The Climate Summit has many moving parts; the sum of these parts will determine its success. The Summit will reinforce and complement the Paris 2015 agreement. Alone it is unlikely to be transformational but it can be bold and can demonstrate political intent. The Summit’s success will pave the way for Paris by:
Demonstrating collective political responsibility to fulfil the 2°C obligation
The variety of leaders attending across the political and geographic spectrum already provides a good talisman on this score. It is not any one country that has responsibility; it requires diverse and collective approaches from all corners of the world. A new crop of leaders is coming to the fore to include Italy's Matteo Renzi, Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, Denmark's Halle Thornig Schmidt, France's Francoise Hollande and Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto. And as time goes by these leaders are being joined by the likes of Cameron, Zuma and Dilma, old-timers who took a while to get their diaries together. The combination of fresh faces and seasoned leaders hold promise for a new wave of climate leadership, a leadership that is shared and acted upon.
These leaders will need to deliver statements which emphasise the importance of 2015 and their collective responsibility to fulfil the 2°C obligation. Their challenge is to think long-term and spell out the vision of a 2°C world. Keeping warming to 2°C can’t be done in a short political cycle, but it does mean getting on track to zero carbon pollution and phasing in clean energy starting today. No country can single-handedly manage climate risk and in a bid to build trust amongst one another words alone won’t be enough. Success will manifest in the action announcements that contribute towards reducing emissions for 2015 and into the long-term.
For the complete article, please see E3G.
As we step into 2020, time has come to implement the Paris Agreement and raise climate ambition, but the geopolitical tide seems to be against it. The best way forward at this crucial juncture might be to forge a ‘climate coalition of the willing’ – recognising and streamlining actions of all actors at all levels.
For the first time in the survey’s 10-year outlook, the top five global risks in terms of likelihood are all environmental. They are: extreme weather events, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, major natural disasters, major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and human-made environmental damage and disasters.
Millions of people across Sub-Saharan Africa could face grave hunger in the first half of 2020 because of armed conflict, political instability and climate change-linked disasters, a report says.
The report published by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) this month says that the countries affected will require life-saving food assistance and investment to prevent humanitarian catastrophes.
Australia is currently experiencing one of its worst bushfire seasons, with swathes of the southern and eastern coastal regions having been ablaze for weeks. As the fires have spread, there has been extensive media coverage both nationally and internationally documenting – and debating – their impacts. This Carbon Brief overview summarises how the fires – and the political response to them – have been covered by the media.