The climate emergency is a direct consequence of carbon-heavy land-use and agriculture, transport, buildings and industrial processes and polluting energy sources. Without profound changes to these sectors and a drastic cut to carbon footprints, there is little hope of protecting the planet from the devastating effects of a warmer world.
Below are climate-related news and events from the United Nations and partners.
While much of talk in Baku is about the warming atmosphere - with 2024 set to be the warmest year on record - the ocean is also heating up. Last year saw the hottest ocean temperatures ever recorded, a trend that set to continue this year.
So, why is the ocean heating up and what does that mean for the climate and for marine life?
Innovation is not just being used in the battle against climate change, but also to help stop biodiversity loss. With global agricultural production having more than tripled between 1960 and 2015, leading to the clearing of forests, grasslands and other natural spaces, and spurring a wave of land degradation, this is very much needed.
Here are five ways non-profit groups and farmers around the world are working to make agriculture more planet friendly.
Climate action is a win-win, resulting in "stronger growth, more jobs, less pollution, and more secure and affordable energy." That is UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell's message to the G20 ahead of the G20 Leader's Summit next week in Brazil.
While acknowledging that there was much work to do on achieving climate finance goals at COP29, he pointed out that "two trillion dollars will flow to clean energy and infrastructure this year alone. Double what’s gone to fossil fuels."
He called on G20 leaders to ensure more "grant and concessional finance will be available" as well as reforms of multilateral development banks and ensuring debt relief for developing countries so they can take bolder climate action.
He added that "G20 Leaders must signal loud and clear that international cooperation is still the best and only chance humanity has to survive global heating. There is no other way."
The circular economy is crucial to achieving the Paris Agreement goals, UNEP's Executive Director, Inger Andersen said at an event at COP29 yesterday.
"This is because our linear growth model of take, make and waste is the key driver of the whole triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature, biodiversity and land loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste," she said.
She highlighted the huge costs of the current development model: "Material extraction and processing contribute up to 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiversity loss is costing the global economy 10 per cent of its output. Pollution-related losses have been estimated at US$4.6 trillion annually."
Solutions are at hand however, as she pointed out the role circularity can play in the move to clean energy technlogies.
While AI has lots of climate benefits from its ability to map the destructive dredging of sand and track methane emissions, it is not without its problems. Data centres that house AI servers produce electronic waste, while they are large consumers of water, which is becoming scarce in many places. They rely on critical minerals and rare elements, which are often mined unsustainably. And they use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases. So, what can be done to fix AI’s environmental problem?
With today’s focus on technology, it’s worth highlighting how big data – in the form of UNEP’s Marine Sand Watch – is tracking illegal sand dredging. The first-ever global data platform on sand and other sediment extraction in the marine environment finds that the marine dredging industry is digging up 6 billion tons per year, the equivalent of more than 1 million dump trucks per day. This is significantly impacting biodiversity and coastal communities. Read the full story.
Today is Science, technology, innovation and digitalisation day at COP29 and there will be a host of events focused on how technology and innovation can help countries increase ambition and reduce emissions.
Following the launch of the Eye on Methane Report 2024, this event will look at the latest methane data and tools from UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) and explore how stakeholders are using these resources to drive mitigation across sectors. This morning also sees a Ministerial Meeting on the circular economy co-hosted by the COP29 Presidency and UNEP, which will showcase examples from countries that have successfully leveraged circular economy to raise climate ambition, including through their NDCs. This event at the UN Azerbaijan-Pavilion will highlight the importance that stakeholders value the Technology Needs Assessment outcomes, as part of their NDCs.
It's been another very eventful day in Baku with report launches, ministerial meetings and protests. One of the more high-profile protests was regarding the influence of the energy industry at COP29, with 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists granted access to the event, about 1.5 per cent of the total number of visitors.
Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing on a range of issues from climate finance to Article 6, with progress very slow in some areas. It is hoped that some breakthroughs will be made next week, but a lot of ground needs to be made up before then.
The world now has the tools to slash methane emission, but what is needed now is action. That was the message at the launch of the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO)'s 2024 Eye on Methane report earlier today at COP29.
Speaking at the launch, UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen highlighted the fact that in some cases, stopping methane emissions comes down to simple repairs. "We’re quite literally talking about screwing bolts tighter or replacing filters in some cases," she said.
Methane emissions are responsible for roughly one third of current global warming Through its Methane Alert and Response System, IMEO has issued more than 1,200 notifications about major methane plumes over the last two years.
