Climate Action 2016-2017

The Paris Climate Change Agreement
changed everything. The international
eff ort to bring it into force in under a year
carries the clear message that we must now be
swift in the execution.
Climate action – faster and smarter, bigger
and better – is now at the heart of humanity’s
essential response to the existential threats
that climate change and environmental decay
present for sustainable development, peace and
the well-being of all people.
In 2015, the countries of the world constructed
a fresh, integrated vision which aims to set all
societies and economies on the path to a lowcarbon,
resilient future. This vision, captured in the
Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and Sendai Framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction, reflects a unique unity of purpose to
shift completely the way we produce, consume and
build onto a clean, efficient and durable model.
These momentous agreements now require
unprecedented scale and depth of universal action
involving all actors at all levels in all regions of
the world. The challenges will be enormous. The
rewards of success will be greater.
The timetable is pressing, a fact which the UN
climate change COP22 conference in Marrakech
must have at the front of its concerns. In a short
time, by the normal reckoning of human history,
we need to see unprecedented reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions and unequalled
eff orts to build societies that can resist rising
climate impacts.
There are two absolute priorities. First
is a much faster, fundamental shift in flows
and incentives of investment away from
unsustainable power generation, infrastructure,
pollution and waste.
Second, the leadership and commitment of all
governments remains central to success.
PARIS TO MARRAKECH – ENTRY INTO FORCE
Climate action contributes directly to the goal
of greater human well-being captured in the 17
Sustainable Development Goals. It protects lives
and livelihoods, improves public health, creates
new industries and sustainable farming, cuts
costs for governments, business and citizens
and opens up new avenues of clean industry and
stable investment.
The Paris Agreement’s primary goal – to limit
global warming to well below 2°C and as close
to 1.5°C as possible to prevent dangerous tipping
points in the climate system – means that global
emissions must peak soon and be driven down
drastically thereafter. A balance must be achieved
in the second half of this century between global
emissions and removals through sequestration
into ecosystems or through other means.
"Climate-friendly national
policies are central to the
successful delivery of the
Paris goals."
That is why the annual UN climate change
conference in Marrakech represents a new
departure for the international community.
COP22 opens only days after the Paris
Agreement enters into force and the first
meeting of the Agreement’s governing body,
known as the CMA, will take place during the
conference. This is a moment to celebrate –
but more importantly a moment to commit
to the new agenda of rapid and robust
implementation and action that the goals of
the Agreement demand, not least in pressing
forward with adequate support to help the most
vulnerable countries take climate action.
Marrakech gives governments the opportunity
to present a roadmap to mobilise the pledged 100
billion dollars in annual support by 2020, to increase
clarity for adaptation finance and for a mechanism
to strengthen capacity building, which assists
developing countries to build up the skills and
institutional strengths to take greater climate action.
We will see initiatives that support the
implementation of Nationally Determined
Contributions – national climate plans – and help
integrate them into each country’s development
agenda alongside the Sustainable Development
Goals also adopted in 2015.
Marrakech is also the opportunity to
strengthen the partnerships that accelerate the
transition towards a low-emissions future and
promote the sustainable development goals
which governments have committed to meet.
NATIONAL POLICY CRITICAL TO RAPID
PROGRESS
Climate-friendly national policies are central to
the successful delivery of the Paris goals. This is
especially so because the Agreement’s success
rests on full implementation of the global set of
national climate plans. This requires continued
political leadership and momentum, supported
by a clearly presented and growing public
understanding of the enormous social, health
and economic benefits that will accrue to citizens
everywhere from strong, escalating climate action.
Key to the transformation will be the way
governments integrate climate action and
implement sustainable development and risk
management goals across sectors and ministries.
More climate-friendly, coordinated laws,
policies and incentives are needed. All forms
of unequal treatment favouring old growth and
development models based on fossil fuels and
high-carbon lifestyles and aspirations must be
removed as quickly as possible.
In addition to environmental policy, energy,
industry, fiscal, trade, transport and farm policies
should all work in a concerted, coherent manner
to enable every country to accomplish their Paris
Agreement and Sustainable Development Goal
contributions.
FINANCE, FINANCE, FINANCE
Undoubtedly, a much faster flow of finance for
climate action is required, if the world is to meet
the ambitious goals of these agreements.
UN estimates show that achieving sustainable
development will need US$5-7 trillion a year,
a large slice of which must fund the essential
transition to a low carbon, resilient global
economy. Governments, multilateral and private
sector institutions need to be able and willing to
raise and allocate tens of billions of dollars at a
time towards climate and sustainable investments.
Meanwhile, smaller-scale funding must be
available to allow the individual investor, smaller
companies and poorer countries without easy
access to big money to take a full and willing
part in this economic transformation.
The shift is already under way from across the
public and private sector, including governments,
multilateral development banks, dedicated funds
like the Green Climate Fund, companies and
private sector financial institutions. Innovative
financial instruments are being issued in record
amounts – Green Bonds and Climate Bonds –
and new ones for new challenges are being
considered, for example Catastrophe Bonds.
Only this month, the UN launched the
Financial Innovation Platform to bring together all
key public and private financial actors to identify
and pilot innovative finance instruments.
The past year has seen new, major
commitments. For example, the Green Climate
Fund has over US$10 billion pledged from
governments. All the multilateral development
banks will allocate many billions of dollars
more over the next few years for climate action
– which will leverage many times more that
amount of private sector funding. A suite of
financial instruments and channels is therefore
being created to ensure that the wide range
of climate needs can be addressed across the
globe and to mobilise larger-scale flows.
The only sector with the money, resources and
reach to support governments in full implementation
of climate action is the private sector. The great
COP22 & GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
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