Climate — Global
Despite many countries announcing more ambitious political commitments to net-zero, the policies and actions announced to date fall woefully short of achieving 1.5°C. We must rapidly increase the transition to renewable energy if we’re to avert climate catastrophe
Financing — Global, Sub-Saharan Africa
Global development finance has been thrown into disarray – first by the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. Ramping up finance flows to LDCs in the short term might appear unrealistic, but it is more essential than ever if we’re to avoid even greater catastrophes ahead
Energy — Global
In most developed countries, renewable energy siting has been plagued with delays, contract extensions, and “NIMBY” protests. Project developers and government planning agencies must be transparent and inclusive in their decision-making to gain public support and reduce the environmental and social negative spillover effects of energy expansion projects
Our current state of economic development has been built on burning carbon. To achieve the SDGs, or even just retain what we have, that link needs to be broken – ‘decoupled’. The decoupling process has started but will need to be total
Energy — Global
Conversations on energy transition tend to focus on renewable generation or the end-user. However, too often, the complex systems that are required to connect the two are neglected. Relying on ‘the market’ to develop solutions risks being too slow and inequitable. Governments need to get their heads round the radical changes that must be made to create resilient, sustainable energy networks – it is down to governments to drive the energy transition forward
Global governance
Recent years have seen the G20 become more factional, with countries competing for national advantage. Indonesia, holder of the G20 presidency for 2022, intends to rally the member countries to deliver a unified, coordinated response to global challenges: a G20 for the SDGs
Climate
Leaders across government, civil society, and the private sector must support the rapid, exponential growth of low and zero-emissions technologies if the world is to achieve the Paris goals
Financing — Global
Funding for polluting projects remains alarmingly high. We need to urgently switch this finance toward sustainable projects. The relatively cheap cost of action now compared with the economic disaster of inaction is a math “no brainer” – and the time to act is now
Businesses are increasingly claiming to support climate action but many struggle to make substantive change. A systematic approach can help businesses set robust greenhouse gas reduction targets and navigate the use of carbon credits
Climate — Global, Latin America and the Caribbean
As the UN Secretary-General warns, humanity is facing a cascade of crises. COP26 will be the moment of truth for climate and all countries must step up
