UNFCCC's COP 28: main outcomes and failures

 The 28th  conference under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came at a critical moment in time, with 2023 set to be the warmest year on record and the impacts of climate change rapidly accelerating. International climate change negotiations at the COP28 conference in Dubai concluded on 13 December 2023.

Below are the main outcomes and failures of the COP 28:

IPCC about potential climate change adaptation and mitigation options

In its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), IPCC integrates the contributions and findings of the three Working Groups. Compared with previous IPCC assessments, there is a greater focus on problem solutions, more regional information, and more integration across Working Groups. IPCC's AR6 states that world needs fast transitions across all sectors and systems to achieve deep and sustained emissions reductions and secure sustainable future for all.

The cost-of-living crisis and climate-related risks are the biggest future threats facing the world

The World Economic Forum asked 1,200 experts under its annual Global Risks Perception Survey to rank the most severe short- and long-term risks, and they identified the cost-of-living crisis as the most severe immediate risk but saw the failure to mitigate the climate crisis as the biggest risk 10 years from now.

Federal government will invest $183 million in Low Carbon Cities Canada

                        Source: http://lc3.ca/

Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3)  is an initiative that will support and accelerate urban carbon emission reduction actions, helping Canada meet the 2030 and 2050 climate change mitigation targets. LC3 is a partnership between  the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and seven local centers located in largest metropolitan areas -  Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Edmonton, Calgary, the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area, Ottawa, Montreal Metropolitan Community, and the Halifax region, representing 43 per cent of the country’s population, and working in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. These centers will be serving more than 100 cities and towns all over the country. 

3D printing has significant potential to lower GHG emissions

Study, published in Energy Policy journal,contains a qualitative assessment of 3D printing induced sustainability implications and quantifies changes in life cycle costs, energy and CO2 emissions globally by 2025.

WRI: more than 20 countries have reduced annual GHG emissions in 21 century while growing their economies

A study by the World Resources Institute found that since the start of the 21st century, 21 countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, UK, Ukraine, Spain and others, have already fully decoupled their economic growth from carbon emissions. Over the 14-year period, the aggregate annual CO2 reduction for these 21 countries amounted to slightly more than 1 billion metric tons.

Canada - U.S. agreement on climate, energy, and Arctic protection

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement  about agreement to take joint steps to fight climate change, including cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, collaborating on expanding wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, and protecting the Arctic. Two countries will work together to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45% below 2012 levels by 2025.

Scientific breakthrough: carbon dioxide and water can be converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels

Researches from University of Texas have proven that concentrated light, heat and high pressures can be used to drive this type of reaction.The process is simple, inexpensive and environmentally clean - a byproduct of the reaction is oxygen.

IEA: energy efficiency is a key solution to climate change

According to IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP 2015), which examines innovation in the energy technology sector, energy efficiency can deliver 38 percent of what is needed to keep our planet within the two degree scenario of global warming by 2050. The technologies and solutions to make it happen already exist, and make good business sense.

New UNFCCC report reveals huge policy potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction

A new report, published by The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate,  presents best practice climate policies from across the world and describes existing opportunities to immediately scale up reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while powering up ambition to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

China will launch the world’s largest national carbon trading program in 2017

The targeted industries in China include power generators, steel and cement producers, and other industrial sectors. Program will incentivize major polluters to reduce emissions by handing out a limited number of permits based on a national emissions cap.

The United States and China Joint Presidential Statement: Common Vision for an Ambitious Global Climate Agreement in Paris

The Joint Presidential Statement was made on the occasion of President Xi’s State Visit to Washington, D.C.and it includes significant domestic policy announcements and commitments to global climate finance. Statement builds on last November’s historic announcement by President Obama and President Xi of ambitious, respective post-2020 climate targets, describes a common vision for a new global climate agreement to be concluded in Paris this December.

Ontario First Province in Canada to Set 2030 GHG Emission Reduction Target

A new mid-term target is to reduce emissions by 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. Ontario already has a goal to decrease GHG pollution by 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. Ontario is joining other leading subnational jurisdictions -- including California, Québec and British Columbia -- that have or will set mid-term targets to limit global warming to 2°C. In April Ontario announced it would be putting a limit on the main sources of greenhouse gas pollution through a cap and trade program, to be linked with Québec and California. Read more at http://news.ontario.ca/

What next for the Green Climate Fund?

GCF  board meets in Korea to discuss how it will leverage billions in private funds. The Private Sector Facility (PSF), widely regarded as one of the innovative features of the Fund, has started to take shape with the board confirming that private sector intermediaries can be accredited to deploy the Fund’s resources.Such entities, the Board decided, will have a choice of financial instruments that includes equity and guarantee instruments alongside grants and loans.
Advice and specific recommendations on two particularly innovative roles of the PSF were provided.
First,  the importance for ensuring the Fund supports the local private sector in developing countries, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) for both mitigation and adaptation activities.
 The other potentially innovative role for the PSF is on mobilising funds at scale. Given the scale of the climate related investment challenge, accelerating the participation of institutional investors within the financing of countries’ mitigation and adaptation programmes was emphasised.  Read more at http://www.rtcc.org

IPCC launches complete Synthesis Report, the concluding instalment of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5)

Written by over 800 scientists from 80 countries, and assessing over 30,000 scientific papers, the Fifth Assessment Report tells policymakers what the scientific community knows about the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. The key findings of the Synthesis Report, initially released on 2 November 2014, are:
· Human influence on the climate system is clear;
· The more we disrupt our climate, the more we risk severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts; and
· We have the means to limit climate change and build a more prosperous, sustainable future. Read more at http://www.ipcc.ch/

India to partner with Africa to fight climate change

Ahead of the UN climate conference in Paris later this year, India Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar  on Wednesday said that adaptation and mitigation must be accorded "equal" importance and assured that it will partner with African nations to fight climate change while taking cooperation to a "new level". Read more at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Climate Adaptation Experts Help Prepare for Disaster

Over the past few years, climate adaptation has become a field, separate from climate mitigation, which focuses on reducing emissions and minimizing carbon footprints. Climate adaptation experts now head up new adaptation practices at consulting firms or lead sustainability teams for companies and government offices. Although climate mitigation is still far more common and better funded, climate adaptation is having a moment. The first step in any climate adaptation project, whether for the private or public sector, is to conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine which climate-related changes might most affect the company or region. Read more at www.climatecentral.org

World Bank agrees $8 million aid to India for climate change mitigation

The money will be used to implement special projects to improve adaptive capacity of the rural poor, engaged in farm-based livelihoods, to climate change in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The assistance fund, under Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC), will be for projects that will help community institutions of the rural poor, particularly women farmers, to foster improved resilience in the production system in collaboration with government programs. Read more at economictimes.indiatimes.com 

 

 

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