The “Climate Finance Day in Mexico” (September 18, 2018) is an event with two primary objectives. First, it aims to facilitate a space for multi-stakeholder dialogue so that people interested in mitigation and adaptation to climate change can share their experiences on allocation, access, management, and mobilization of finance to accelerate climate action in the country. Second, it looks to identify challenges and opportunities that can then be translated into a mobilization route that allows the country to implement actions to comply with the commitments that have been established at the national and international level in the matter.
At the international level, various multi-stakeholder dialogues have been held to accelerate climate action, such as the One Planet Summit convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, which seeks to promote collaboration to achieve the assurances of the Paris Agreement, of which Mexico is Signatory and member of the ratification.
Mexico is in the process of government transition, which represents an opportunity to strengthen climate action. Thus, this event aims to generate a dialogue between representatives of the current and future government, with other stakeholders also interested in the subject.
Several initiatives and actions involving the same subject are already taking place and generating different spaces for dialogue and exchange is necessary to achieve the country’s goals. In May and June, several multi-stakeholder dialogues were held to identify challenges and recommendations that various actors propose on mobilizing finance to address climate change. Such challenges and recommendations are the basis for the integration of the event’s agenda.
Strengthen public policies for the effective transition towards a low- carbon, climate-resilient economy;
Strengthen the sustainability vision of the financial sector;
Scaling up the participation of the private sector in climate actions;
Improve transparency to ensure the effectiveness of climate finance.
Mobilization of climate finance to achieve:
The energy transition The sustainable mobility The creation of sustainable cities The conservation of nature and adaptation to climate change
The second edition of the Youth Solutions Report, which identifies 50 youth-led projects that aim to solve the world’s toughest issues, will be released on July 16 in New York during a launch event at the headquarters of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report’s solutions, which come from 61 countries and operate across all continents and regions, deal with crucial sustainable development issues, including clean energy, education, digitalization, e-participation, access to healthcare, ecosystem restoration, sustainable agriculture, and waste.
Like its 2017 predecessor, this year’s Youth Solutions Report provides these initiatives with a powerful platform to secure funding, build capacity, communicate experiences, and scale efforts. In addition, the 2018 edition includes in-depth analysis of the multiple challenges facing youth-led innovation for the SDGs and proposes a set of concrete recommendations for all stakeholders that can help create more integrated ecosystems of support for young change makers.
"The future belongs to the young, who are increasingly providing imaginative solutions to push the Sustainable Development Goals agenda forward, helping to solve the greatest challenges our world faces. Initiatives such as SDSN Youth and its Youth Solutions Report are confirming how important youth-focused programmes are in supporting the ideas and energy coming from the next generation."
Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever and member of the SDSN Leadership Council
On July 16, the launch event of the Youth Solutions Report will be hosted by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and will be live-streamed online at 2:00 pm EDT at www.youthsolutions.report. The list of speakers is available on Eventbrite, where it is possible to register to attend the event in person.
"The Youth Solutions Report is a great platform to showcase the capacity of young women and men for creativity and innovation. Taken together, the brilliant solutions featured in the Report contain a call to future action, an invitation to trust youth as front-runners both in the present and in the future. We need to provide young people with tools and opportunities so that they can – and they will – come up with their own solutions to address problems that arise in their environment."
Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and Founder and CEO of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, said that young people are doers whose talent to spark positive change is yet to be fully recognized.
Siamak Sam Loni, Global Coordinator of SDSN Youth, added that while young people are already contributing to the implementation of the SDGs, they still face common challenges that prevent them from realizing the full potential, including the lack of visibility, limited access to finance, and the lack of training and technical support. “The 2018 Youth Solutions Report will help investors, donors, and supporters better understand the multi-faceted role of young people in sustainable development and give them additional opportunities to showcase and scale their work” concluded Mr. Loni.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was launched at UN Headquarters in September 2015 and adopted by all 193 UN member states. The SDGs, which are relevant to all countries, aim to achieve social inclusion, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability for all people.
SDSN Youth is the youth initiative of SDSN, focused on empowering youth globally to create sustainable development solutions. SDSN Youth educates young people about the challenges of sustainable development and creates opportunities for them to use their creativity and knowledge to pioneer innovative solutions for the SDGs. SDSN Youth creates platforms for young people to connect, collaborate, and integrate their ideas and perspectives within the public policy field.
For more information on the Youth Solutions Report, visit: www.youthsolutions.report
For media enquiries and interview requests, please contact: solutions@sdsnyouth.org
Conserving the global commons can mean grappling with complex issues, studying the science underlying them, and making far-reaching commitments. But it can also involve measuring crabs in a hot village square.
At the end of June, delegates to the Sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in Da Nang, Viet Nam, did both. After two days of intensive meetings, involving heads of government, ministers, and top scientists and businessmen, a group of them headed off to the nearby Cham Islands to witness conservation, literally, at ground level.
[video:https://vimeo.com/278605558]
The islands are home to a community-led initiative which has succeeded in saving their remarkable land crabs (Gecarcoidea Ialandii), a species that lives in caves in the islands' damp forests and only goes to the coast to lay its eggs in hollows in the rocks filled with seawater.
The initiative was made possible by the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. So far it has provided over $580 million to more than 21,500 projects around the world in grants of just $50,000 or less.
Taken together, the grants - which are given directly to community-based organizations and civil society organizations - have so far supported 8.41 million hectares of protected areas, conserved 1,803 significant species, brought 900,000 hectares of land under practices that counter its degradation, and placed 32,000 hectares of marine and coastal areas under sustainable management.
Yoko Watanabe, Global Manager of the programme, says “it provides finance as well as technical expertise and really empowers local communities to be agents of change in addressing environment and livelihood issues. Small grants, but big impacts – that's what we are!”
She calls the land crab project – on the eight small Cham Islands, totaling just 15 sq km – “a very innovative initiative by the local community.”
The islands are set in a rich marine reserve – host to 277 species of coral, 270 of fish, and 97 of mollusk – but less than a decade ago the large black-backed crabs were in sharp decline, overharvested as delicacies for visiting tourists.
Back in 2009, the authorities suspended catching and selling the crabs, but without success. They continued to be caught and sold illegally. So then - in cooperation with the help of the GEF SGP and the nearby mainland city of Hoi An - the local Tan Hiep Communal Association of Farmers devised a way of managing the crabs sustainably. This set up a community group, now with 43 members, to harvest the crabs. The group meets at the end of each month to monitor and review how things are going and decide how many can be caught in the following month. There is an annual maximum catch of 10,000 crabs.
Only mature crabs can be sold – the rest must be returned to the forest – which is how the delegates came to be helping to measure them. Any measuring less than 7cm across their shells have to be released back into the forest. The bigger ones are labeled with a highly adhesive sticker and go to the nearby market.
Studies at Vietnamese universities have shown that these community-imposed restrictions are conserving three-quarters of the islands' crabs each year, with the result that their population is now growing. Prices have more than quadrupled since the scheme was introduced, greatly increasing the harvester's incomes, and they, in turn, pay a fee of some US$1.75 per kilogram of crab to fund it.
The land crab is seen as a “bridge” species that connects the islands' forests with the ocean. It is a biological indicator of the health of both habitats, and its recovery has improved them. This, in turn, has increased ecotourism - and thus incomes and the islands' economy, since almost a third of the islands' households are directly involved in it
“On the one hand the land crabs are protected, on the other hand, local people still have livelihoods,” says Chu Manh Trinh, the representative of the marine reserve who guided the delegates round the project.
The GEF SGP project ended three years ago, but the sustainable management scheme has continued to flourish and has gained a national and international reputation, as the delegates' visit testified.
Stefan Schwager, who represents the Swiss government on the GEF Council said it was “refreshing” for Council members “to go to places where you see what's happening on the ground, meet and hear the people, and see it is beneficial for the environment and also at the same time for the local population”.
Legendary performers Patti Smith and Bob Weir to join a celebration of climate action during the Global Climate Action Summit.
Pathway to Paris, together with 350.org and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a special concert on September 14th at the historic Masonic in San Francisco, California. Set to cap off the Global Climate Action Summit, the concert will focus on the potential for cities to push for, achieve, and go beyond the climate targets highlighted in the Paris Agreement.
Bringing together leading musicians, artists, thinkers, and policymakers, this concert will serve as a call to action, urging the international community to ramp up ambition towards a climate safe future for all.
This marks the fourth collaboration between the partners who previously joined forces for concerts in each of the last three years. The first concerts, in Paris in 2015, coincided with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, while events in 2016 and 2017 served to celebrate climate action by state and non-state actors. Most recently, 2017 saw the partners host a concert at New York City’s historic Carnegie Hall where Pathway to Paris announced the launch of the ‘1000 Cities’ initiative. The initiative invites all cities of the world to transition off fossil fuels and move to 100% renewable energy by 2040 in order to turn the Paris Agreement into reality.
“In the world of music, the best way to improve is through collaboration. This is the same with the critical issue of climate change. We must join together to make this the most ambitious collaboration of our century. We will not be able to implement crucial and challenging solutions to climate change, plastic pollution, and all urgent environmental problems as long as we stand divided. Inseparable from the issue of climate change is the need for world peace, global communication, and an international collaboration unmatched by any event in human history."
Jesse Paris Smith, co-founder of Pathway to Paris
“Cities play a critical role in transforming our world out of the era of fossil fuels and into a renewable world. This is our time to make this shift and transform our cities to become sustainable, resilient cities for us all and future generations. This is our chance as our window of time is narrowing."
Rebecca Foon, co-founder of Pathway to Paris
Along with Patti Smith and Bob Weir, the concert will also feature Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tenzin Choegyal, French pop-soul singer Imany, renowned artist Olafur Eliasson, and Pathway to Paris Founders Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon. Speakers also include 350.org’s Bill McKibben.
Artist Olafur Eliasson will turn the whole audience into artists by creating an interactive collective artwork. Eliasson leads a choreography that motions its audience to hold up a Little Sun solar lantern. The result is a visually striking solar-powered ‘sunrise’ which raises awareness for climate action and energy equality.
All proceeds from the evening will be donated to 350.org, Pathway to Paris, and the United Nations Development Programme.
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org.
Pathway to Paris was founded in September 2014 by Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon, with an intimate evening of music and speakers at Le Poisson Rouge immediately following the People’s Climate March in New York City. A series of similar events unfolded in North America over the ensuing years. The events were initially intended to build awareness to help establish a global climate agreement, leading up to the UN Climate Change Conference (Cop21) that took place in December 2015, and culminated with two major concerts in Paris at Le Trianon, the first weekend of the conference. In November 2017, Pathway to Paris launched the 1000 Cities Initiative at Carnegie Hall in the lead up to COP 23.
Pathway to Paris has presented nine events, including five in NYC, but this night will be especially unique as it will serve as the first West Coast event. Pathway to Paris believes that NYC and LA/SF have the chance to step forward as leading cities of USA, setting the example of transitioning off fossil fuels into a 100% renewable future.
Photo Credits to UNDP, Pathway to Paris, and Jesse Paris Smith
Youth face some of the most significant challenges when it comes to climate change, but also have the biggest opportunity to make a difference.
As climate leaders convene at the landmark Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, California on September 12-14, 2018, they are looking for people across government, business, and civil society for the solutions we need to stop climate change. Will young people answer their call to "take ambition to the next level"?
If we continue on our current track, youth will inherit the most significant impacts of a warming world through direct impacts on social, economic, cultural, and environmental stability.
As the largest voting block in the United States, unprecedented numbers of young people are rising to meet the climate challenge, but even greater levels of action are required to protect our future.
Credits to Our Climate
The Summit will be a moment to celebrate the extraordinary climate action achievements of states, regions, cities, companies, investors, and citizens. It will also be a launchpad for even more ambitious worldwide climate commitments.
It all begins with young people. What ideas do you have to break through the gridlock that persists around climate change? How can we drive real and meaningful solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? How can we engage youth to lead this transformative process? Our Climate invites all 18 to 24-year-olds residing in the U.S. to answer these questions by designing a concrete and implementable policy solution, sustainable business, advocacy campaign, land use design, or scientific proposal.
Contribute your creativity and ingenuity in the #YouthStepUp climate contest. The top winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, and multiple winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to California to help make your visions a reality.
All applications are due by August 3rd, 2018 at 11:59 pm PT.
Photo Credits to Our Climate
HLPF side event
10 July 2018 1:15-2:30 PM
Conference Room 4
Connect4Climate's Senior Advisor Francis James Dobbs was part of a discussion on what a UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion could look like and introduced the X-Ray Fashion VR experience as one of the ways that Connect4Climate could contribute to an ongoing coalition working to make the fashion industry more sustainable.
Francis James Dobbs, Senior Advisor, Connect4Climate, Global Engagement and Partnerships, World Bank Group. Photo Credit: Benjamin Steinlechner / Connect4Climate
Fashion is an environmental and social emergency. Nearly 20 percent of global wastewater is produced by the fashion industry, which also emits about ten percent of the global carbon emissions - more than the emissions of all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Cotton farming is responsible for 24 percent of insecticides and 11 percent of pesticides despite using only 3 percent of the world’s arable land. In addition, the textiles industry has been identified in recent years as a major contributor to plastic entering the ocean, which is a growing concern because of the associated negative environmental and health implications. In addition, fast fashion is also linked to dangerous working conditions due to unsafe processes and hazardous substances used in production. High cost and time pressures are often imposed on all parts of the supply chain, leading to workers suffering from long working hours and low pay, with evidence, in some instances, of modern slavery and child labor.
The fashion industry is a $2.5 trillion-dollar industry that employs approximately 60 million people worldwide, most of them women. Fashion is, therefore, a key economic sector, which has an essential role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Photo Credit: Kaia Rose / Connect4Climate
Take a look at the photo album on Flickr
Despite several organizations’ initiatives, there is yet no coherent, coordinated approach taken by the United Nations to address issues related to the fashion industry. In order to change this, stakeholders from different UN organizations, civil society, and industry gathered at the panel event “Fashion and the SDGs: what role for the UN?,”which was organized in the context of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development in the UNECE region. Stakeholders discussed how the UN could reach a more comprehensive approach toward the development of a sustainable fashion industry in order to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Since most high-consuming countries are located in the UNECE region, the forum was considered as a good starting point for further action. The event was successful in establishing a clear link between the fashion industry and the SDGs, which will be brought to the attention of the UN High-Level Political Forum, in particular through SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production and SDG 15 on life on land.
Photo Credit: Kaia Rose / Connect4Climate
Recommendations discussed prior and during the event revealed the importance of exploring the establishment of a UN Partnership on Sustainable Fashion. Indeed, it is recognized by SDG 17 that the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require different actors working together. In order to achieve this, distinguished panelists from different UN organizations were invited to this side event to explore the elements of what a UN Partnership on Sustainable Fashion could look like.
During this side event, it was announced that UN Environment would be taking on hosting responsibilities for the first year of the Alliance. Also, the ITC has agreed to host the event in the following year.
UN Economic Commission for Europe
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
International Trade Centre
UN Environment
International Labour Organization
UN Global Compact
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Connect4Climate - World Bank Group
UN Office for Partnerships
UN Conference on Trade and Development
Photo Credit: Kaia Rose / Connect4Climate
July 10, 2018 - 1:15-2:30 PM (EDT) - Opening Remarks - Side event at High Level Political Forum, Conference Room 4
H.E. Marie Chatardová, President of ECOSOC
Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive-Secretary, UNECE
Keynote speeches
Mr. Paolo Naldini, Director, Cittadellarte, Fashion B.E.S.T.
Ms. Laura Choi, President, Fashion for Conservation
Ms. Ava J. Holmes, Co-Founder, Fashion for Conservation
Discussion: Elements for a UN Partnership on Sustainable Fashion and how your organization can contribute
Ms. Birgit Lia Altmann, Assistant Economic Affairs Officer, UNECE
Ms. Amber Barth, Senior Program Officer, ILO Office for the United Nations in New York
Ms. Chloé Mukai, Project and Communications Manager, Ethical Fashion Initiative, ITC
Ms. Elisa Tonda, Head, Consumption and Production Unit, UN Environment
Ms. Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Global Climate Action Outreach Office, UNFCCC
Ms. Lilian Liu, Manager of Partnerships, UN Global Compact
Mr. Ola Goransson, Partnerships Coordinator, Divisions for Sustainable Development Goals, UNDESA
Mr. Francis James Dobbs, Senior Advisor, Connect4Climate, Global Engagement and Partnerships, World Bank Group
Ms. Karen Newman, Expert, United Nations
Ms. Teresa Moreira, Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD (presented by Ms. Leonie Meier, UNECE)
Conclusions and next steps
Ms. Monika Linn, Principal Advisor and Chief, Sustainable Development and Gender Unit, UNECE
The 2018 SDG Index and Dashboards report presents a revised and updated assessment of countries’ distance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes detailed SDG Dashboards to help identify implementation priorities for the SDGs. The report also provides a ranking of countries by the aggregate SDG Index of overall performance.
The 2018 SDG Index and Dashboards report presents a revised and updated assessment of countries’ distance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes detailed SDG Dashboards to help identify implementation priorities for the SDGs. The report also provides a ranking of countries by the aggregate SDG Index of overall performance.
This year’s report includes several improvements and additions in comparison to previous versions. It incorporates trend data for the first time. New indicators have been added to cover more accurately the SDGs and associated targets with a special focus on “leave no one behind” for OECD member states. We present data for all 193 UN member states and estimate absolute SDG achievement gaps to complement per capita estimates. Building on the 2017 report, we expand the analysis of international SDG spillovers and present an overall SDG spillover index.
This year, three Nordic countries, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, top the global SDG Index ranking, yet all three still face major challenges in achieving the SDGs. Due to several changes in indicators and some adjustments in the methodology, the results from the 2018 SDG Index and Dashboard are not comparable to the 2017 results. In particular, changes in country scores or rankings cannot be interpreted as SDG progress or regress since last year.
2018 SDG Index and Dashboards Report generates six additional findings:
Results from the novel survey on national SDG implementation mechanisms conducted by the SDSN and the Bertelsmann Stiftung show large variations among G20 countries in how the SDGs are embraced by the political leadership and translated into institutional mechanisms. Some countries have established dedicated coordination units, strategies and action plans, and accountability systems, while others lag behind on some or all of these dimensions. More data and analyses are needed to gauge the level of ambition and effectiveness of SDG strategies, tools, and processes.
For the first time, we are able to show that no country is on track to achieve all the goals by 2030. For example, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland top the 2018 SDG Index, but they need to significantly accelerate progress towards achieving some goals, including Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production) and Goal 13 (Climate Action).
Most developing countries have experienced significant progress towards ending extreme poverty in all its forms, including income poverty, undernourishment, access to health and education services, and access to basic infrastructure. Achievement gaps are greatest towards universal completion of secondary education. Countries experiencing conflict have experienced some of the sharpest reversals, particularly towards achieving Goal 1 (No Poverty) and Goal 2 (No Hunger).
High-income countries obtain their lowest scores on Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production) and Goal 14 (Life Below Water). While no trend data are available for Goal 12, the data for Goal 14 suggest that most of high-income countries have made no progress in recent years towards achieving the Goal. Trends on Goal 15 (Life on Land) are also insufficient. They show that further efforts are needed to protect the biodiversity and support sustainable production and consumption.
High-income countries generate significant environmental, economic, and security spillover effects that undermine other countries’ efforts to achieve the SDGs. Yet, there is high variation in spillovers among countries with a similar per capita income. This suggests that countries can reduce their negative spillover effects without reducing their per capita incomes.
Newly added indicators for OECD countries focusing on inequalities in economic, health, and education outcomes lower the SDG Index scores for some countries. This suggests significant shortfalls in ensuring that no one is left behind, which are hidden by aggregate data. Such disaggregated data are unavailable for most non-OECD countries, so greater investments are needed to fill these data gaps.
The 2018 SDG Index and Dashboard report presents regional dashboards of SDG achievement and trends towards the goals. Country-level data on SDG implementation is consolidated in two-page country profiles for every UN member states, available in the “Country Profiles” section. Data profiles for each SDG Indicator are presented online on www.sdgindex.org.
The inaugural Transition Monaco Forum, an action-oriented global platform dedicated to accelerating and accompanying the ecological and energy transition, concluded on June 27th with a clear message: we must act today to move toward a zero-carbon economy and preserve our planet for future generations.
Next edition slated for June 2019
“The environmental transition is now, and we are at a particularly important moment in history—we are in a battle against global warming which we cannot afford to lose. We’ve succeeded in forming a community of key stakeholders from diverse industries, sectors, and countries dedicated to accelerating the environmental transition. The ultimate success of this Forum will depend on the concrete actions that evolve — in financing, new products, and new technologies — from the dialogue and collaborations initiated at this Forum. We invite everyone to come back to Monaco in June 2019 and report back on their progress over the coming year.”
Lionel le Maux, President of Aqua Asset Management and Co-founder of Transition Monaco Forum
Watch the Monaco Transition Forum videos on YouTube
Take a look at the Workshops takeaways
Nearly 500 participants and over 100 speakers from 43 countries — including government and business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, top experts, and members of civil society — gathered on June 26 and 27 in Monaco to debate the theme “reinventing business models” to combine economic viability and sustainability.
H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sustainability and Legacy Commission and Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and C40 Cities Chair, announced a unique global partnership between the IOC and C40 to organize sustainable Olympic Games.
Credits to Transition Monaco Forum
Richard Attias, Executive Chairman of Richard Attias & Associates, which organized the Forum, committed to making events organized by his company more sustainable: “We commit to reinforcing practical and technical solutions to reduce the ecological footprint of our events. In addition, we have decided to compensate the carbon emissions financially in partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation,” said Attias.
Speakers agreed that educating future generations is critical. 3.8 billion people around the world are below the age of 35. We need to show them positive examples of solutions that work and empower them to take ownership of their future.“We must inspire children to make lasting change,” said Gunter Pauli, businessman and renowned author of the Blue Economy. “We need to work with what the Earth is already producing—we cannot expect the Earth to produce more,” he added.
Financing is one of the biggest roadblocks to scaling innovation. But, investors and top experts agreed that investing in the green economy is profitable.
“Green is profitable. Every year, the world invests $300 billion in renewable energies, because there are proven returns.”
Alzbeta Klein, Director and Global Head of Climate Business for IFC, the third largest issuer of green bonds in the world
“Companies with a lower carbon footprint are generating better returns, and that is the most interesting for our investors,” said Pedro Antonio Arias, Global Head of Real and Alternative Assets at Amundi Asset Management.
In discussing new stakeholder behaviors, panelists agreed that the private sector has a vital role to play in leading a successful transition because the cost to adapt to climate change cannot be covered by governments alone. More than ever, we need a multi-stakeholder approach and innovative local and global collaboration between large companies, small companies, regulators, and investors to speed up the transition to a clean future.
While discussing regulations and how to incentivize businesses to “go clean,” delegates agreed that policies need to enable the transition rather than inhibit it. “When we talk about the clean energy transition we are talking about an overhaul of the energy system to a decentralized system that relies on individuals,” said Rob van Reit, Director of Climate and Energy, World Future Council.
Innovation is at the heart of the transition, and the Forum highlighted a number of innovative and sustainable initiatives, many coming from small companies— from the solar kiosks in Africa to plastic-waste and hydrogen-powered vessels, to disruptive agricultural technologies and sustainable engineering solutions.
“Technical and innovative solutions exist—the problem is how to finance them. The financial needs are huge, and that is one of the biggest problems of developing countries,” said Bernard Fautrier, Vice President of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
While Olivier Biancarelli, CEO of Tractebel-Engie, reminded participants that: “Innovation is great and necessary, but with the urgency of the situation we are facing with climate change, we have to act and react right now. Solutions exist. We do not have to wait for the next great innovation.”
With 75% of humanity predicted to live in cities by 2050, Cities and Territories have a crucial role to play in the clean economy and are taking local level action without waiting for national initiatives. Panelists from both private and public sectors were asked to propose ideas to scale up innovative solutions which address the social, economic and environmental challenges deriving from fast-paced urbanization. Referring to successful initiatives in Africa, France, Israel, the US and around the world, their key recommendations included:
More multi-lateral partnerships between the key stakeholders in the ecosystem: between the public and private sector, between small, medium and large companies, and between regions, companies, and experts;
Engaging and empowering people in local communities, particularly women and younger generations;
Increased financing for small and medium-sized companies with proven, sustainable and profitable business models; and
Integrated planning and the need to modify legal frameworks in order to increase the efficiency of innovative projects.
Watch the "Transition Monaco Forum Highlights" video
Eight sector-specific workshops challenged delegates to identify viable ways for businesses and industries to collaborate and transform their business models in the face of climate change, a growing population and depletion of resources. Some of the key outcomes included:
Water workshop participants suggested blended finance collaborations and concluded that standardization is needed to be able to classify assets, projects, and companies within a globally-recognized set of criteria. Impact Measurement is also key to allow the comparison of investments against each other.
On Mobility and Supply Chain, delegates agreed that companies must tackle the environmental impact across their operations, products and services and their entire value chain. They identified game-changing opportunities for impact finance and patient capital to enable environmental efficiency and social impact at scale in sectors like mining and proposed that new technologies such as blockchain can recreate trust and ensure traceability.
Textiles and Circular Economy workshop participants examined the role cities can play in activating circular behavior with fashion consumers. They recommended introducing pilot programs in cities and providing regulatory and financial incentives.
Plastic vs. Ocean workshop participants discussed new business models that could significantly reduce plastic pollution from coastal cities to the ocean. Their key recommendations included the need to have shared governance involving public actors, mobilizing big brands to help, combining public and private finance, and developing a “prime mover” pilot project to increase the competition between territories on this issue.
Key takeaways from the Waste workshop, which focused on anaerobic digestion as a sustainable solution that turns organic waste into resources, included: the need to increase the valorization of waste through regulation, financial incentives, and promoting the positive effects of projects, such as job creation, energy access and transition, and food security.
Transition Monaco Forum thanks the following partners for their support: Amundi, Aqua Asset Management, Aurum Monaco, Engie, Evergaz, EY, Famae, Gold Truffle Engineering, The Mission for Energy Transition (Principality of Monaco), Monacotech, Optivadarna, SLB Group, and SMEG.
Media partners included: African Business, Challenges, CleanTechnica, Connect4Climate, Forbes, France Médias Monde, Hub Culture, the New York Times and Spark News.
