John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Cynthia Asare Bediako, Chief Director, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ghana
Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy
My deep thanks to you all for joining us here as we mark a milestone that we at UNEP are so very proud of – the tenth anniversary of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, or CCAC.
At a time when multilateralism must step up to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, we can draw inspiration from how the CCAC unites the world in action. From a starting point of six countries in 2012, the CCAC is now comprised of 73 state partners and 78 non-state partners. And our partnership has chalked up many successes.
The CCAC has put short-lived climate pollutants, or SLCPs, on the global agenda and has clearly shown that pollutants are not just a climate issue. And the CCAC provided huge support to the Kigali Amendment to seal a deal on phasing down HFCs, a climate-warming gas used in the cooling industry.
Friends, we at UNEP are convinced that the CCAC will be a major player as we intensify our efforts to keep Paris goals alive.
We need to essentially halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to meet the 1.5°C Paris goal. But action on SLCPs could prevent 0.6°C of warming by 2050 – as well as avoiding 2.4 million premature deaths and 52 million tonnes of crop losses per year. The same reductions will help to lift people out of poverty and reduce public health costs.
We are also looking to the CCAC to support implementation of the Global Methane Pledge. Reducing methane emissions from the fossil fuel, waste and agriculture sectors is a real opportunity. With a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide, a lower lifetime in the atmosphere and low-cost mitigation measures, methane can make a rapid difference. Cutting anthropogenic methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 would make 1.5°C possible.
However, the Global Methane Pledge is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for these sectors. Action must come on top CO2 emission reductions. As we reduce methane from flaring or abandoned fossil fuel sites, we must pursue the energy transition – which can be a tool for energy security and peace. As we capture methane from landfills, or turn organics into compost, we must reduce food loss and waste. As we reduce HFCs from cooling equipment under the Kigali Amendment, we must boost energy efficiency and redesign our buildings and cities to use natural solutions for cooling. It all matters.
Friends, as we mark this 10th Anniversary, UNEP is looking forward to support the CCAC in increasing the scale and pace of change.
The CCAC starts its next ten years under new leadership, as Martina Otto takes the helm of the Secretariat. Her appointment follows the retirement of Helena Molin Valdés. I thank Helena for her service and welcome Martina.
We at UNEP as host of the CCAC Secretariat and its Trust Fund, look forward to a hugely successful next ten years. Through the CCAC 2030 Strategy and the CCAC Methane Flagship, we can expect to see real results on all SLCPs and methane – boosted by other efforts, such as the UNEP-hosted International Methane Emissions Observatory. Support for policy and planning will drive the investments to make good on our collective vision. Institutional strengthening will ensure institutional anchoring that creates a Whole of Government approach. Continuing to put out new science with a strong emphasis on the multiple benefits of action will make the economic case for a just transition. And creating a pipeline of projects that find uptake with our partners in multilateral and bilateral funding will create real change.
Partnerships like the CCAC show the best of multilateralism, so let us recommit and move further and faster together.
Thank you.
