Policy | Connect4Climate

Climate science advances climate action – celebrating 30 years of the IPCC at All4TheGreen event

The All4TheGreen – Mobilizing Climate Science event in Bologna, February 26th, marked the IPCC’s 30th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the Chair, Hoesung Lee, emphasizing the Panel’s relevance:

"2018 promises to be one of the most important years on the IPCC history. The IPCC report on the impacts of 1.5C of global warming will be the major scientific input for the climate discussion."

The IPCC has been instrumental in advancing climate action by presenting the scientific evidence on climate change. To celebrate such a rich history and discuss the role of science for climate action the All4TheGreen – Mobilizing Climate Science series of events was organized by the Connect4Climate program of the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea.

Hoesung Lee, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Photo Credit: Connect4Climate

At the oldest university in Europe, Hoesung Lee revealed that the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report will differ from the previous assessments by propounding a “scientifically robust and clear link between climate action and economic development.” While the Sixth Assessment study is not due for publication until 2019 much of the discussion on the day focused on achieving the targets of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the interlinkage between climate action and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Gian Luca Galletti, Italian Minister of Environment, Land and Sea. Photo Credit: Connect4Climate

To a capacity audience of students, academics, thought-leaders, government, civil society and business representatives, Italian Minister of Environment, Land and Sea, Gian Luca Galletti, highlighted the All4TheGreen message:

"The environment is the center of the dialogue. Either we save it or we lose everything.”

Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy executive director of UNEP and assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasized that “as climate change continues to galvanize it threatens the most fundamental human rights,” thereby linking climate impacts to exacerbating poverty and enhancing climate-induced migration. “Climate change is putting pressure on the resources, and creating conflicts,” he elaborated, encouraging global leaders act: “World leaders can make life-changing decisions and those will be remembered.”

Discussants painted a clear picture, that climate impacts are being felt more often and are increasing in severity, and that more needs to be done to transition to a low-carbon resilient future. Public awareness of climate science and the need to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient societies was presented as a necessary pre-requisite for global leaders to enhance their climate commitments. According to the speakers there is an urgent need to immediately reduce carbon emissions, change the way we produce food and use it, educate for climate solutions, create technology for carbon disposal, protect the oceans from plastics and other waste, and enhance environmental services to build a green future.

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Climate action is urgent. “There is no time to waste” emphasized Deo Saran, Fiji Ambassador and Special Envoy to the UNFCCC, who also emphasized the need for unity as symbolized by the slogan of COP23: Uniting for Climate Action – Further Faster Together. To address climate change, immediate collaborative action between governments, businesses, cities, academia and civil society is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

“Yes, we can. We can achieve the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius,” noted Myles Allen, professor of the University of Oxford, but it will take a huge accelerated global effort and will also require carbon-uptake solutions to be deployed at scale. “The fossil fuel industry is a tenth of the global economy. If they had to, they could solve the climate problem. Instead they’re privatizing profit and socializing risk,” Allen emphasized.

A group of young people stressed the need to take on climate change. Photo Credit: Connect4Climate

To close the day’s discussions a diverse group of young people mainly from developing countries took the stage with a message for sustainable peace: “For me there is nothing scarier than scientific data. How do we combat climate everywhere?” one young person emphasized in an emotionally-laden speech:

"We need to unite to address climate change and make sure those affected do not pay the bill. Pure reports will not be enough."

In closing Abdullah Mokssit, from IPCC, advised, “let's transform climate change into climate opportunity,” a recommendation supported by Giulia Braga, Connect4Climate program manager, who believes that “climate change is an issue but also an opportunity for present and future generations.”

Giulia Braga, Connect4Climate program manager. Photo Credit: Connect4Climate

All4theGreen – Mobilizing Climate Science concluded with a live concert of world-famous piano improviser Danilo Rea and artist Alex Braga to showcase how artificial intelligence can also be key to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. “Technology is the only way to get us where we cannot get alone", Alex Braga noted, before transforming the stage into a visual and musical show that unscored the emotionally-laden day and reverberated the message the we all need to be for the green, to build a low-carbon and resilient future. Climate science is at the heart of all climate action. Thank you and happy birthday to the IPCC.

Artistic Performance “Cracking Danilo Rea” - Full Concert

Film4Climate announces partnership with the Cineteca of Bologna - Film director Fernando Solanas presents “Viaje a Los Pueblos Fumigados”

In the lead up to the discussions on February 26th, the Cinema Lumière opened its doors on February 24th to the Argentinian filmmaker Fernando Solanas, who traveled to Bologna to present his new documentary “Viaje a Los Pueblos Fumigados” (A Journey to the Fumigated Towns), a portrait showcasing the consequences of genetically modified food.

"This movie shows that climate change does not respect ideology or color”, recalled Fernando Solanas in a filled room where he discussed the messages of the documentary, the consequences of climate change in Argentina and his work as a film director.

Director Fernando Solanas. Photo Credit: Paula Alves Silva / Connect4Climate

The screening of “Viaje a Los Pueblos Fumigados” was the result of a partnership with the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna as part of Connect4Climate’s Film4Climate initiative. The partnership intends to create a program of climate and environmental-related movies to be screened in Bologna during the internationally acclaimed "Sotto le Stelle del Cinema" program in beautiful Piazza Maggiore.

Did you miss the event? Take a look at the photo album on Flickr

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4 Reasons for countries to enhance their NDCs by 2020

The Paris Agreement was widely hailed for drawing all nations together to tackle climate change, based on bottom-up contributions that will be reviewed and strengthened over time. These contributions are aimed at achieving the ambitious but necessary long-term goals of limiting global temperature increase and building resilience to climate impacts. This process is known as the ambition mechanism, and the first test of whether and how it will work is fast approaching. In 2018, Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will come together to take stock of progress and identify where they can go further, faster to put the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach.

We Need to Go Further, Faster, Together for Climate Action - COP23 slogan. Photo Credit: Max Thabiso Edkins / Connect4Climate

Following this process, known as the Talanoa Dialogue, Parties will have the opportunity to communicate new or updated climate commitments, known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, by 2020.

So why should countries communicate new or updated NDCs by 2020?

1) Current NDCs Need to Be Strengthened to Achieve the Goals of the Paris Agreement

At the 2015 climate summit in Paris, countries agreed to limit warming to well below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F). The current NDCs, by contrast, would lead to warming in the range of 2.7 to 3.7 degrees C; there remains a significant gap between emissions expected in 2030 and emissions compatible with the Paris goals. The longer countries wait to bring their commitments into line with the Paris goals, the more difficult it will be and the steeper the rate at which emissions will need to decline. Because fossil-fueled power plants and inefficient buildings have long life spans, achieving an ever-steeper reduction rate can become expensive and technically difficult. The sooner NDCs reflect the necessary ambition to achieve the Paris goals, the sooner they can signal to redirect investments away from high-emitting technologies.

2) Parties Can Seize Economic and Social Benefits of Updating their NDCs

The current NDCs were developed by Parties ahead of Paris, quickly and with no certainty of the final outcome. With the Paris Agreement now in force and with implementation guidelines to be finalized at the end of 2018, Parties can factor in recent innovations and declining costs of renewable energy to take advantage of opportunities in key sectors to send accurate signals to investors. Many countries have long-term plans and strategies related to climate, development, and economic objectives. Taking the opportunity now to align NDCs with these long-term goals and strategies will avoid locking in high emissions that will exacerbate climate vulnerabilities. For example, analysis has revealed the high potential for synergies between achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the NDCs.

The next years could offer new areas of cost-effective climate action. Lastly, many countries have already made substantial progress and some appear to be on track to exceed the targets in their current NDCs.

3) It Provides an Opportunity to Engage Stakeholders and Create Support for Climate Action

Enhancing NDCs provides an opportunity to rally support for climate action, strengthen public participation and ensure that relevant stakeholders help to create a strategic vision. The opportunity to review and update the NDCs by 2020 enables Parties to learn from their initial experience and identify ways to engage a broader range of stakeholders to access new information and enhance ownership of the NDC, within and outside government. Enhancing engagement with businesses and other non-state actors, as well as subnational governments, could also reveal additional mitigation potential or innovations that help drive enhanced ambition.

4) This Can Send Powerful Signals to Decision-Makers

NDCs send powerful signals to inform decision-making by a wide range of actors, not only to the international community, but also domestically. Ensuring the targets, actions and measures in an NDC reflect the latest thinking, sectoral opportunities and potential of a country is important to spur policy development, innovation in research and development, and ensure public and private investment is channeled appropriately and in line with national objectives.

Updating NDCs by 2020 will also kick-start the virtuous cycle of ambition at the heart of the Paris Agreement, inducing greater ambition from other Parties thereby leveling the playing field in a globalized economy.

Ambition Mechanism in the Paris Agreement, World Resources Institute

To help countries identify promising avenues to bring their NDCs into line with the Paris Agreement by 2020, we have developed a menu of options for NDC enhancement.

The options cover ways to enhance mitigation ambition and strengthen NDC content on adaptation and implementation and to improve the clarity and transparency with which NDCs are communicated. These options are not mutually exclusive. In many cases, it will be feasible and desirable for a country to strengthen mitigation ambition as well as other facets of their NDC by pursuing multiple options at once.

Menu of Options for Enhancing Nationnally Determined Contributions, World Resources Institute

The year 2020 will serve as a critical test of the ability of the Paris Agreement to deliver enhanced ambition over time until our collective goals are reached. Countries can do their part by exploring and enacting meaningful options to enhance their NDCs as soon as possible.

This blog post was originally published on Insights, World Resources Institute

Banner and thumbnail photos credit to Max Thabiso Edkins / Connect4Climate

All4TheGreen: Celebrating 30 Years of the IPCC

[video:https://vimeo.com/256508455]

Global Opportunity Report 2018

According to a new Global Opportunity Report from DNV GL, Sustainia and the United Nations Global Compact, renewed efforts are required to ensure four of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals do not miss their 2030 targets. The Global Goals addressed in the report are Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities, Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 14: Life Below Water.

Ten new markets earmarked as opportunities to boost lagging Sustainable Development Goals

Highlights

Global Opportunity Report 2018 highlights four Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 10, 12, 13 and 14) that are likely to miss their 2030 targets

The report contains 10 new business opportunities which help these four goals progress

The new Global Opportunity Report and the 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions collectively demonstrate market potential in all 17 SDGs — including the ones we are least on track to reach

Connect4Climate is joining the Twitter chat on February 1 at 4pm CET to discuss how business can help to reach the Global Goals.

(Høvik, Norway, February 1, 2018) — According to a new Global Opportunity Report from DNV GL, Sustainia and the United Nations Global Compact, renewed efforts are required to ensure four of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals do not miss their 2030 targets. The Global Goals addressed in the report are Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities, Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 14: Life Below Water.

The solution-focused report — the fourth in its series — offers 10 new markets which could help get these Global Goals back on track, such as blockchain-based land rights for Goal 10 and energy-efficient cooling for Goal 13.

Global Opportunity Report 2018 launch graphic Blockchain

So far, the Global Opportunity Reports have identified 55 markets that demonstrate the business opportunities inherent in all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The biggest opportunities can be found at the intersections of traditional markets, which requires collaboration and cooperation across sectors and fields. To facilitate that, the partners behind the report launched the Global Opportunity Explorer last year - an open access innovation hub with markets and solutions for the SDGs. All 55 markets, including the 10 new opportunities, are now online on the platform.

Lise Kingo, CEO & Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, said, “We live in a world in urgent need of change, and businesses are leading the charge towards the transformations ahead. Through developing breakthrough innovations and forging critical partnerships, the business community has the resources and creativity we need to create the world we want. The fourth edition of The Global Opportunity Report highlights issues which affect every human on this planet, and demonstrates how businesses everywhere can tap into emerging markets and deliver solutions to the biggest challenges of our time.”

The Global Opportunity Explorer was created on the conviction that the SDGs offer a myriad of business opportunities with great value to companies, society and the environment. The hub aims to showcase the best solutions and markets relating to the SDGs and foster collaboration and cooperation between investors, businesses and entrepreneurs.

Since the inception of the Global Opportunity Report in 2015, 17,000 business leaders have been consulted and from their feedback, 55 market opportunities have been identified. The opportunities in the new report includes securing land rights for the most disadvantaged through blockchain technology, re-purposing electric vehicle batteries for domestic power grids and searching for alternative materials to energy intensive concrete.

Remi Eriksen, Group President & CEO of DNV GL said, “The UN Sustainable Development Goals define the future desires of mankind. However, achieving the SDGs will not come without solving some fundamental challenges. This report presents to business and political leaders the many opportunities emerging from solving these challenges and how to produce increasingly shared values.”

Rasmus Schjødt Pedersen, CEO of Sustainia said, “Every CEO on the planet should rest assured that by pursuing the Global Goals, they can turn opportunities into profit and long-term growth. Our Global Opportunity Explorer is a tool for that. Take a deep dive!”

2018 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group

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The 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) will take place in Bali Nusa Dua, Indonesia, in October, following a vote by the Boards of Governors of the two institutions. The decision was formalized in 2015 when the Annual Meetings took place in Lima, Peru.

Innovate4Climate: Finance & Markets Week 2018

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The second edition of “Innovate4Climate Finance and Markets Week” will take place at the Kap Europa Congress Centre in Frankfurt, from May 22 to 24. Innovate4Climate is a new global dialogue of government, multilateral, business, banking and finance leaders focused on shaping the next generation of climate finance and policy instruments.

2018 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group

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The Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) each year bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

World Economic Forum 2018 Annual Meeting

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The global context has changed dramatically: geostrategic fissures have re-emerged on multiple fronts with wide-ranging political, economic and social consequences. Realpolitik is no longer just a relic of the Cold War. Economic prosperity and social cohesion are not one and the same. The global commons cannot protect or heal itself.

High-Level Session Opening Remarks by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim

One Planet Summit

Paris, France

As Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon. Let me start by thanking President Macron and Secretary-General Guterres for their global leadership on climate change. It’s an honor to co-host this summit with them, to focus on increasing finance and momentum between COP-23 and COP-24.

And I’d like to thank the Government of France for continuing to strengthen the spirit that led to the Paris Agreement. Two years ago, we came together in this city and declared that climate change is a “common concern of humankind,” and we affirmed our collective determination to “respond to the urgent threat of climate change.”

We’re here at this extraordinary event to raise our collective ambitions for speed and scale. Every day, climate change becomes a more urgent economic, social, and existential threat to all countries and all people. We need investments in the trillions – not billions – to have any hope of keeping the commitments we made here two years ago. That’s what this summit is all about.

During the lunch break, many of you participated in the “Climate Agora” – a marketplace showcasing some new financing models and innovation for climate action. Multiple partners are bringing together deals with different kinds of finance in new policy and institutional environments.

Let me share four deals that were discussed:

The first deal is with Energy Efficiency Services Limited, or EESL – a company that finances residential and public sector energy efficiency investments in India. EESL has already deployed more than 275 million LED bulbs, 4.2 million LED tube lights, and 4 million street lights in municipalities throughout India. Through an innovative bulk procurement business model, EESL has driven down prices to make climate-smart LED bulbs as affordable as conventional bulbs, saving energy costs for customers. Early next year, EESL will use a 220 million dollar World Bank (IBRD) loan, combined with an 80 million dollar guarantee facility, and leverage 200 million dollars of commercial finance to deploy thousands of electric cars and charging stations and millions of smart meters throughout India.

The second deal is on Indonesia Geothermal – a Resource Risk Mitigation Facility, established by the Government of Indonesia with support from the World Bank and other partners. The Facility will provide concessional funding and grants to pool and reduce the exposure of developers in the early exploration and drilling phases of geothermal projects. With a 150 million dollar investment from the Government of Indonesia and 325 million dollars in concessional financing, Indonesia Geothermal is expected to leverage up to four billion dollars in private sector funding to develop more than one gigawatt of new thermal capacity, which is part of Indonesia’s target to add 5.8 gigawatts of geothermal power generation by 2026.

The third deal is with the new City Resilience Program – or CRP, where we’re partnering with the Global Covenant of Mayors to bring together the largest global alliance of cities committed to tackling climate change. CRP will design and structure climate resilient investments and catalyze new sources of capital to finance them. Over the next three years, the CRP will leverage 4.5 billion dollars in World Bank loans to catalyze billions in public and private capital for technical assistance, project co-financing, and credit enhancement. Essentially, the program will act as an investment banker for cities to structure programs that address their vulnerabilities to climate change. The first phase is starting with more than 30 cities, with the goal of scaling to more than 500 cities in the next decade.

The fourth deal is the West African Coastal Areas Management Program, or WACA, which targets 17 West African countries with the goal of crowding-in two billion dollars to tackle coastal erosion, flooding, and climate change adaptation. The city of St Louis in Senegal will be one of the first beneficiaries. An initial 215 million dollar package that includes 180 million dollars from our IDA fund for the poorest countries, 20 million dollars from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and nine million dollars from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) will be presented to the World Bank Board early next year. Then we expect further public and private investments will be mobilized, including, for example, financing for tourism operations.

These are just some of the deals presented at the “Climate Agora” today. At the World Bank Group, we’re working with partners to leverage all of the financial mechanisms at our disposal – concessional finance, green bonds, blended finance, and risk-mitigation instruments – to fund climate-smart projects like these, and to set the conditions to get market forces moving in the right direction.

Jim Yong Kim at One Planet Summit. Photo Credits: Ibrahim Ajaja / World Bank

Although it wasn’t highlighted at today at the Agora, we’re seeing that our interventions in the solar sector are well received by governments and by markets. A year ago we helped the Government of Zambia prepare a solar auction, which achieved some of the lowest electricity tariffs on the African continent. And the first project was just financed by the market.

Similarly, we helped the Government of Argentina to prepare its first Renewables auction, Renovar. I’m very pleased to announce that the financing for the first project closed recently. What’s needed, in many cases, is the standardization of contracts, power purchase agreements, and financing documents. Based on this experience, we’re developing similar support for renewables in Senegal, Ethiopia, Pakistan and elsewhere.

But we need to go beyond individual projects. Each of these deals has enormous potential to be scaled up and replicated. To meet the Paris Agreement objectives, we need to get to that scale.

None of these critical investments will be possible unless we get the policies right. That means creating incentives for change – removing fossil fuel subsidies, introducing carbon pricing, increasing energy efficiency standards, and implementing auctions for lowest cost renewable energy.

And we need to take an integrated view and work together. This weekend, Caribbean leaders committed to collectively define a vision for the world’s first climate-smart zone covering renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, innovative financing, and capacity building. This calls for a unique partnership between the Caribbean leaders and people, multilateral organizations, and the local and international private sectors. We’re honored to join efforts to support the Caribbean countries and help them achieve this vision.

As a global multilateral development institution, the World Bank Group is continuing to transform its own operations in recognition of a rapidly changing world. To ensure alignment of our support to countries to meet their Paris goals, today we are announcing that the World Bank Group will no longer finance upstream oil and gas, after 2019.

In exceptional circumstances, consideration will be given to financing upstream gas in the poorest countries where there is a clear benefit in terms of energy access for the poor and the project fits within the countries’ Paris Agreement commitments.

We’re determined to work with all of you to put the right policies in place, get market forces moving in the right direction, put the money on the table, and accelerate action. That’s the only way we can meet the commitments we made two years ago, and finally begin to win the battle against climate change.

Thank you.