Concrete Climate Action Commitments at COP23
New wave of climate action has been announced during COP23 from countries, cities, states, regions, business and civil society.
As the UN Climate Change Conference comes down to the last day and governments work to complete the final negotiation decisions, it’s good to be reminded of the new wave of climate action that has been announced during COP23 from countries, cities, states, regions, business and civil society.
The common message from all sides at this conference has been that action to get on track towards the objectives of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and to ultimately achieve the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals is urgent, time is really running out and everyone simply must do much better together to drive climate action further and faster ahead now.
Above all, this means rapidly raising the current global ambition to act on climate change that is captured in the full set of national climate action plans (NDCs) which sit at the heart of the Agreement.
The following list includes announcements made during COP23 to drive us further, faster and together to this destination.
Financing Climate Action
Major announcements included funds to support the poorest and most vulnerable, whose plight has been brought into sharp perspective by this year’s extreme weather InsuResilience Initiative additional US$125 million from Germany to support the provision of insurance to 400 more million poor and vulnerable people by 2020. A G20 and V20 (vulnerable nations) partnership. Adaptation Fund exceeds 2017 Target – Germany’s contribution of €50 million and Italy’s contribution of €7 million means the Fund has now surpassed its 2017 target by over US$13 million and stands at a total equivalent of US$93.3 million. Norway & Unilever US$400 million fund for public and private investment in more resilient socioeconomic development. Investing in business models that combine investments in high productivity agriculture, smallholder inclusion and forest protection Germany and Britain to provide combined US$153 million to expand programmes to fight climate change and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest
European Investment Bank will provide US$75 million for a new US$405 million investment programme by the Water Authority of Fiji. The scheme will strengthen resilience of water distribution and wastewater treatment following Cyclone Winston, the world’s second strongest storm ever recorded, which hit Fiji in February 2016
Green Climate Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed up to free US$37.6 million of GCF grant financing in the US$243.1 million Saïss Water Conservation Project to make Moroccan agriculture more resilient
World Resources Institute announced a landmark US$2.1 billion of private investment earmarked to restore degraded lands in Latin America and the Caribbean through Initiative 20×20
UNDP, Germany, Spain and EU launch the €42 million programme NDC Support Programme at UN Climate Summit to help countries deliver on the Paris Agreement
NDC Partnership to establish a new regional hub to support the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the Pacific 13 countries and IEA – €30m to “IEA Clean Energy Transitions Programme” to support clean energy transitions around the world Ecuador to reduce 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the forest sector Gabon’s National Park Service to halt illegal logging to stop emission of 20 million tonnes of CO2
Investing in Climate Action
HSBC announces £100 billion for green investments just before COP23 R20 and Blue Orchard Finance’s African Sub-national Climate Fund to provide ready-to-invest projects and funds to implement at least 100 infrastructure projects by 2020
Co-ordinating Climate Action
With so many climate action pledges and initiatives from across governments, businesses and civil society organisations, there is a growing need to co-ordinate effort to ensure that every cent invested and every minute of work contributed results in a much greater impact than each acting separately.
SIDS Health Initiative by WHO, UN Climate Change secretariat and Fijian COP 23 Presidency to ensure small island developing states have health systems resilient to climate change by 2030
America’s Pledge brings together private and public sector leaders to ensure the US remains a global leader in reducing emissions and delivers the country’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement
Powering Past Coal Alliance brings together 25 countries, states and regions to accelerate the rapid phaseout of coal and support affected workers and communities to make the transition
C40 mayors of 25 pioneering cities, representing 150 million citizens, pledged to develop and begin implementing more ambitious climate action plans before the end of 2020 to deliver emissions neutral and climate resilient cities by 2050
Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction – signed agreement to dramatically speed up and scale up collaborative action below50 -World Business Council on Sustainable Development initiative to grow the global market for the most sustainable fuels. EcoMobility Alliance – Ambitious cities committed to sustainable transport. Transforming Urban Mobility Initiative – Accelerating implementation of sustainable urban transport development and mitigation of climate change.
The Ocean Pathway Partnership aims, by 2020, to strengthen action and funding that links climate change action; healthy oceans and livelihoods including through the UN Climate Change process and via national climate action plans
United Nations Development Programme launched the Global Platform for the New York Declaration on Forests to accelerate achievement of its goals of forest protection and restoration.