Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the high level meetings at the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland was geared towards accelerating climate change action with achieving Net-zero emissions as the underlying target
For all participating nations at the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland, one question was paramount- how can they make the world better and how can collective action be taken by government, industries and civil societies to keep global warming to 1.5°C and also achieve Net-zero emissions.
Held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, the 2021 COP26 under the presidency of Alok Sharma on Saturday wrapped up week one of high powered meetings on climate change, which was a conflagration of COP26 parties, who came together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Derivatives
Among the derivatives of COP26 are four key things and they include ‘Securing Global Net Zero by Mid-century and Keeping 1.5 Degrees Within Reach’. Under this, countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets (NDCs) that align with reaching net zero by
the middle of the century.
To deliver on these stretching targets, countries will need to accelerate the phase-out of coal, encourage investment
in renewables, curtail deforestation and speed up the switch to electric vehicles.
Secondly, the target is to ‘Adapt to protect Communities and Natural Habitats’. According to the organisers, the climate is already changing and it will continue to change even as we reduce emissions, with devastating effects. At COP26 “we need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to protect and restore ecosystems, build defences, put warning systems
in place and make infrastructure and agriculture more resilient to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and lives”.
Thirdly, the goal is to ‘Mobilise Finance’. This is important because to realise the first two goals, “developed countries must deliver on their promise to raise at least $100bn in climate finance per year. International financial institutions must play their part and we need to work towards unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero”.
Finally, and not the least important is the need to ‘Deliver Together’. “We can only rise to the challenges of climate change by working together. At COP26 we must finalise the Paris Rulebook (the rules needed to implement the Paris Agreement). And, we have to turn our ambitions into action by accelerating collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society to deliver on our climate goals faster”.
Nigeria’s 2060 Net-zero Projection
For Nigeria, it was revealed that the nation plans to zero out carbon emissions by 2060 through its Energy Transition Plan for achieving net-zero emissions. President Muhammadu Buhari made this pledge at the High-Level segment for Heads of State and Government.
In his speech, Buhari, whose address was expected to highlight Nigeria’s key priorities and action to tackle climate change as well as progress on the country’s transition to low carbon economy, consistent with achieving the Paris Climate Agreement, said: “Nigeria is committed to net zero by 2060”.
He said: “For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow but about what is happening today. In our lifetime, nature has gone from a vast expanse of biodiversity to a shadow of itself.
“We are investing in renewables, hydro-dams and solar projects. Nigeria is not looking to make the same mistakes that are being repeated for decades by others. We are looking for partners in innovation, technology and finance to make cleaner and more efficient use of all available resources to help make for a more stable transition in energy markets.
“The revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) has additional priority sectors. Water and waste, nature-based solutions, adaptions and resilience, vulnerability assessment and a clean cooking gender and green jobs assessment.”
“Nigeria has developed a detailed energy transition plan and roadmap based on data and evidence. This plan has highlighted some key facts that face the difficult conversations. Our transition plan also highlights the key role that gas must play in transitioning our economy across sectors.
“The data and evidence show that Nigeria can continue to use gas until 2040 without distracting from the goals of the Paris Agreement.
“Nigeria has an approved national action plan on gender and climate change. This document incorporates priority areas of our economic recovery and growth plan and nationally determined contributions.
“The implementation strategy for this national action plan has been developed. In a bid to commit to transitional change through climate policy, the revised national policy on climate change was approved in June 2021.
“This will enable us to implement mitigation measures and also strengthen adaption towards a sustainable climate resilient development pathway in Nigeria.
“Mr. President, I will like to state that attaining national and global climate change goal would require adequate and sustained technical and financial support to developing countries.
” In Nigeria, in the area of energy access, Nigeria’s commitment to adjust transition is reflected in our ambitious Energy compact, which includes the government’s flagship project to electrify five million households and twenty million people using decentralised solar energy solutions.
“This is a major first step towards closing our energy access deficit by 2030. I will like to state again that attaining national and global climate change goals will require adequate and sustained technical and financial support to developing countries.”
“The outcome of this conference must result in a quick resolution of all outstanding issues pertaining to the finalisation of the Paris Agreement rule book, adaption, mitigation, finance and loss and damage.”
Partnerships to Boost Finance, Climate Solutions for Africa, SIDS
A new partnership to boost finance and climate change solutions for Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), was launched at COP26 last week Tuesday. This new partnership between real economy leaders and heads of state is expected to put climate equity, resilience and nature at the top of COP’s climate action agenda, as well as help half a billion farmers to implement regenerative farming practices this decade.
The mobilisation of action and scaling-up of finance for these geographies is critical to advancing the climate action agenda, they posited.
The first partnership announced was the Africa Green Finance Coalition (AGFC) – a continent-wide collaboration – to spur the trillions of green investment needed to transform Africa’s economy by accelerating green finance policy and regulatory reform to attract private capital at scale, both from international and domestic investors.
Ayaan Zainab Adam, CEO Africa Capital Partners, said: “Africa has a $2.3 trillion investment gap in its core infrastructure which must be addressed. The Africa Green Finance Coalition should help get much needed capital flowing to climate resilient and low carbon infrastructure in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, logistics agriculture and sustainable and low carbon mining and manufacturing. This initiative will helpfully facilitate investment transactions across multiple countries requiring blended finance structures.”
Also, Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, announced a multi-jurisdictional and multi-asset financing facility to scale public and private finance for climate solutions & resilient infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean.
This financing facility aims to invest in approximately 800 megawatts of new wind, solar and EV charging infrastructure projects in Caribbean Small Island Developing States.
This initiative, which will invest in shovel-ready projects, has the potential to generate game-changing impact towards accelerating clean energy transition and deployment in the region.
The third and final partnership presented to world leaders was Regen10, a bold new platform to achieve regenerative food systems this decade across 50 per cent of world food production. Regen10 will work with over 500 million farmers to apply regenerative production methods, while simultaneously ensuring roughly $60bn per year is deployed to finance the transition to reverse nature loss in line with the Paris Agreement.
The partnership will drive convergence of existing food and farming sector initiatives, and scale up collective action, by bringing together farmers along with businesses, investors, NGOs and policymakers to accelerate system change.
Through its interventions, Regen10 will strengthen the agriculture and food systems’ contributions to the Paris Agreement, while halting and reversing nature loss, building resilience, and enabling farmers to earn decent incomes for the vital role they play as stewards of the land.
UK Funding for African Vulnerable Communities
The United Kingdom government has announced new 143.5 million pounds funding to support African governments to roll-out critical adaptation projects so at-risk communities can adapt to the impact of extreme weather and changing climates.
This is just as Nigeria has been declared eligible to benefit from the Africa Regional Climate and Nature Programme (ARCAN).
This funding was announced at the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to COP26 President Alok Sharma, the new UK support for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) – an initiative endorsed by African Union leaders and led by the African Development Bank, Global Centre on Adaptation and the Africa Adaptation Initiative, is to back African-led plans to accelerate resilience-building across Africa.
Also, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK is offering an ambitious new guarantee mechanism – the ‘Room to Run’ guarantee – to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
This is expected to unlock up to £1.45 billion ($2 billion) worth of new financing for projects across the continent, half of which will help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “More finance for African nations to develop and adapt to climate change is important as these countries find themselves on the frontline of impacts. It is a huge investment opportunity.
“By combining our cash with other donors and businesses, and working with partners such as the African Development Bank to direct funding into green projects, today we are delivering on our commitment to African-led climate adaptation.”
UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford said: “For communities across Africa, the impact of climate change is being felt right now. From cyclones in Southern Africa to locusts in East Africa, changing weather patterns are already having catastrophic impacts for communities living across the continent, impacting lives and jobs. This is despite African nations being responsible for just 2-3 per cent of global emissions.
“New support announced today will enable African countries to adapt to a changing climate and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. This is essential if communities and countries are to thrive in an uncertain future.”
The UK is a long-standing supporter of Africa’s adaptation to climate change, with around half of the UK’s £2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent in Africa.
Speaking also, the UK’S Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, said: “Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate impacts as a consequence of dangerous climate chance. The need to scale up adaptation finance to protect the people and economies from the impact of climate change is clear.
“Climate action, building resilience and sustainable development are inextricably linked. Working with key partners such as the African Development Bank and others, this new suite of programmes will support African countries, including Nigeria, to adapt to the effects of climate change.”
Addressing Demands by Young Environmental Activists
One of the highlight of week one was the demand by young persons to protect the climate. Beyond the high level meetings, there were protests led by young activist Gretha Thunberg and other school children. For hours, they besieged Glasgow city as they made demands.
Afterwards, at the meetings, COP President Alok Sharma urged ministers to consider youth priorities in COP negotiations and national climate action.
At the end, 23 countries made national climate education pledges including net-zero schools and putting climate at the heart of national curriculums. This was after 40,000 young climate leaders presented their views to ministers, negotiators and officials.
Different segments on that day were focused on harnessing the expertise of young people and putting their views directly to the negotiators and officials working to agree global action on climate change.
Co-chaired by YOUNGO, the Official Children’s and Youth constituency of the UNFCCC, the session was opened with a call to Unify for Change: Global Youth voice at COP26. YOUNGO also presented the COY16 Global Youth Position statement, representing the views of over 40,000 young climate leaders from across the world. The statement presented their priorities directly to ministers, including action on climate finance, mobility and transportation, through to wildlife protection conservation.
In response COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “Wherever I have been in the world, I have been struck by the passion and the commitment of young people to climate action. The voices of young people must be heard and reflected in these negotiations here at COP. The actions and scrutiny of young people are key to us keeping 1.5 alive and creating a net-zero future.
“I am also aware of the fear and anxiety many of them feel about the future of the planet, including my own children. That is why we must act on the COY16 Global Youth Position Statement from COY16 and the manifesto from the Milan Youth4Climate Summit.”
YOUNGO Global Focal Points, Heeta Lakhani and Marie-Claire Graf said: “YOUNGO has been working closely with the U.K. Presidency and the UNFCCC Secretariat to co-design Youth and Public Empowerment Day. We successfully profiled global youth voices through the COY16 Global Youth Statement, and brought together four generations to share best practice examples of achieving climate justice collectively.”
Ending the day, COP26 President and Italian Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani joined young people and ministers to discuss the manifesto developed by 400 young people at the Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition Summit held in Milan in September.
Equipping Young People with Climate Action Skills
Not left out, the UK also announced its draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy to equip and empower young people with the skills they need to drive the future of climate action. This includes the introduction of a Primary Science Model Curriculum, to include an emphasis on nature and the recognition of species, supporting the youngest pupils to develop conservation skills.
Meanwhile, education ministers from around the world also pledged to do the same with nations such as, South Korea, Albania and Sierra Leone pledging to put climate change at the heart of their curriculums.
The UK and Italy, in partnership with UNESCO, Youth4Climate and Mock COP co-ordinated new global action to equip future generations with the knowledge and skills to create a net-zero world while education ministers and young people from over 23 countries put forward impressive national climate education pledges, ranging from decarbonising the school sector to developing school resources.
The event also unveiled a new statement titled, ‘learn for our planet: act for the climate’ which committed countries to revisit progress made on their pledges in advance of COP27.
In turn, the UK announced a new £85,000 research grant to support the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre to produce better information on the education needs of refugee children and enable a more effective international response.
The announcement was made by Helen Grant MP, Special Envoy for Girls’ Education, at an event with Sierra Leone’s Minister for Education, Hon. Dr David Sengeh, Education Cannot Wait, and UNHCR.
Public Empowerment
In a special session for civil society, business leaders and ministers, they discussed how all parts of society must be brought on board with the action needed on climate change. This event coincided with negotiations on Action for Climate Empowerment, a UNFCCC agenda item aimed at setting the direction on climate education and public empowerment, and facilitating coordination between countries and non-state actors
At the event, one thing was significant- young climate leaders are an unstoppable force, equipped with bringing together young policy experts from frontline communities to put forward their pressing climate priorities.
Protecting Nature
On the day to deliberate on ‘COP26 Nature and Land-Use Day’, the UK led 45 governments in new pledges to protect nature and keep 1.5 alive. Also, governments, farmers and businesses committed to urgent action to protect the land and make agriculture and food systems more sustainable for the future.
This was just as the UK pledged to provide a £500m boost to protect over five million hectares of tropical rainforests and create thousands of green jobs across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and nearly 100 UK companies pledged to work towards halting and reversing the decline of nature by 2030.
The pledge by the 45 nations led by the UK was to boost urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming. This is because approximately one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, forestry and other land-use – creating an urgent need to reform the way we grow and consume food in order to tackle climate change.
Therefore, urgent action on land use is needed as demand for food increases. “We are currently losing forests, damaging soils and rapidly destroying other ecosystems that play a critical role in absorbing carbon and cooling the planet. Farmers’ livelihoods are also under increasing pressure as climate change impacts on productivity. To help farmers adapt and to make our food system more resilient for the future, more sustainable practices are essential.
“Countries from across the world will set out their commitment to transform agriculture and food systems through policy reforms, research and innovation in order to reduce emissions and protect nature, whilst securing food and jobs.
“This includes leveraging over US$4bn billion of new public sector investment into agricultural innovation, including the development of climate resilient crops and regenerative solutions to improve soil health, helping make these techniques and resources affordable and accessible to hundreds of millions of farmers,” the COP press statement disclosed.
They further revealed that the commitment includes a pledge to support internationally agreed “Action Agendas” which set out steps that governments, farmers and others can take through policy reform and innovation to deliver the changes necessary for sustainable food systems.
Also, 16 countries launched a “Policy Action Agenda” and more than 160 stakeholders joined a “Global Agenda for Innovation in Agriculture” to lead the way on the global transition towards climate resilient agriculture and food systems to more sustainable ways of farming.
UK’s Fight against Deforestation
As part of measures to tackle the deep-seated problem of deforestation and the Prime Minister’s commitment to spend at least £3 billon of International Climate Finance on nature and biodiversity, the UK launched a new £500 million package to help protect five million hectares of rainforests from deforestation, an area equivalent to over 3.5 million football pitches.
The funding will create thousands of green jobs, including in sustainable agriculture and forestry, throughout rainforest regions and generate £1bn of green private sector investment to tackle climate change around the world.
As holders of this year’s G7 and COP26 Presidency, Nature and Land-Use day built on the government’s promise to lead both the UK and the nations of the world to build back greener, secure a global net zero and keep 1.5 degrees within reach.
According to the Environment Secretary, George Eustice, “to keep 1.5 degrees alive, we need action from every part of society, including an urgent transformation in the way we manage ecosystems and grow, produce and consume food on a global scale.
“We need to put people, nature and climate at the core of our food systems. The UK government is leading the way through our new agricultural system in England, which will incentivise farmers to farm more sustainably, create space for nature on their land and reduce carbon emissions.
“There needs to be a fair and just transition that protects the livelihoods and food security of millions of people worldwide – with farmers, indigenous people and local communities playing a central role in these plans.”
Also, the UK government outlined a range of new funding commitments from the £3bn fund for nature, including “early £25m out of the £150m from BEIS’ Mobilising Finance for Forests (MFF) programme will be invested to develop sustainable supply chains in tropical countries;
“An investment of over £38 million into a new global research initiative through the world’s leading agricultural research organisation, the CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research), to address the climate crisis and protect nature while advancing gender equality, poverty reduction, and food and nutrition security;
“The UK will contribute up to £40 million of international climate finance to establish the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate. The Global Centre will address critical research gaps in how the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity can deliver climate solutions and improve livelihoods in developing countries;
“The UK will also launch a £65 million Just Rural Transition support programme to help developing countries move towards more sustainable methods of agriculture and food production. This will include support to ensure that farmers are included in policy-making processes, including through consultations, trials and pilot programmes for new technologies and approaches;
“The UK will announce its support for the US/UAE-led Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) which will mobilise over £4bn billion of new global public sector investment in agricultural innovation, research and development over the next five years with contributions from over 30 countries for public and private sector as well as knowledge partners.”.
Expectedly, these new partnerships will help accelerate adoption of more climate resilient and sustainable agriculture practices to deliver healthy diets, improve the trade in agricultural goods, contributing to a healthier planet and a more prosperous future.
In a landmark step, almost 100 high-profile UK companies agreed to work towards halting and reversing the decline of nature by 2030 and commit to getting ‘Nature Positive’. This includes OVO Energy announcing its commitment in planting one million trees in the UK within the next year and Severn Trent pledging to restore over 2,000 acres of peatland across England and Wales by 2025.
UK Clean Growth, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said: “If we are to keep the 1.5 degrees target in reach, we need to work with other nations to halt global deforestation, investing in the sustainable trading of commodities that will help communities thrive, while protecting our planet for generations to come.
“Backed by a £500m package of support, today’s historic UK commitment at COP26 will help protect millions of hectares of land, boosting rural communities and forest-friendly businesses, while creating thousands of green jobs across the world’s rainforest regions.”
Justin Adams, Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum said: “The FACT Dialogue process has created new momentum – from 28 countries – to work on issues of trade, forests and finance in an integrated way. Bringing these governments together – from the global south and north – to tackle the issue of commodity production and deforestation head on is a very significant development. Continued dialogue after COP26 will be critical to progress.”
