Welcoming the 8th High Level Champion

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Welcoming the 8th High Level Champion

We are delighted to welcome Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al Mubarak as the 8th UN Climate Change High-Level Champion of the COP 28 Presidency of the United Arab Emirates.

She will be joining Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin who continues in his role as the High-Level Champion of the COP 27 Presidency of Egypt following the UN Climate Change Conference COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.

COP 28 will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30 to December 12. As mandated by the Paris Agreement, it will deliver the conclusion of the first ever Global Stocktake - a comprehensive assessment of progress against climate goals.

Meet the new High Level Champion for COP 28

Ms. Al Mubarak brings a wealth of experience in conservation and environmental management across the public and private sectors.

As President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Ms. Al Mubarak is responsible for implementing the vision, mission, and strategy of the organization, which represents over 1,400 members, including States, government agencies and non-government organizations from 160 countries.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Al Mubarak said: “A healthy environment, including its climate and biodiversity, is central to everyone’s wellbeing. We must go beyond business as usual and elevate nature as an important solution to climate change. To accomplish this, we need everyone to contribute to global climate action, including women, youth, and indigenous people, as well as business, government, civil society, and academia. The UAE has always been a convener of peoples from around the world and I look forward to working with the COP28 Presidency to ensure that diverse voices are present both in the leadup to, and during, the climate conference. As a lifelong champion of environmental action, including in the protection of biodiversity and the advancement of nature-based solutions, the opportunity to work on this global challenge is an honour.”

Working in partnership with Mr. Mohieldin, High-Level Champion of the COP 27 Presidency, Ms. Al Mubarak will apply her extensive experience to strengthening engagement and mobilizing efforts from non-State actors, including private sector partners, academia, cities and other sub-national governments, indigenous peoples, women’s organizations, and civil society. 

Mahmoud Mohieldin said: "I am very pleased to welcome H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak as the 8th UN Climate Change High-Level Champion of the COP 28 Presidency. During this critically important year, which will see the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake, I am honoured to work alongside H.E. Ms. Al Mubarak to mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action amongst non-State actors with the aim of delivering on the goals and objectives of the UNFCCC, Paris Agreement and further reflected within the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan. Furthermore, I look forward to our collaboration as we build momentum and further action for COP28."

Simon Stiell, the UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary welcomed the new High-Level Champion, COP 28 President-Designate and Youth Climate Champion and said “Looking forward to working with you and all stakeholders, leveraging the UAE’s unique position, to further global ambition and action on climate change.” 

The role of the High-Level Champion was created in 2015 at COP 21 in Paris to facilitate through strengthened high-level engagement the successful execution of existing efforts and the scaling-up and introduction of new or strengthened voluntary efforts, initiatives and coalitions. Through the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, the Champions specifically accelerate ambitious climate action among non-State actors , including cities, regions, businesses, investors and civil society, with the speed, scale and justice needed in support of Parties and the UNFCCC process.

Through the COP 27 Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan, Parties welcomed the leadership of the Presidency of the Conference of the Parties and the High-Level Champions, and the collaboration between Parties and non-Party stakeholders, and emphasized the need for continued acceleration and collaboration.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 

High-Level Champions Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al Mubarak and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin will attend Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) which runs from 14th-19th January. 

Under the theme of ‘United on Climate Action Toward COP28’, ADSW 2023 will convene the global community for a series of events with the aim of advancing the net zero agenda.

Established in 2008, ADSW brings together Heads of State, policymakers, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and youth, who all have a stake in the future of our planet, to discuss and engage on bold climate action and innovations that will ensure the next generation a sustainable world.

Ms. Al Mubarak will share her extensive knowledge and expertise on how Nature-based solutions can accelerate climate action during the ADSW Opening Summit: The Road to COP28.

In addition, Ms. Al Mubarak will emphasize the need for inclusivity in global climate action at the “Women in Diplomacy Event - Empowering Lives and Livelihoods - Renewables for Adaptation”, organised by the International Renewables Energy Agency (IRENA). 

Meanwhile, Mr. Mohieldin will deliver a keynote address at the opening plenary of The Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum during which he will call for an increase in investment to accelerate clean energy deployment and outline how the Champions will support and advance this through its Regional Finance Forums programme. 

Mr. Mohieldin will also address the need for urgent mobilisation of climate finance for renewable energy projects during ‘‘The Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform’ event.

ETAF, managed by IRENA, is a multi- stakeholder climate finance solution dedicated to advance the global energy transition by mobilising and directing an initial USD 1 billion into renewable energy projects in developing markets. ETAF was launched at COP 26 with the UAE announcing an initial investment of USD 400 million via the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

The former COP 26 High-Level Champion will also be joining Mr. Mohieldin in a conversation during the ADSW Summit in a session titled Ground for Optimism - Leveraging Partnerships for Action. They will discuss how strengthening the engagement of non-State actors in the fight against climate change can decrease the emissions gap, and emphasize on the actions that will help facilitate the cooperation from sectors with limited reach for climate action.

Mr. Mohieldin will then further highlight the actionable priorities that target the increase in access to climate finance for non-State actors during his keynote speech at the Youth 4 Sustainability Forum by MASDAR.

For more news from across the Race to Resilience and Race to Zero Communities, check out climatechampions.unfccc.int and Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action/UNFCCC. 

In Case You Missed It 

• UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for radical reform of the global financial system in favour of developing countries. “If there is any doubt about loss and damage, go to Pakistan,” he told delegates at the International Conference on climate resilient Pakistan. “There is loss. There is damage. The devastation of climate change is real. From floods and droughts to cyclones and torrential rains. And as always, those countries least responsible, are the first to suffer.” More than 33 million people were affected by the flooding in Sindh and Balochistan, which is widely regarded to have been Pakistan’s greatest climate disaster. Today, months after the initial emergency, the floodwaters have only partly receded and the disaster is far from over for some eight million who were forced to flee the rising waters, which also killed more than 1,700 people.
• The ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades according to a UN-backed panel of experts. The Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances quadrennial assessment report, published every four years, confirms the phase out of nearly 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances. If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values (before the appearance of the ozone hole) by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic and by 2040 for the rest of the world. “That ozone recovery is on track according to the latest quadrennial report is fantastic news. The impact the Montreal Protocol has had on climate change mitigation cannot be overstressed. Over the last 35 years, the Protocol has become a true champion for the environment,” said Meg Seki, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat. 
• A case study involving Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant shows space-based observations can be used to track carbon dioxide emissions – and reductions – at the source. In the recent study, researchers used space-based measurements from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) 2 and 3 missions to quantify the carbon dioxide discharged hundreds of miles below at Bełchatów Power Station in Poland, the largest single emitter in Europe. Analyzing the plant’s emission plumes from several satellite overpasses between 2017 and 2022, they detected changes in carbon dioxide levels that were consistent with hourly fluctuations in electricity generation. The findings demonstrate that space-based observations can be used to track carbon dioxide emission changes at a local scale, the scientists said.
• The former High-Level Champion for COP 26, Nigel Topping, says net zero is possible in the 2040s. In a recent interview with The Guardian he said his experiences with businesses had shown him that governments could move much faster, without harming their countries’ competitiveness or alarming the business community. “Governments could be way bolder in setting targets, and back their scientists, engineers, businesses, banks, cities to come up with solutions,” he said. “The moonshot analogy is not inappropriate.” 

Mark your calendar

• Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week: 14-19 January
• 13th session of the IRENA Assembly: 14-15 January
• Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum: 14-15 January
• World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023, 16-20 January
• 2nd WASAG International Forum on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, 7-10 February