Top of the COP: Making good on promises and elevating a global action agenda

TOP OF THE COP: MAKING GOOD ON PROMISES AND ELEVATING A GLOBAL ADAPTATION AGENDA

8 November 2022

The time for pledges is over. The time for honesty, delivery, and accountability is long overdue. The COP26 and COP27 Presidents, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, Nigel Topping and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, open the Global Climate Action Agenda at COP27 with their event “Making Good On Promises”. The event will take place at 2pm in Plenary 2 and all stakeholders are invited to attend.

Forming part of the World Leaders Summit, the Global Climate Action High-Level Event is an opportunity to put non-State action at the centre of COP27. The event will see the launch of the Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda and the publication of the ‘Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2022’. 

Today’s Key Announcements

• COP27 President Sameh Shoukry will announce the Sharm El Sheik Adaptation Agenda to enhance resilience for 4 billion people living in the most climate vulnerable communities by 2030. The Adaptation Agenda is the first comprehensive global plan to rally both States and non-State actors behind a shared set of 30 Adaptation Outcomes that are required by the end of this decade across five impact systems: food and agriculture, water and nature, coastal and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure, and including enabling solutions for planning and finance.
• To take stock of progress, the High-Level Champions will today publish their ‘Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2022’. Action by businesses, investors, cities, states, regions and civil societies continues to increase, with 34 Race to Resilience partners from 139 countries taking action to build the resilience of 2.9 billion people, while 26 Race to Zero partners have mobilized more than 11,000 non-State actors. The Global Climate Action Portal, recording a jump of 78% in actors from Asia-Pacific and of 67% from Africa, is evidence that climate action is becoming better distributed across the globe.
• The Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) will be launched by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for ALL (SEforALL), and UNECA. ACMI aims to expand Africa’s participation in voluntary carbon markets by setting an ambition for the continent and developing a roadmap of action programs that will be implemented over the next few years to meet that ambition. The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions are supporting partners in this initiative. 
• Progress on Finance Sector Deforestation Action (FSDA) – a results-driven collaborative of over 35 financial institutions representing more than $8.9 trillion in assets under management – has been announced. Signatory investors are stepping up engagement with companies and policymakers to tackle commodity-driven deforestation while also increasing investments in nature-based solutions (NbS) and promoting convergence across climate and nature-related initiatives. Momentum increases as signatories implement commitments (including engaging with companies) and new investors join, reflecting a growing understanding of the importance of addressing emissions from deforestation as well as the opportunity of investment.
• First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon confirms an additional £5 million of funding to tackle loss and damage - The funds take Scotland’s commitment to addressing loss and damage caused by  climate change to £7 million and will enable communities to take direct action to address the impacts of loss and damage. 

In addition, in collaboration with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and the Global Resilience Partnership, the Scottish Government today launches a report on practical action to address climate losses and damages for the most vulnerable people and nations. The report identifies the urgency to mobilise increased finance from public and private sources and presents innovative ideas to do this – from debt relief and philanthropy, to private investment.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The year since COP26 has presented us with ever more unavoidable proof of the increasing impact of climate change on lives across the world. The suffering of those who have contributed least to climate change is, unequivocally, an issue of climate justice. Climate change, as the floods in Pakistan, drought in the Horn of Africa and wildfires scattered across continents show, threatens fundamental human rights of life, health, food, water. We cannot uphold human rights without addressing loss and damage – urgent practical action must deliver support to the most vulnerable now.  

This Scottish Government report does not, and cannot, provide all the answers. Rather it is a synthesis of insights reflecting the deep expertise and experience of the delegates that came together at the conference. I hope it plays a part in escalating loss and damage action, at COP27 and beyond.”

MARRAKECH PARTNERSHIP EVENTS SCHEDULE 

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND WEBCAST, ACCESS HERE

Global Climate Action High-Level Event (Opening) 

Location: Plenary 2/Ramses 

Time: 2-3pm

Speakers

• Sameh Shoukry, COP27 President, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt 
• Simon Stiell, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
• Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion, COP27
• Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High Level Champion, COP26 
• Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo 
• Bogolo Kenewendo, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion's Special Advisor, Africa Director
• Sophia Kianni, Executive Director, Climate Cardinals; Member, UN Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
• Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group
• Ann Dumaliang, Co-Founder, Masungi Georeserve
• Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, Chief Executive Officer, Naspers South Africa

African Carbon Markets Initiative

NB. This event is invitation only but is available to livestream: https://unfccc.int/event/africa-carbon-markets

Location: Ibis (Action Room 1)

Time: 8:00-9:30am

Thinking Outside The Shell: Towards The Sustainable Blue Future We Need

Location: Nature Pavilion 

Time: 8:30am - 10:00am

Speakers:

Moderator: Loreley Picourt, Executive Director, Ocean and Climate Platform, Focal Point for the Global Climate Action on Ocean and Coastal Zones.  

• Victor Gustaaf Manoppo, Director General of  Marine Spatial Planning, Republic of Indonesia.
• H.E. Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Moderator: Anna-Marie Laura, Director of International Government Relations at Ocean Conservancy.

• Amjad Abdulla, Head of Partnerships, IRENA
• Benjamin Sykes, Head of Environment, Consenting and External Affairs, Orsted
• Remi Parmentier (Director, Varda Group)
• Siddarth Shekhar Yadav (Ocean Youth Fellow, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions)

Moderator: Erik Giercksky, Head of the Action Platform for Ocean, UN Global Compact

• Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director General, FAO
• Rocky Tirona, Vice President Fish Forever, Rare
• Wenche Gronbrekk, Director of Strategy, Partnerships and External Relations, Seabos
• Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Global Leader of Climate & Energy at WWF and interim chair of the IUCN Climate Crisis Commission.
• Razan Al Mubarak, President, IUCN

Driving Delivery on Paris Commitments through Data

Location: Ibis (Action Room 1) 

Time: 10:00am - 11:30am

High-level side event on the recommendations on the high-level Experts Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities

Location: Ibis (Action Room 1) 

Time: 3:30 - 4:30pm 

EXPLORE COP27

Launch of The Children and Youth Pavilion 

For the first time ever at a UNFCCC Conference, children and young people will have a dedicated space at COP27 alongside world leaders, ministers, prominent non-State actors and other delegates. Designed to amplify children and youth voices within global climate policymaking, the COP27 Children and Youth Pavilion will be entirely led by young people and has been co-created and run by influential child and youth networks.The programme of events officially starts at 10am today. A full schedule is available here.

Stop by The Resilience Hub 

The Resilience Hub is once again acting as the home of the Race to Resilience. Click here for the full agenda. The Hub is accessible in-person in Area C and virtually here.

No More Fairy Tales: stories to save our planet

Before we can build the resilient zero carbon economy that we have promised future generations, we must first imagine it. 

Stay inspired by reading today’s story drawn from an anthology of  short stories written by a variety of authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson, Paolo Bacigalupi and others. These stories present positive visions of what a sustainable society might look like and how we might get there.

Each story links to a webpage where readers can see how they can help to make the story a reality. Compiled by the Green Stories Project, in association with Herculean Climate Solutions.

Quote

Those on the front lines of the climate crisis are at the back of the line for support. This is unacceptable. Adaptation to climate impacts must be treated with a seriousness that reflects the equal worth of all members of the human family - UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Africa’s role in decarbonizing the planet

Africa can play a pivotal role in contribution to tackling climate change globally by leading the world in limiting emissions, driving climate restoration and orienting Africa towards its strengths which translate into major new segments of economic opportunity, writes Jack Kimani, Founding CEO of the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A)

Carbon credits and the energy transition: An Investor Perspective

What does the current carbon market boom mean to energy startups in Africa and how should venture capital funds and impact investors evaluate these businesses? Dr. Amar Inamdar, Managing Director of KawiSafi Ventures Fund, explains.

Project Drawdown: COP27 must answer calls for accelerated action and climate justice

The demands of the most impacted — particularly African, Indigenous, youth, and women voices — must be centred throughout these next two weeks at COP27 and beyond, writes Carissa Patrone Maikuri, Project Drawdown

COP27 Day 1: Turning Ambition into Action

Find out what happened on 7 November from the Green Shipping Challenge, to the launch of The Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP). Day 1 at COP27 began with reports on the mobilisation of finance for conservation and restoration of degraded lands benefitting indigenous peoples and farmers. 

Co chaired by Ghana and the United States of America, the FCLP evidenced delivery mode with Heads of State of donor countries indicating they had  already spent $2.67 billion of the $12 billion committed last year to protect and restore forests. Recognizing deforestation increases and that the scale of action must grow, a further $4.5 billion from public and private donors was committed to this agenda.

WHO ARE THE HIGH LEVEL CHAMPIONS?

The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions enhance and strengthen the engagement of non-Party stakeholders in collaborating with Parties, to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. To connect the work of governments with the many voluntary and collaborative actions taken by cities, regions, businesses, investors and civil society, at COP 21, countries decided to appoint two High Level Champions. 

The current Champions are Mr. Nigel Topping and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin. Working with the Marrakech Partnership, they build on the legacy of their predecessors to engage with non-Party stakeholders and activate the ‘ambition loop’ with national governments. Their work is fundamentally designed to encourage a collaborative shift across all of society towards a decarbonized economy so that we can all thrive in a healthy, resilient and net-zero world.

For any press enquiries contact: media@climatechampions.team