Climate change is a big problem, and there are many different things we can do to help our planet. One of the simplest and most impactful is reducing food waste in our day-to-day lives!
The food we eat traverses great distances – sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles – to reach our plates.
As nations begin to emerge from the Covid-19 public health crisis, we have a unique opportunity to build back better with a central emph
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Transitioning to a low-carbon future starts with clean energy. The good news is that the emerging renewable energy sector</span>—wind, solar, hydro—<span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">has the power to drive job creation worldwide.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will generate proposals to drive the energy transition and foster green jobs in the wake of the pandemic.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read our article on </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/sustainable-recovery-building-b…; style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Sustainable Recovery</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Watch #Youth4ClimateLive </span><a href="https://youtu.be/EG20_RyOqVU" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Episode 2: Driving Sustainable Recovery</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:18px">Read <a href="http://India’s Solar Learning Curve Inspires Action Across the World" target="_blank">"India’s Solar Learning Curve Inspires Action Across the World,"</a> a World Bank Feature Story on the hard but vital work of expanding solar energy infrastructure in India and beyond</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Check out what transpired at <a href="§%09https:/www.seforall.org/events/seforall-youth-summit-2021">SE4All’s 2021 Youth Summit</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Add your input to <a href="https://studentenergy.org/">Student Energy’s Global Youth Energy Outlook</a></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Climate change is already here, and whatever changes we implement now will take decades to start undoing the damage. So even as we work to reimagine our economies and enshrine sustainability in policy, we must also address the realities of global warming that are facing us today.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will focus on enhancing the role of youth in driving adaptation and resilience, in part by eliminating barriers to entry.</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><strong><span style="color:rgb(0, 128, 0)">Learn More</span></strong></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:arial">Read Connect4Climate’s article on </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/adaptation-resilience-collectiv…; style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family:arial">Adaptation and Resilience</span></a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:arial">Watch #Youth4ClimateLive </span><a href="https://youtu.be/hPXbGd7iOXk" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204); font-family:arial">Episode 8: Driving Adaptation and Resilience</span></a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Read the <a href="https://gca.org/reports/global-youth-call-to-action-adapt-for-our-futur… Youth Call to Action: Adapt for our Future</a> report</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Read about the <a href="https://gca.org/youth-in-climate-adaptation-moving-towards-the-digitali…; target="_blank">digitalization of agriculture</a> in this post from the Global Center on Adaptation</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">And check out these helpful resources on <a href="https://gca.org/programs/youth-leadership/">youth leadership in adaptation</a>, also courtesy of the GCA</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Technology can help us build a sustainable economy, but we can't forget that the ulimate key to life on Earth is nature itself. Nature-based solutions</span>—approaches to sustainable development respecting and drawing inspiration from the wonders of the world around us—<span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">will allow us to restore the vibrancy of life on earth, saving endangered species, protecting ecosystems, and revitalizing areas damaged by sea rise, drought, and desertification. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:rgb(0, 128, 0)">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will explore the interrelations between climate change, nature and health, generating strategies to build back better via natural solutions.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read Connect4Climate’s article on </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/?q=article/nature-based-solutions-harmo…; target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">N</span>ature-Based Solutions</a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Watch #Youth4ClimateLive </span><span style="background-color:transparent">Episode 4: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb8gStJ68eM" target="_blank">"Driving N</a></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb8gStJ68eM" target="_blank">ature-Based Solutions"</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Participate in the <a href="https://www.youth4nature.org/storytelling">Youth4Nature Storytelling Campaign</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Find out more about the <a href="http://www.decadeonrestoration.org/" target="_blank">U</a><a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/">N Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">We can’t achieve a low-carbon future if finance and financial flows do not support it. </span><span style="background-color:transparent">Subsidies to coal and gas have long hindered the affordability of green energy technologies</span>—it's time to bring an end to these perverse incentives<span style="background-color:transparent">. Innovative market-based solutions exist for creating low-carbon economies, and we need to harness them to drive the global economy toward a sustainable model. When climate-positivity is linked with profit, the goals of the climate movement will be much easier to reach at the required scale.</span></span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will produce proposals on how countries can realign their financial flows to facilitate a low-carbon future.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read <a href="http://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/100_billion_climate_finance_re…; target="_blank">"Delivering on the </a></span><a href="http://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/100_billion_climate_finance_re…; target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">$100 Billion Climate Finance Commitment and Transforming Climate Finance</span></a>, a<span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> report from the UN</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Get a quick primer on climate finance from </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/carbo…; style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Science Direct</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Bone up on the World Bank Group's efforts in </span><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/brief/world-bank-carbo…; style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Climate Finance</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Study the World Bank Group's materials on </span><a href="https://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/evaluations/carbon-finance" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Carbon Markets</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> and how they can help cut back on greenhouse gas emissions</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Study </span><a href="https://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/evaluations/carbon-finance" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Carbon Markets</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> and how they can help cut back on greenhouse gas emissions</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Learn from UNCHR how <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/55005b069.pdf" target="_blank">Carbon Financing</a> can support the world's most vulnerable populations</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Plane flights, boat rides, lodging, souvenirs and other elements of tourism contribute heavily to carbon emissions. For some countries, tourism represents a significant percentage of GDP, but that doesn't mean climate consciousness isn't an option: it just means more work needs to be put in to green the tourism economy as we build back from Covid-19. "Ecotourism" has become a popular niche in the last ten years, but we have to reimagine tourism from top to bottom to properly address its impacts on our atmosphere.</span></span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will generate proposals to guide the smart, sustainable recovery of the tourism industry worldwide.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read the UN News article <a href="http://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1052791" target="_blank">"</a></span><a href="http://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1052791" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Greener tourism: Greater collaboration needed to tackle rising emissions</span></a><a href="http://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1052791" target="_blank">"</a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Size up the </span><a href="https://sustainabletravel.org/issues/carbon-footprint-tourism/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Carbon Footprint of Tourism</span></a> with this resource from Sustainable Travel International</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read <a href="http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416660" target="_blank">"</a></span><a href="http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416660" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Transport-related CO2 Emissions of the Tourism Sector - Modelling Results</span></a><a href="http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416660" target="_blank">,"</a> a report from the UNWTO</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Learn from Climate Brief where in the world tourism has <a href="http://www.carbonbrief.org/tourism-responsible-for-8-of-global-greenhou…; target="_blank">disproportionate impacts on climate</a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Familiarize yourself with <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/environment/publication/banking-on-p…; target="_blank">"Banking on Protected Areas: Promoting Sustainable Protected Area Tourism to Benefit Local Communities,"</a> a new report from the World Bank</span></p>
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This article is part of a series on topics to be explored at this year's #Youth4Climate: #DrivingAmbition event. Check back regularly for updated content!
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrZViyhwo_A]</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Food production and food systems have an outsize impact on our climate. Did you know that <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/food-systems-responsible-for-one-third-of-h…; target="_blank">food systems are responsible for fully one-third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions</a>? This is not how it has to be, however: we have the power to support planet-positive farming and circular agricultural practices. <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/5-ways-transform-food-system-sus…; target="_blank">Transforming our food systems is both possible and essential.</a></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color:#008000"><strong>Goal:</strong></span> <span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will draft proposals on how to improve climate resiliency in food systems and how to productively engage the food industry on ways it can promote sustainability and climate-consciousness.</span><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"></span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read this comprehensive <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climate-smart-agriculture" target="_blank">Climate-Smart Agriculture</a> article from The World Bank</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read <a href="https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/climate-change-and-the-future-of-foo…; target="_blank">"Climate Change and the Future of Food,"</a> a blog post from the UN Foundation</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read this detailed breakdown of <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/" target="_blank">Food Security</a> in a dedicated chapter from an IPCC report</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Peruse the UN Food and Agricultural Organization's <a href="http://www.fao.org/climate-change/en/" target="_blank">page on Climate Change</a></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Entrepreneurs are able to create new technologies to address the world’s most pressing challenges, and thus have a key role to play in combatting the climate crisis. In order to come up with the innovative solutions we need to drive #ClimateAction around the world, we have to invest in entrepreneurs.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will help identify ways to foster transformation processes and push accelerators into climate technology markets to help entrepreneurs realize their ideas.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read our #Youth4Climate </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/innovation-and-entrepreneurship…; style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Innovation and Entrepreneurship article</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Watch Episode 7 of Youth4ClimateLive, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH6QbsaKlPc" target="_blank">"Driving Innovation & Entrepreneurship"</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Explore the <a href="https://www.greenpreneurs.co/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 122, 183);" target="_blank">Greenpreneurs</a> program and apply to be a member of the latest Greenpreneurs cohort</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent">Explore the many </span><a href="https://www.climatecolab.org/contests" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 122, 183);"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">innovation-oriented climate contests</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent"> open for submissions on the Climate CoLab website</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read about the UNFCCC’s work on </span><a href="https://unfccc.int/ttclear/tec/brief12.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Energizing Entrepreneurs to Tackle Climate Change</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Read <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/innovation-climate-change-adap…; target="_blank">"</a></span><a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/innovation-climate-change-adap…; target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Innovation in climate change adaptation: Does it reach those who need it most?</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/innovation-climate-change-adap…; target="_blank">,"</a> a blog post from the World Bank Group</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Visit the </span><a href="http://innovate4climate.com" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">Innovate4Climate</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> website and </span><a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/fAUMLon/i4c2021updates" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">subscribe to the newsletter</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read through </span><a href="https://unfccc.int/ttclear/misc_/StaticFiles/gnwoerk_static/brief12/bd8…; style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">UNFCCC’s TEC Brief</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent">Read up</span><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> on how the <a href="http://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/insights/fight-climate-change-yout…; target="_blank">Commision for Environmental Cooperation</a> facilitates collaboration and public participation for young innovators.</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Sports and climate go hand in hand. Just as a clean climate is essential for fair and enjoyable sports—<a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-pouring-it-on-climate-change…; target="_blank">abnormal rain</a> washes out playing fields, <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/29870359/air-quality-issues-expect…; target="_blank">poor air quality</a> harms players' health—sports are an essential means of communicating the value of the natural world to mass audiences. As our own #Sport4Climate initiative has shown, sports can be a powerful vehicle for driving climate action.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will form proposals to develop the role of the sports sector within the Climate Action Agenda, strengthening the sports industry's role in raising climate awareness and incentivizing it to set an example of climate consciousness through its own actions.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:rgb(0, 128, 0)">Learn More</span></strong></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Take a look at The Climate Reality Project to learn </span><a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-threatens…; style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">How The Climate Crisis Threatens The Future of Sports</span></a></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Check out Connect4Climate’s </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/initiatives/sport4climate" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">#Sport4Climate initiative</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to see how we’ve worked alongside the sports sector to drive climate action over the years</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Read up on UN Climate Change's <a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/sports-for-climat…; target="_blank">Sports for Climate Action</a> initiative too</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Get a better sense of the interplay between <a href="https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/climate-change-and-sports/" target="_blank">"Climate Change and Sports"</a> in this helpful article from Climate Nexus</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Operating under the wasteful paradigm of "fast fashion," the modern fashion industry is one of the leading contributors to water pollution and is responsible for fully 10% of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions. It is infamously resource-intensive, too: Did you know that <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon&q…; target="_blank">the production of a single pair of denim jeans consumes 10,000 liters of water</a>? There will always be a need for clothing, but the fashion sector needs a serious makeover if we're to have a chance at a sustainable future.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will brainstorm ways in which the fashion industry can reconceptualize to contribute positively to the Climate Action Agenda instead of hindering it.</span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Familiarize yourself with the <a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/global-climate-ac…; target="_blank">Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Read the World Bank Group's article,</span><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-a…; style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)"> </span></a><a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-am…; target="_blank">"How Much do Our Wardrobes Cost to the Environment?"</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Get acquainted with the <a href="https://unfashionalliance.org/" target="_blank">UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion</a>, an initiative dedicated to bringing the world of fashion into alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">Check out Connect4Climate’s </span><a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/initiatives/fashion4climate" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">#Fashion4Climate initiative</span></a> to see how we've worked with the fashion sector to bring its problems to light and move forward constructively</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">In particular, dive into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRO5FL66B_8" target="_blank">"X-Ray Fashion,"</a> a groundbreaking #Fashion4Climate VR experience</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">The arts offer the opportunity to communicate the impact of climate change and the need for unified action in a uniquely resonant, emotional way. At Connect4Climate, we interface with the arts regularly through our #Music4Climate and #Film4Climate initiatives, striking up inspiring collaborations with creative people around the world.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:#008000">Goal:</span> </strong><span style="background-color:transparent; color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">This working group will explore strategies of engaging with the art and entertainment sectors on climate issues and develop novel approaches to using film, music and more to communicate the essential message of climate action.</span></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><span style="color:rgb(0, 128, 0)">Learn More</span></strong></span></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Learn more about Connect4Climate's <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/initiatives/film4climate" target="_blank">#Film4Climate</a> collaborations with the film industry</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Learn more about our <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/initiatives/music4climate" target="_blank">#Music4Climate</a> projects to frame the issues through song</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Browse this helpful selection of <a href="https://www.connect4climate.org/article/green-films-watch-athome" target="_blank">"Green Films to Watch #AtHome"</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Get on board with the <a href="https://creativeindustriespact.com/" target="_blank">Creative Industries Pact for Sustainable Action</a></span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Read up on the <a href="https://www.greenproductionguide.com/about-the-sustainable-production-a…; target="_blank">Sustainable Production Alliance</a> and delve into its <a href="https://www.greenproductionguide.com/tools/" target="_blank">Green Prodution Guide Toolkit</a> and other resources</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:18px">Read <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/greening-entertainment-indu…; target="_blank">"Greening the Entertainment Industry is Music to Our Ears,"</a> an inspiring story from UNEP on a campaign to promote climate positivity in the music industry</span></p>
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Global investors have enthusiastically embraced a national Netherlands 5.98 billion euro green bond designed to fund projects to cope with current and future climate change impacts and an advanced low-carbon economy. Much of the bond focuses on using coastal and river ecosystems as a safeguard for negative climate impacts such as high flood risk. Investors responded to the bond immediately, oversubscribing the issuance by more than 15.2 billion euros.
This green bond is the first globally to employ resilient nature-based solutions certified using the Water Infrastructure Criteria of the Climate Bonds Standard. A consortium of organizations led by the Climate Bonds Initiative, the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), the World Resources Institute (WRI), CDP, and Ceres launched water resilience bonds criteria in May 2018 to inform investors about the climate risks and solutions embedded in the green bonds market. Globally, the green bonds market reached about 168 billion USD in 2018.
Niels Vlaanderen, Policy Advisor for International Affairs at the Department of Infrastructure and Water Management for the Netherlands, commented: “We realized that we needed new solutions — automatically building flood dykes higher was no longer a sustainable solution. We had to change a system we had worked with for centuries and broaden our goals. We must future-proof our country by incorporating cultural and ecological values into our adaptive decision making.”
According to John Matthews, Executive Director of the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation and lead author of the Water Infrastructure Green Bonds Criteria, “For the past thousand years, the Dutch have reclaimed land from the sea. Today, the sea and their rivers are growing higher in a country where half of the country is already below sea level. With this bond issuance, the national government is signaling to investors the scope of the financing needed to adjust to climate change — and how we must link economies and ecosystems together to secure a joint future in a shifting climate.”

The bond also plays a role in sustainable development according to Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of The Netherlands Sherpa to the UN/WB High Level Panel on Water, adding, “This green bond is spot on, aimed at creating added values across the board of the sustainable development goals, leveraging investments for social, cultural, economic and environmental needs and challenges. Using water as leverage to catalyze transformative climate action.”
Justine Leigh-Bell, Deputy CEO at Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) in London, stated, “Resilience is a powerful new target for investment. The Netherlands has just shown that investors are eager to see policymakers investing in long-term resilience and in working with rather than against nature. Using the Water Infrastructure Criteria rewards issuers and investors together, providing market and citizen confidence for innovative approaches such as nature-based solutions to flood risks.”
Niels Vlaanderen continued, “In Dutch, we say, ‘Als er één schaap over de dam is, volgen er meer,’ or ‘We need only a few to lead.’ Indeed, this bond is the beginning of a very promising area where we expect large funding requirements in the near future. We have proven that the Netherlands can shift strategies to prepare for a changing climate. With our room for the river projects, we have shown that we can combine flood protection and social values through nature-based solutions.”
The benefits of this bond are not limited to at-risk communities and ecosystems. The Netherlands’ Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra, stated, “Our aim is to give an extra boost to the Dutch green capital market through the issuance of the Green Bond.”
The green bond finances low-carbon projects (renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation). Perhaps the most innovative aspects of the bond, however, are projects designed to help the Netherlands adjust to climate change adaptation through sustainable water management, particularly the use of nature-based solutions and green infrastructure approaches for reducing increasing flood risks in coastal and low-lying areas.
Banner and thumbnail images courtesy of, respectively, Michael Gaida and Andželina Hanke from Pixabay.
Know any young people campaigning for climate action? The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is holding a competition centered on change-making youth passionate about sustainability and the environment.
Africa Climate Week 2019, taking place in Accra, Ghana, will bring together leading sustainability innovators from the public and private sectors for an energetic and honest dialogue about African climate concerns and the next steps in combatting them. It is the first Regional Climate Week of 2019, to be followed by Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean Climate Weeks.
In the context of rapidly evolving climate conditions, a new study by Bioversity International and partners addresses the challenge of climate adaptation in a way that is both scalable and targeted. Scientists demonstrate a unique approach using crowdsourced citizen science that capitalizes on farmers’ knowledge.
Crop adaptation to climate change has become an increasingly necessary and also risky task for smallholder farmers. Farmers need access to crop varieties and recommendations on the variety best suited to their local conditions. And, they need it fast. Existing approaches to generate recommendations in marginal production environments, however, lack two essential factors: scalability and ability to generate recommendations that are representative of the environments and conditions under which farmers grow crops on their fields.
A new paper by Bioversity International and partners published in PNAS shows how approaches using crowdsourced citizen science – in which farmers themselves are involved in the scientific studies – improve and accelerate variety recommendations. The farmer trials conducted in the study resulted in variety recommendations with important differences from the current recommendations.
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“This work started with the idea that in the agricultural sciences we could learn from ecologists and environmental scientists who get massive feedback from citizen scientists,” explains Jacob van Etten, senior scientist at Bioversity International and lead author of the paper. Bird ecologists compile data obtained from the observations of bird watchers into a large database. This allows them to trace bird movements and understand how climate change affects migration patterns. With so many data-contributing bird watchers, ecologists can track the impact of climate change as it happens. “It occurred to us that we need a similar citizen science approach in agriculture to help farmers to adapt to climate change.”
The researchers applied a citizen science approach recently developed by Bioversity International called tricot – triadic comparisons of technologies – by which each farmer plants seeds from a test package of three varieties randomly assigned from a larger pool of varieties. The researchers organized the tricot trials over different seasons and landscapes to obtain a unique dataset covering 842 plots of common bean in Nicaragua, 1,090 plots of durum wheat in Ethiopia and 10,477 plots of bread wheat in India. Scientists then linked the farmer-generated data with agroclimatic and soil data.
The format used allowed even those with low literacy skills to contribute their evaluation data through various channels, including mobile telephones.
"We used climatic data to try to explain why certain varieties perform better than others," says Kauê de Sousa, a research fellow at Bioversity International and one of the joint lead authors of the study. "The results were very interesting. Farmers were clearly able to distinguish stress-tolerant varieties. We could also generate variety recommendations for different agroclimatic zones."

To assess what the tricot trial results mean in practice, the scientists contrasted them with existing recommendations, which in the case of the Ethiopian highlands were for modern wheat varieties. The tricot trials produced more geographically specific recommendations, and demonstrated the superior performance of farmer varieties that were approved for official release in March 2017.
The farmer-generated recommendations improved existing approaches. They can be directly translated into actionable information for climate adaptation on the ground, and can be used to create variety portfolios or, if combined with seasonal climate forecasts, climate information services to further diminish climate risk.
The novelty of this study is the demonstration that in vulnerable, low-income areas, climatic analysis of variety performance is possible using data generated directly by farmer citizen scientists on farms. The unique contribution of the tricot approach is that it integrates aspects of the existing approaches into a simple format that addresses the challenge of climate adaptation in a way that is scalable and targeted.
“This study confirms that our initial hunch was correct – citizen science can help farmers with climate adaptation. It also shows the enormous potential of citizen science in agriculture,” says van Etten. “It opens a whole new area of possibilities.”
Ethiopia image courtesy of Bioversity International/S. Collins. Nicaragua image courtesy of Neil Palmer (CIAT). India image (banner) courtesy of Thakur Dalip Singh.
Bonn, Germany, 11 February 2019 – Starting today, organizations, cities, industries, universities, governments, and others taking bold leadership on climate change can nominate their work for a UN Global Climate Action Award.
The award, the focus of United Nations Climate Change’s Momentum for Change initiative, recognizes the most innovative projects in the field of climate action.
Winning activities encompass scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change, in the hope of inspiring others to act. The selected activities will be recognized and celebrated at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Chile.
Past recipients of the award have maximized their impact and scaled up globally.
For example, Bhungroo, a rainwater management system used in dry spells to provide food security and sustainable livelihoods to marginal farmers across India, won the award in 2015. Today, Bhungroo is also being implemented in Ghana, Zimbabwe, Togo, and Madagascar.
Liter of Light, a solar lighting project that can be implemented with everyday objects and carpentry skills, won the award in 2011. It began in the Philippines and has since spread to 30 countries. In 2015, Liter of Light went on to win the coveted Zayed Future Energy prize.
Past winners have also included Google, Microsoft, and the Government of British Columbia, Canada.
“With the adoption of the Katowice Climate Package, we have entered a new era in our collective efforts to address climate change; one demanding increased climate action at all levels,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.
“The UN Global Climate Action Award is an opportunity to recognize leaders who are not only taking such action, but providing an inspiring example for other governments, businesses, cities and communities to follow. I therefore encourage those currently leading projects—from large corporations to small cooperatives—to apply.”
The 2019 award will recognize climate action that is already achieving real results in four categories:
- Planetary Health: recognizing novel solutions that balance the need for both human health and a healthy planet.
- Climate Neutral Now: recognizing efforts by individuals, companies and governments that are achieving real results in transitioning to climate neutrality.
- Women for Results: recognizing the critical leadership and participation of women in addressing climate change.
- Financing for Climate Friendly Investment: recognizing successful financial innovations for adaptation and climate mitigation.
The award’s Advisory Panel, made up of senior experts from various fields and countries, will select the winners. The panel is part of the secretariat’s Momentum for Change initiative, which is implemented with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation and operates in partnership with Climate Neutral Now, donors supporting the implementation of the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan, and the World Economic Forum.
Applications for the 2019 UN Global Climate Action Award will be accepted from 11 February through 30 April 2019 at: https://momentum.unfccc.int/
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Marchildon, Momentum for Change Team Lead, UN Climate Change
SMarchildon@unfccc.int | +49 228 815 1065
Melissa Angel, Momentum for Change Communications Specialist, UN Climate Change
MAngel@unfccc.int | +49 228 815 1602
Digital assets available for download here.
