- Transition towards green energy by increasing the share of renewable electricity generation by 25 percentage points by 2027 and obtaining a power sector based on renewables by 2063, in line with the “Africa We Want” agenda.
Source: https://cop27.eg/#/news/247/COP27%20Presidency%20Launches%20AJAE
Joint Work Programme of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism Launched at COP27
The two bodies of the Technology Mechanism under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement; the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), launched their joint work programme to accelerate the deployment of transformative climate technologies that are urgently required to tackle climate change. The United States announced today a contribution of USD 3 million to support the implementation of the Joint Work Programme.
The European Commission declared that it will continue its support by providing a new EUR 2 million contribution to the Climate and Technology Centre and Network.”. Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Stefan Wenzel underlined Germany’s support and announced a voluntary contribution of EUR 1.5 million to CTCN and EUR 500,000 to TEC in 2022. In addition, the Canadian government has confirmed a CAD 6 million grant to the CTCN.
Source: https://unfccc.int/news/joint-work-programme-of-the-unfccc-technology-mechanism-launched-at-cop27
China Climate Advisers Say More Coal Needed for Energy Security
The representing team of China at CoP 27 summit declared that China’s plan to add its world-leading fleet of coal power plants are a short-term Band-Aid to address energy security concerns and don’t represent a shift in emissions policies.
Keep the 1.5°C goal alive, experts and civil society urge on ‘Energy Day’ at COP27
According to the International Renewable Agency (IRENA), only 29 per cent of global electricity generation currently comes from renewables, and carbon emissions continue an upward trend. UNEP chief, Ms. Inger Andersen, stated “We’ve barely scratched the surface. And the one year since Glasgow, frankly, has been a year of climate procrastination. By 2030, we need to reduce emissions by between 30 to 45 percent, but since COP26 we’ve shaved off one percent. So, we have a long way to go”
- On another note, The UN climate chief said that South Africa’s multimillion-dollar plan to shift from coal towards green energy is a key moment in the global push toward the transition away from fossil fuels.
- On the future of energy, Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director General, explained that the future of energy systems will be based largely on renewables and complemented by green hydrogen and the sustainable use of biomass. “Today we have less than one-third renewable, two-thirds of fossil fuel in the energy system. We will have a completely different situation in 2050 where renewables and clean energy will be the more than two-thirds of energy… everything is changing” he said, echoing Dr. Skea, that solar and wind energy solutions have had a two-digit price reduction in the last two years. “The Ukraine crisis has certified the end of energy system centralized on fossil fuels. Governments have suddenly discovered that we cannot have 80 percent of the country dependent on fossil fuel and everyone wants now to go for a system that could be more independent,” the expert argued.
Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130622
US to Announce Africa Climate Early-Warning System Aid at COP27
The US will make announcements on how it will assist African nations in setting up early-warning weather systems at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November, the country’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, said. The funding will come through the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, or PREPARE, launched by Joe Biden, the US president, at COP26 in Glasgow last year, Kerry said.
COP27 Debates Who Pays for Climate Damage as Egypt Urges Deal
The president of COP27 is optimistic that a deal on loss and damage can be reached this week, despite disagreements over who should pay for destruction caused by climate change. Mr. Shoukry said “I certainly will work to reach that landing zone” in a way that’s satisfactory.
Irrigation Minister launches ‘Action on Water Adaptation and Resilience’ initiative
Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam announced on Monday, the launch of the Action on Water Adaptation and Resilience (AWARE) initiative, within activities of the Water Day during COP27. The Initiative comes in partnership with World Meteorological Organization.
Africa Grows Green announces winning start-ups during COP27
The Africa Grows Green (AGG) Awards announced winning projects during COP27 – the ideal platform to boost and celebrate sustainable initiatives. The announcement came in the presence of Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment; Reem Abd El Meguid, Co-Founder of Istidama; and Emad Hefny, CEO of Seeders Capital, as partner and jury member.
Source: https://dailynewsegypt.com/2022/11/15/africa-grows-green-announces-winning-start-ups-during-cop27/
