At the end of last week, countries from all over the globe convened online in an unprecedented Virtual Climate Summit hosted by the Marshall Islands, leaders of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). The aim of the Summit—which aligned with the general mission of the CVF—was to raise awareness of the extent to which a couple degrees of global warming can devastate low-altitude and otherwise at-risk nations.
This “couple of degrees”—2 degrees Celsius—is not an arbitrary number, but rather the maximum net global warming (vis-à-vis preindustrial levels) permissible under the Paris Agreement of 2015. Participants in the Climate Vulnerable Forum stressed that even this 2-degree benchmark is not ambitious enough, and that any warming beyond 1.5 degrees will have deadly sea level and coral bleaching ramifications for low-lying and ocean-dependent communities.
The Virtual Climate Summit communicated these ideas through emotional documentaries, poems and call-to-action videos, live panel discussions and head of state video messages. And in addition to highlighting disproportionately affected nations, the Summit called attention to disproportionately affected strata of society, with a special focus on women and their tendency to bear the brunt of global warming effects.
The Summit was not a pessimistic event but rather a realistic one, laying out the direness of the current situation and proactively offering solutions moving forward. The Marshall Islands set the tone of the Summit by stepping up and announcing concrete plans to raise climate ambition, declaring a commitment to 100% renewable energy and zero net emissions by 2050. Fiji joined the Marshall Islands by announcing an enhanced country climate action plan by next year and the Summit welcomed similar pledges from other endangered nations looking to set a sterling example for the rest of the world.
The official outcome of the Summit, particularly the “Jumemmej Declaration” will feed into the agreed mechanism to promote enhanced action by all nations party to the Paris Agreement dubbed the “Talanoa Dialogue” and sends a powerful call to arms to all leaders and non-state actors to enhance ambition by 2020. During the Summit Vanuatu also announced they may be seeking legal action against fossil fuel companies, taking the climate battle to the courts.
This event was the perfect way to set the stage for the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), which commences this week in Katowice, Poland and will continue through mid-December. COP24 is bringing together delegations to reassess the demands of global warming and to ramp up support for climate action in light of the IPCC Global Warming of 1.5 °C report, which emphasizes that current country climate action commitments are not enough. Building on the spirit of the Talanoa Dialogues, which personalized climate action through emotional story-telling and strive to raise ambition, COP24 aims to unpack a “Just Transition” for industries and economies by changing together.
The Virtual Climate Summit was an impactful reminder that even 2 degrees can be deadly, and yet the latest data suggest humanity is well on its way to 3 degrees of warming by the end of this century. COP24 will be an opportunity to take to heart the concerns laid out by the Vulnerable Climate Forum last week and redouble international commitments to the goals of the Paris Agreement.
With global carbon emissions at an all-time high in 2017 according to the WMO, leaders on climate agree that it’s now or never if we as a global community need to step up to have a shot at preventing global catastrophe. The IPCC tells us we have 12 years to make the global transition, decarbonize economies by 45% by 2030 from 2010 level, while also ensuring those most affected develop resilience to increasing climate impacts. Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. Entrepreneurs and investors in the private sector have shown an eagerness to contribute to the sustainable development sphere, and pricing carbon is seeing wider and wider adoption rates, while subsidies for fossil fuels are being removed.
The message of COP24 is not that we’re doing nothing right, but rather—in line with the arguments of the Virtual Climate Summit—that we need to seize on what we are doing right and do much more of it in the years to come. This will require novel strategies, a renewed sense of urgency, and wide-ranging teamwork, all of which are attainable if we keep our eyes on a brighter future.
Connect4Climate will be at COP24 from 3-14 December. Follow the daily Facebook live broadcasts from the Joint MDB Pavilion and look out for our call-to-action videos. Join the discussion, we are stepping up climate action.
Banner and thumbnail photo credits to the Climate Vulnerable Forum
CVF Virtual Summit on Twitter
"Today is a historic day because we brought world leaders together online!" - @President_Heine, President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Watch the outcomes of the #VirtualClimateSummit at https://t.co/3PqNNbzc5x #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/BRoSoVPnn7
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
For #MarshallIslands & other vulnerable nations sidelining the #ParisAgreement is simply not an option: achieving it could be the difference between life and death.
Watch #VirtualClimateSummit a push to raise awareness of the severity of warming trends https://t.co/THS6If8mPx pic.twitter.com/1qcJa5upAR— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
#SocialEnterprise #Youth & #Technology are key ingredients in helping achieve the #1o5C target through transformative #ClimateAction and global #Leadership. Read @maxthabiso article: https://t.co/DY8jzUWMBf @Medium #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #COP24 #UNGA pic.twitter.com/kIdIMZjpw4
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
.@KurtykaMichal President of #COP24: "40 million will be invested in the next 10 years in #Poland to reduce carbon emissions. We are all different but we share the same goal: to protect our people and our way of life." #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/0eNTCu29a6
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
"Science has spoke. Now we need to act! It's a moment for leaders to stand in solidarity with most vulnerable and reinforce efforts to limit global warming to #1o5C. Time is running out and we can not fail" @NaokoIshiiGEF @theGEF #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 pic.twitter.com/NU1WJ7tQ7H
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
"Climate change is still moving faster than we are" @antonioguterres @UN #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 pic.twitter.com/fl20lmyI8T
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
.@jamespeshaw: "We will invest 3 million #NewZealand dollars to support small islands facing the #climatechange impacts. Now more than ever we need greater ambition." #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/Mccd62MSoL
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
"We've reached a critical point! The #climatechange impacts are happening now more intensely than we've predicted. Achieving the #SDGs goals requires unprecedented multilateral efforts & the #ParisAgreement is our path forward" @PEspinosaC #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/EeBeTiYgku
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
“If we step up and take bold #climate action this can lead to $26 trillion benefits by 2030, more jobs, prevent premature deaths from pollution & raise gender equality” - #VirtualClimateSummit Climate Ambition #1o5C discussion
Low-carbon growth makes economic sense. #StepUp2018 pic.twitter.com/PUOUQOIjvd— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
"I am confident we can achieve the #ParisAgreement goals, but with one condition: raising our ambition!" - @EmmanuelMacron, President of France in his message at the #VirtualClimateSummit. #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/1pSd4ULoMa
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
#VirtualClimateSummit begins today, led by @President_Heine and @theCVF. Leadership on #ClimateAction and a clean, sustainable & reliable energy transition is needed more than ever or we risk leaving the most vulnerable behind. Watch online: https://t.co/ZHDc4iZjDW #SDG7 #SDG13
— Rachel Kyte (@rkyte365) November 21, 2018
"We do have to set our minds to a maximum 1.5 degrees at a greater pace, at a greater scale. We can not duplicate vulnerability around the world but rather create a world that is safer" @CFigueres #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/h8Emj2Gdk1
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
Mayor of #Accra @MayorAdjeiSowah at #VirtualClimateSummit: “We need to build #resilience to address #climate change” - Accra is outing forward string plans.
Watch: https://t.co/0DiWB6NXD2#StepUp2018 #ClimateSction #1o5C pic.twitter.com/1FfcuTwXpc— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
President of #Colombia @IvanDuque “Colombia wants to be a part of the solution, we all must act to prevent the effects of #climatechange.”#VirtualClimateSummit #1o5C #StepUp2018 #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/yekDIA26zU
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
The threats of global warming weigh heaviest on the minds of women, who make up 70% of the world’s poor.
The #ClimateVirtualSummit have taken special care to include female voices in this dialogue #StepUp2018 https://t.co/OukE1jFfKZ #1o5C pic.twitter.com/DGi9jRZ16t— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
.@LauraTuck_WB "If the global community doesn't take urgent & significant action we estimate that more than a 100 million people could fall back into poverty. Every year we delay a window of feasibility is cut" #StepUp2018 #1o5C #VirtualClimateSummit pic.twitter.com/vCtDbDvaTx
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
“#1o5C is a global imperative, it’s for every country!” @climatemorgan at #VirtualClimateSummit “We need to think bond and big, and not sleepwalk through chaos”
Live: https://t.co/yIKaYsMT4I
“More leadership! People power is #renewable” Phase out #fossilfuels & support forests pic.twitter.com/t6jTCDRkWx— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
“We must act now, brothers and sisters, and act decisively!” Dr. Keith Mitchell - Prime Minister of Grenada #VirtualClimateSummit #1o5C #ClimateAction #COP24 #Talanoa4Ambition
Live: https://t.co/0DiWB6NXD2 pic.twitter.com/c3zpOd2eGS— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
"No continent, no nation and no people can claim there immunity to the effects of #climatechange!" - @MichaelDHiggins, President of Ireland at the #VirtualClimateSummit. #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/ey0YNNK7Jb
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
"We must act together to #StepUp the #ClimateChange challenge!" - @erna_solberg, Prime Minister of Norway at the #VirtualClimateSummit. #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/9CZ9J0WHeG
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 22, 2018
Wake up world. Wake up delegates. We have to preserve this world. We have a lot to do if we want to stay behind #1o5C - @JerryBrownGov
#VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
"This is a difficult challenge but I believe that together we can reach it @MikeBloomberg #VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 #1o5C pic.twitter.com/Sqn6788G2O
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018
.@algore "Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? Every day we still put 10 million tons of pollution into our planet. The @IPCC_CH shows we need to act urgently. I urge you to act"#VirtualClimateSummit #StepUp2018 pic.twitter.com/5gbJ1t8fg8
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) November 21, 2018