COP21: UN joins France and private sector partners for action on electro-mobility

Among the events was the launch of the Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change & Call to Action. Endorsed by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Energy Agency, as well as Tesla Motors and Michelin Nissan-Renault, it reportedly builds on commitments from companies, cities, States and associations that have undertaken decisive efforts towards sustainable transport electrification.
“Of course, I think the sector of transport is one of the most important to succeed in fighting climate,” Ségolène Royal, the French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy told the UN News Service.“So I announced three concrete initiatives,” she explained. “First, an open bid about less expensive electric cars – less than 7,000 dollars [per car]; second, an initiative for towns to build a plan of mobility inside cities; and third, roads with positive energy which [would see thruways] covered with panel and would solve the problem between agriculture areas and road areas.” With energy-related CO2 emissions expected to jump from one quarter of total energy-related emissions today to one-third by 2050, the actors that are part of the Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) are underlining that significant changes can be made in transport to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.The LPAA was launched one year ago at the the previous UN climate change conference in Peru, and aims to strength climate action beyond COP21. The effort comes as demand for public and freight transport is projected to grow rapidly, especially in emerging and developing countries. Yet, projections reveal a 50 per cent reduction of transport CO2 emissions compared to a “transport-as-usual” scenario can be achieved by 2050, without hampering sustainable economic growth.Moreover, according to the International Energy Agency, if global warming is to be limited to 2 degrees or less, at least 20 per cent of all road vehicles (cars, two and three-wheelers, trucks, buses and others) must be electric-powered by 2030, in conjunction with the low-carbon production of electricity and hydrogen.http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52728#.Vmcu-V7eums

COP21: Ban announces ‘Climate Action 2016’ partnership to maintain momentum after UN climate conference

“I am heartened by the significant and growing coalitions that are emerging to tackle the challenges of climate change and realize new opportunities,” Mr. Ban underlined at the global event taking place in Paris, on a day dubbed “Action Day.”“I am pleased to be joined by so many key partners to scale climate action efforts and make them sustainable,” he added.The Secretary-General, joined by groups such as the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility and the Compact of Mayors, and individuals including Michael Bloomberg – the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change – will co-sponsor a “Climate Action 2016” summit of leaders from government, business, cities and localities, civil society and academia next 5 and 6 May in Washington, D.C.According to a press release issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the organizer of the conference – this high-level gathering will complement ongoing implementation efforts and catalyze actionable, concrete deliverables in specific high-value areas, including: cities; land use; resilience; energy; transport; tools for decision makers; and finance."[The summit will] show that the things that were talked here in Paris are actually happening on the ground,” Bob Orr, a Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on climate change, told the UN News Centre in an interview. “The number and the depth of the coalitions that are organized to deliver action on climate whether through forestry, through industry, through cities, all the different channels need to move forward as far and as fast as they can," he added. "So the Secretary-General is not only ensuring we have this robust universal agreement, but that we have the coalition in the field to deliver the goods.” Mr. Orr noted that the meeting is taking place in the United States' capital as all the partners joining the Secretary-General at the 2016 summit agreed that Washington, D.C. is the “best stop” as it is home to a number of important international institutions and financing vehicles. Meanwhile, the world's attention is turned towards the Paris-Le Bourget site north-east of the French capital, where government representatives have been meeting since Monday to reach a new universal climate agreement to limit global temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius.http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52739#.Vmcu5V7eums

COP21: digital map launched by UNICEF helps young people tell their climate change stories

A digital mapping project called ‘Act Now For Tomorrow,’ which was recently launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is helping young people around the world identify climate issues in their communities and find ways to address them.“The global climate map is engaging 500 young people from 65 countries,” Zayn Abaakil, a UNICEF child engagement coordinator, told the UN News Centre in one of the conference halls of the UN climate change conference (COP21) where dozens of innovative climate projects are being showcased over the next two weeks.The idea behind the project, she said, is for young people to show the link between climate issues and the impacts they see every day that are affecting their health and access to education. The UN agency recently reported that more than half a billion children live in areas with extremely high flood occurrences, while 160 million are in high drought severity zones.“They see all the contributions from other young people,” explained Ms. Abaakil, and “they understand that the issue is a global one, that they are all connected around the same problem, but also learn from each other, look at the best practices that have been done from different places, and connect.”
Seven UNICEF youth ambassadors have travelled from all corners of the globe to attend COP21, display their findings, and exchange stories – this time in person. One of them is Andozile Simwinga, a driven18-year old Zambian student who said the impacts of climate change on his country are affecting his self-esteem.
“Things, they don’t actually move the way they’re supposed to move and young people are not happy the way they should be,” he said energetically. Despite talking about an issue that clearly causes him distress, Mr. Simwinga couldn’t hide the enthusiasm he feels being in Paris and contributing to this global event.
“[The effect of climate change] has really made me feel low – I go out of my house every day and I look at the environment. People have cut down trees, there’s deforestation everywhere. I want to do environmental studies but what am I going to address? What am I going to talk about? What am I going to tell […] my children and also the future generations? We had trees here; we had different types of animals. So it really has affected my self-esteem.”Meanwhile, 22-year-old Bellinda Raymond traveled from Malaysia to attend the Conference of Youth prior to heading to COP21. She described herself as an active citizen, someone who engages with members of her indigenous community, especially ahead of major weather events that have the potential to destroy homes and vital surroundings. She said her grandparents weren’t affected by climate change in the ways she is today.“As an indigenous person, we depend on the forest and rivers for our daily life – and we also have our traditional system, also related to the climate. The weather is now unpredictable and we need to adapt to the environment that’s changing,” Ms. Raymond said.Asked what the worse effect of climate change has been on her community, she answered floods.“Because last time, when the rain came, it was still okay for us, but now just two hours of rain [and] it’s already flooding and has caused a lot of damage; people cannot go to work, and it’s difficult to access the outside.”As youth ambassadors celebrated ‘Young and Future Generations Day’ at COP21 on Thursday, government delegations continued to negotiate a new climate agreement which the world’s people hope will be ambitious enough to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, and prevent further degradation of the planet.http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52726#.VmctUF7eums

COP21: saving energy 'triple win,' Ban says, as $5 billion Africa plan launched at climate summit

7 December 2015 – The United Nations and partners launched today a $5 billion initiative to expand renewable energy capacity in Africa today as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris that saving energy is a triple-win in the battle against global warming.
“The production and use of energy is responsible for more than half of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. That means energy is also more than half of the solution. We need sustainable energy to reduce global greenhouse emissions and avert the risks of runaway climate change,” Mr. Ban said, stressing that clean energy is equally important for ending extreme poverty. “Saving energy is a triple-win solution. It can save money, reduce emissions, and provide additional energy capacity,” he added, noting that renewable energy technologies are becoming cheaper and more competitive, with many people accessing energy for the first time thanks to solar panels, wind turbines or small hydro power plant.“But, to replicate this experience for billions more people, we will need finance,” he declared.“Let us build on these bold initiatives. A global energy transformation must reduce heat-trapping emissions. It also needs to ensure that we leave no one behind. Those things can only be achieved if we tackle the issues of energy access, energy efficiency, and renewable energy together as a trinity.” COP21 held a thematic day on energy today, with the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All), a multi-stakeholder partnership backed by the UN and World Bank, urging Governments, businesses and financial institutions to act much faster and go much further to meet the ambitious goals of ensuring sustainable energy for all while keeping the global temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius. SE4All is acting as a catalyst for a huge global movement for revolutionary change in the world's energy systems, helping to build working alliances across the public sector, private sector and civil society and foster innovative policies, technologies and financing mechanisms. Any rise of more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2050 will have an ever more dangerous impact on planet Earth with devastating droughts, floods and storms, and rising seas swallowing up ever more low-lying land.The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative to expand renewable capacity by 2020 and achieve universal access was just one of several launched today.The Initiative is led by the African Union's NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) the African Group of Negotiators, the African Development Bank, the UN Environment Program (UNEP), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). At least $5 billion in public and highly concessional finance between 2016 and 2020 from bilateral, multilateral and other sources, including the Green Climate Fund, will be needed to leverage a further $15 billion in other investments, for a total investment of at least $20 billion pre-2020. Other initiatives launched today included efforts to improve access to electricity and energy efficiency, and promote renewable energy.Hundreds of Governments, businesses and financial institutions pledged major action on energy efficiency, recognizing it as the basis of the energy transition. More than 100 banks and a group of investors, managing close to $4 trillion in assets, committed to a major increase in energy efficiency lending in their portfolios. Led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the UNEP Finance Initiative, this is a major undertaking toward the four-fold increase needed to realize the full energy efficiency potential for climate change.