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CCAC members adopted a “2030 Vision Statement” that commits Coalition members to drive and respond to scientific and political progress to achieve a stabilized climate and drastically reduce air pollution.
Highlights and images for 22 September 2019
11th High Level Assembly of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC)
Carolina Schmidt, Minister of the Environment, Chile, and COP 25 President-designate, and Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment, Japan, show their commitment to the CCAC.
The 11th High-Level Assembly (HLA) of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), convened to discuss climate and clean air action needed on the ground and their ambition for further implementation.
On air pollution and health, speakers stressed the loss of lives and economic costs due to poor air quality, and how this can be a lever for enhanced and fast climate action. They also discussed progress in monitoring air quality and addressing SLCPs, and the need to evaluate the benefits of climate change action through a wellbeing lens.
On cooling and efficiency, ministers reported on investments in efficient and climate-friendly refrigeration and cooling, highlighting the rising demand for cooling caused by climate change and growing cities. They drew attention to the Biarritz Pledge initiated at the G7 Summit and its call for support of the CCAC’s Efficient Cooling Initiative.
On agriculture and food systems, participants reported on efforts to reduce methane and black carbon emissions, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness on agriculture climate solutions that balance the need for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation. They also noted the importance of healthy, low carbon diets and of reducing food waste.
Taking stock of the CCAC’s work launched at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, representatives from the private sector described integrated solutions to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas industry. They highlighting private sector efforts to reduce climate and air pollutant emissions from freight. and called on countries to join a ‘Global Methane Alliance.’
In the closing session, participants adopted the 2030 Vision Statement committing members to “drive and respond to scientific and political progress to maintain an atmosphere that enables people and the planet to thrive – a stabilized climate with warming limited to 1.5 C and drastically reduced air pollution.”
Members agreed to add this statement to the CCAC Framework Document and to extend the duration of the Coalition’s mandate until the end of 2030. Several members pledged additional financial support to the Coalition’s work. The United Arab Emirates was welcomed as the CCAC’s newest CCAC state partner. The 11th meeting of the CCAC HLA took place in New York, US, on 22 September 2019 on the eve of the UN Climate Action Summit. The HLA was attended by high-level representatives of governments and international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Opening
Delegates gather for the 11th High Level Assembly of the CCAC.
Chair Manuel Sager, Switzerland
Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, European Commission
Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board, State of California
Joseph Séka Seka, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Côte d'Ivoire
Delegates applaud the work done by the CCAC.
How the Coalition is Increasing Ambition and Will Scale-Up Towards 2030
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI), facilitates a series of panel sessions on: air pollution and health; cooling and eficiency; agriculture and food systems; and integrated solutions and transitions.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO)
Qu Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
Patricia Fuller, Climate Ambassador, Canada
Vincent Biruta, Minister of Environment, Rwanda
Aupito William Sio, Minister for Pacific Peoples, New Zealand
Patrick Pouyanne, CEO, Total
André Weidenhaupt, Luxembourg
Pledges, Launching New Work, Plans, and the Coalition’s “2030 Vision”
Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, China, delivers a keynote address to launch the UNEP-CCAC-Tsinghua Report.
Satya Tripathi, Assistant Secretary-General, UNEP
Jane Burston, Executive Director, Clean Air Fund
Marcel Beukeboom, Climate Envoy, the Netherlands
Krista Mikkonen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Finland
Pledges made during the meeting.
Closing
Michał Kurtyka, COP 24 President, Poland, and Carolina Schmidt, Minister of the Environment, Chile, and COP 25 President-designate
Family photo of the high level participants.
Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference - December 2019
Disconnects between the demands of people, science, and what the process could deliver—and between countries that want to look to the future and those focused on the past—ultimately undermined the ability for the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference to deliver, despite COP 25 running nearly 40 hours overtime.
Highlights and images for 2 December 2019
Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference - December 2019
Highlights and images for 3 December 2019
Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference - December 2019
Highlights and images for 4 December 2019
Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference - December 2019
Highlights and images for 14 December 2019
Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference - December 2019
49th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-49)
Key to determining the success (or failure) of efforts to combat global warming is a common methodology to assess greenhouse (GHG) emissions and removals, which was the main task of the IPCC in Kyoto: to adopt the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 Guidelines on National GHG Inventories prepared by scientists according to IPCC Principles and Procedures.
NYDF 5-Year Anniversary and Leadership Event
Participants took stock of progress and challenges to date in meeting the goals of the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, while highlighting innovative areas of action.
Highlights and images for 22 September 2019
NYDF 5-Year Anniversary and Leadership Event
This event sought to take stock of progress and challenges to date in meeting the goals of the 2014 NYDF, highlight innovative areas of action, and foster a high-ambition multi-stakeholder collaborative process committed to increasing action to 2020 and beyond. The event was organized by the Global Platform for the NYDF and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Germany.
Tashka Yawanawa, an indigenous participant from the Amazon
Highlights
The NYDF goals are not on track, but are still valid and require greater and more concerted efforts , with more multi-stakeholder partnerships.
There are isolated success stories that should be promoted and learned from.
Transformational change is needed, addressing both institutional and market failures.
Transforming commodity chains is slower and more difficult than originally envisioned.
Event Summary: Opening Remarks
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Minister for Environment and Energy, Costa Rica, said progress in reversing deforestation will never be achieved both institutional failures and market failures are not addressed.
Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, BMU, noted that while Norway, Germany, and the UK are on-track for meeting their financial pledge under the Declaration, it is not enough and other governments, financial institutions, and the private sector need to join in and coordinate efforts to bring in more finance, address supply chain practices, and promote sound policies in line with the Paris Agreement.
Progress to Date and Unmet Commitments
Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI), said while the 5-year NYDF assessment report indicates goals are not on track to be met, it just means there is more work to be done. He urged improving productivity on current non-forested lands, improving governance including incentives, and converting low-yielding land back into forests.
Charlotte Streck, Co-Founder and Director, Climate Focus, characterized the essential messages of the NYDF Assessment Report 2019 as the need for: systemic change, to stop working in silos, to start working more as a community, and to seek transformative shifts in land use.
Jamison Ervin, UN Development Programme (UNDP), offered eight insights from the first-ever NYDF Endorser Perspectives Report capturing more than 80 endorser perspectives on why goals are not being met and what conditions are supporting progress, including: creating deforestation-free commodity chains is difficult and slow because it involves systemic change; strong governance at local levels is an important precondition; individual leaders make a difference; commitments rely on multi-stakeholder partnerships; clarify and resolve land-tenure rights, especially in indigenous territories is an important precondition; negative financial investments work against deforestation efforts; and while nature-based solutions yield societal benefits, many of these are not yet recognized.
Setting the Stage: Commitments to End Deforestation
Frans Timmermans, First Vice President, European Commission, outlined proposals for a major EU initiative on deforestation with five elements: increasing consumption of deforestation-free products; making EU development policy deforestation-free; strengthening international cooperation to halt deforestation and promote restoration; redirecting financial flows so money supports sustainable land use practices; and improving access to information on forests and supply chains.
Turning Commitments into Action Globally: A Ministerial Roundtable
Haoliang Xu, UNDP, emphasized that: future development will be limited not by financial or human resources, but rather planetary resources. He said incentives must be revised to get meaningful change to commodity chains.
Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Environment and International Development, UK, observed that there are many notable efforts underway, but “they are islands of brilliance in an ocean of mediocrity.” He said the Prime Minister will announce a major new initiative at the UN that emphasizes nature-based solutions.
Maria Flachsbarth, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, emphasized: addressing commodity chains; bringing indigenous people in forest regions onboard; and protecting not just the Amazon, but also the Congo Basin and Indonesia.
Lee White, Minister for Forests, Sea, the Environment, and Climate Plan, Gabon, on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), explained CAFI and the importance of protecting the Congo Basin forests. He noted that Gabon and Norway would sign an agreement on REDD+ that among other things, raises the per ton price of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) avoided from USD 5 to USD 10.
Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway, stressed that the NYDF is not misguided, only that more needs to be done. She called for 10 actions: more governance reform by forest-rich countries; scaled up results in REDD+ finance; serious support to forest-rich countries to avoid deforestation; adaptation of strategies to realities of forest deforestation dynamics; empowerment of indigenous peoples; greater ambition and accountability in commodity supply chains; financial markets taking deforestation risks seriously; greater transparency; assessment of domestic footprints; and change in diets.
Lucía Delfina Ruíz Ostoic, Minister of the Environment, Peru, outlined her country's efforts to integrate forestry policy across sectors, governance levels, and among stakeholders, while addressing transparency, accountability, land tenure, the role of indigenous communities, and illegal activities impacting forestry.
Donatienne Hissard, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France, emphasized France’s commitment to NYDF and CAFI, and outlined its new strategy to end deforestation through tackling supply chains, including dialogues with producer countries, use of levers such as public procurement restrictions, and promotion of consumer awareness and due diligence by financers.
Victor Kabengele Wa Kalidu, National REDD+ Coordinator, Democratic Republic of the Congo, discussed a new national platform bringing together six ministries with civil society, technology partners, and others to address drivers of deforestation.
Changing the Way We Do Business: Increasing Impact of Supply Chains
Peter Freedman, Consumers Good Forum (CGF), explained the CGF has learned two key lessons: sourcing sustainably through certification is necessary but not sufficient because it does not encourage transformational collaboration across the entire supply chain; and the CGF governance was flawed because the pledge adoption did not force companies to adopt individual commitments, so CGF is now emphasizing "coalitions to action" and real time reporting on meeting commitments.
Christine Montenegro McGrath, Mondelez International, said her company's experience in taking a lead role on palm oil demonstrates the need to look beyond certification of its own supply chain, to including things such as human rights policies and promotion of indigenous land titles, and to apply a system-wide approach. Perpetua George, Wilmar International, said that while there are successes to report in palm oil, the issue is complex and full success will not come until everyone in the chain is committed, silos are broken, and carbon prices come closer to covering lost opportunity costs.
Mauricio Voivodic, CEO, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Brazil, mentioned several successes in Brazil, including the soy moratorium, and the formation of the Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture which includes many important agribusiness leaders, and the recent initiative launched on stopping deforestation in the Cerrado.
Shifting from Gray to Green: Mobilizing Finance
Frances Seymour, Board Chair of Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), explained ART is producing a standard on REDD+ transactions that will be Paris Agreement compliant which it hopes will be rewarded by a higher carbon price for those certified as standard compliant.
Karin Kemper, World Bank, outlined Bank goals, initiatives and programs, including efforts to address the linkage between addressing forest degradation, poverty and biodiversity protection and efforts to contribute to policy dialogue on valuation of natural capital.
Deb Markowitz, Vice President of Initiatives and Campaigns, Ceres, said that 230 investment managers representing USD 16 trillion in managed capital in 30 different countries signed a letter urging companies to take action on deforestation across their supply chains.
Local Action: Subnational Action to Tackle Deforestation
Tuntiak Katan, Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA), stressed the importance of countries acknowledging indigenous land rights, protecting prior and informed consent, valuing traditional knowledge, respecting the governance structure of indigenous peoples, coordinating projects through indigenous organizations, and ensuring climate financing reaches the communities on the ground.
Waldez Góes, Governor, Amapá, Brazil, discussed a consortium of the nine Brazilian states banded together to coordinate strategies to combat Amazonian deforestation and interact with the international community.
Wilson Lima, Governor, Amazonas, Brazil, and Chair, Governors Climate and Forest Task Force (GCFTF), urged those demanding protection of the Amazon forests look at how to address poverty, lack of infrastructure, and the need for clean water among those living in those forests.
Mauro Mendes, Governor, Mato Grosso, Brazil, stressed sustainable development will protect forests, and suggested his state has a higher level of production in animal and plant proteins with a higher level of forest preservation than does the US.
Gladson Cameli, Governor, Acre, Brazil, emphasized the commitment of Amazonian governors to fighting illegal activities affecting forests, to combatting deforestation, and protecting the Amazon.
Luis Hidalgo Okimura, Governor, Madre de Dios, Peru, noted Madre de Dios is “the capital of Peruvian biodiversity,” it signed the NYDF and it remains committed to stopping illegal activities, forest fires, and unsustainable use of Amazonian forest biodiversity.
Rafael Robles de Benito, Secretariat of Ecology and Environment, Quintana Roo, Mexico, urged greater use of traditional knowledge, revising current legal frameworks governing agricultural practices, and promoting restoration of mangroves and including them in the carbon count.
Closing Remarks: The Power of Interfaith Collaboration
Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary, World Council of Churches (WCC), discussed the launch of the Faith for Forests Initiative to promote understanding of the moral and spiritual dimension of fighting deforestation.
Sônia Guajajara, Executive Coordinator, Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), welcomed the interfaith initiative and all other support for indigenous communities, and urged the international community to pressure Brazil to keep to its Paris Agreement commitments. She closed by saying we cannot simply trust in technology to combat deforestation, we need to reconnect with Mother Nature and fight for Mother Earth.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin on the Side (ENBOTS) meeting coverage, provided web coverage from the NYDF 5-Year Anniversary and Leadership Event.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
John Ehrmann, Senior Partner, Meridian Institute, opened the event.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Minister for Environment and Energy, Costa Rica
Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute
Charlotte Streck, Co-Founder and Director, Climate Focus
Jamison Ervin, Manager, Nature for Development, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission
A view of the “Turning Commitments into Action Globally: A Ministerial Roundtable” panel moderated by Frances Seymour, Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART)
L-R: Frances Seymour, ART; Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Environment and International Development, UK; and Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
L-R: Lee White, Minister for Forests, Sea, the Environment, and Climate Plan, Gabon, and on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI); Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway; and Lucía Delfina Ruíz Ostoic, Minister of the Environment, Peru
L-R: Donatienne Hissard, Director for Sustainable Development for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France; Victor Kabengele Wa Kalidu, National REDD+ Coordinator, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Hoaliang Xu, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
L-R: Lee White, Minister for Forests, Sea, the Environment, and Climate Plan, Gabon, and Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway, signing a Memorandum of Understanding
L-R: Panel on “Changing the Way We Do Business: Increasing Impact of Supply Chains” with Justin Adams, Director, Tropical Forest Alliance; Peter Freedman, Managing Director, Consumers Good Forum; Christine Montenegro McGrath, Vice President and Chief of Global Impact, Mondelez International; Perpetua George, General Manager of Sustainability, Wilmar International; and Mauricio Voivodic, CEO, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Brazil
L-R: Dais from the “Shifting from Gray to Green: Mobilizing Finance” panel with Nigel Purvis, Founding President and CEO, Climate Advisers; Frances Seymour, ART; Karin Kemper, Global Director of Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice, World Bank; and Deb Markowitz, Vice President of Initiatives and Campaigns, Ceres
L-R: Susan Gardner, Director of Ecosystems Division, UN Environment, moderated the panel on “Local Action: Subnational Leadership to Tackle Deforestation,” with Tuntiak Katan, Vice Coordinator,Vice Coordinator, Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA)
L-R: Wilson Lima, Governor of Amazonas, Brazil; Waldez Góes, Governor of Amapá, Brazil; and Luis Hidalgo Okimura, Governor of Madre de Dios, Peru
L-R: Mauro Mendes, Governor of Mato Grosso, Brazil; Rafael Robles de Benito, Director of Climate Change, Secretary of Ecology and Environment, Quintana Roo, Mexico; and Gladson Cameli, Governor of Acre, Brazil
Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary World Council of Churches (WCC)
Sônia Guajajara, Executive Coordinator, APIB
CONTACT
Tobias Cabani | Tobias.Cabani.Extern@bmu.bund.de
MORE INFORMATION
https://nydfglobalplatform.org/
https://www.interfaithrainforest.org/
https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2019NYDFReport.pdf