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UAE Unveils Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap

The unveiling of the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap came during the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow…reports Asian Lite News

The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI) today announced the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, a comprehensive national blueprint to support domestic, low-carbon industries, contribute to the country’s net-zero ambition and establish the country as a competitive exporter of hydrogen.

The Roadmap’s ambitions underscore the UAE leadership’s enduring legacy of progressive solutions to global climate challenges, as recently demonstrated by the announcement of “UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative”. The UAE became the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to announce a net zero strategic initiative by 2050 in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri

The unveiling of the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap came during the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, where countries from across the globe are expected to commit to enhanced pledges to cut emissions for the first time since the Paris accord was signed.

SUHAIL BIN MOHAMMED AL MAZROUEI, MINISTER OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE: “The United Arab Emirates today launches UAE’s Hydrogen Roadmap a key enabler in line with UAE leadership’s enduring tradition to contribute progressive solutions to global climate challenges with the announcement of ‘UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative’. The Net Zero Initiative is aimed at creating a vibrant ecosystem transiting towards a new model of sustainable economic growth trajectory that leverages research, development, innovation, and clean technology. Plans, strategies, and implementation of the necessary initiatives and projects are under development by stakeholders in UAE’s key sectors, including energy, economy, industry, infrastructure, transport, waste, agriculture, and the environment. The UAE is well positioned to be a leader in low carbon hydrogen with natural competitive advantages for both blue and green hydrogen, however, green hydrogen production remains in its infancy, requiring an international collaboration to accelerate its development. Green hydrogen is envisaged to play a significant role in UAE’s domestic strategy to meet the UAE 2050 Net-Zero goals and which will also assist globally by exporting hydrogen.”

Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change said, “The potential of the clean hydrogen market in the UAE and globally is immense and, through the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, our nation will be well placed to continue delivering on ambitious growth projects across the clean hydrogen value chain, leveraging the UAE’s existing position as an early mover in low and no-carbon industries and technologies. And within the vision outlined by the recently announced UAE Net Zero Strategic Initiative, the Roadmap will, through fast-emerging growth opportunities in clean hydrogen and its carrier fuels, accelerate efforts to create a vibrant ecosystem for the UAE’s sustainable economic growth trajectory and enable direct positive impact on the country’s GDP.”

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said, “Perceived by many as the sustainable fuel of the future, clean hydrogen is an important tool in decarbonizing economies. The UAE Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap seeks to leverage the country’s investments and experience in affordable renewable energy to develop the clean hydrogen sector. The Roadmap will play a key role in advancing the UAE’s transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy.”

The Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap comprises three core objectives: unlocking new sources of value creation through exports of low carbon hydrogen, derivatives and products to key importing regions, fostering new hydrogen derivative opportunities through low-carbon steel, sustainable kerosene as well as other priority UAE industries and contributing to the UAE’s 2050 net zero commitments.

As outlined in the Roadmap, the UAE aims to support the low-carbon hydrogen business through five critical enablers: a clear regulatory framework backed by policies, incentives, standards, and certifications; best-in-class technology through value-add partnerships and the vibrant and robust UAE domestic research and development structure; access to existing and new Government-to-Government relationships to accelerate growth of a domestic ecosystem; readily available land and infrastructure resources to support domestic production; and green financing within the UAE and in international capital markets.

The UAE is well on its way to meet its ambition to be a global leader in low carbon hydrogen with more than seven projects already underway which will target 25 percent market share in the key export markets, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, and India initially along with additional high-potential markets in Europe and East Asia.

Today, the global market for [clean hydrogen] is estimated to be valued at between 400 billion and one trillion dollars and will be an essential means of the UAE’s ongoing efforts to transition to lower emissions energy sources and capitalise on new growth opportunities within the low and no carbon economy.

ALSO READ: UAE, Germany to jointly develop green hydrogen, artificial fuel

The UAE is already well positioned to be a leader in clean hydrogen with natural competitive advantages for both blue and green hydrogen, including abundant and competitive hydrocarbons, existing large-scale hydrogen and ammonia production facilities, access to some of the world’s most cost-competitive solar PV energy and large-scale carbon capture and storage capacities, which national oil company ADNOC already possesses and continues to advance.

The UAE Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap is already being underpinned by National Champions with world-leading low carbon hydrogen projects, pilots, and test cargoes. The UAE plans currently include 7+ projects which are either completed or underway via the main stakeholders, such as the Abu Dhabi Hydrogen Alliance (ADNOC, Mubadala, & ADQ ) and DEWA, including; first solar PV and green hydrogen producing facility in the MENA region, blue ammonia production plant, green hydrogen demonstration plant (initially for road transport, then expanding to e-kerosene synthesis and ocean shipping), establishing a UAE hydrogen hub in coloboration with BP, green ammonia project powered by solar based electrolyzer facility, and a large-scale green hydrogen project enabling the first green steel produced in the MENA region. Additionally, the UAE also have four test cargos of blue ammonia already sold by ADNOC.

Although the UAE is well positioned to be a leader in low carbon hydrogen with natural competitive advantages for both blue and green hydrogen, green hydrogen production remains in its infancy, requiring an international collaboration to accelerate its development. Green hydrogen is envisaged to play a significant role in UAE’s domestic strategy to meet the UAE 2050 Net-Zero goals and which will also assist globally by exporting hydrogen.

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Business India News

Climate targets put coal investors at risk

“Passive investors should also beware because several companies that are most exposed are part of mainstream benchmark indexes.”…reports Asian Lite News

A whopping $110 billion of coal plants owned by listed Asian utilities could become uneconomic as the world takes action to meet climate targets, and more than half the risk is concentrated in 10 companies, finds a new report from the financial think-tank Carbon Tracker released on Thursday.

Mumbai is the exchange with the greatest risk of asset stranding with $59 billion of coal assets at risk, followed by the Tokyo exchange with $22 billion at risk. Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Seoul each have around $6 billion at risk.

Carbon Tracker Power Analyst and report author, Lorenzo Sani said: “This report is a warning to investors: if you invest in listed companies which own coal plants, there’s a significant risk you may not recoup your investment or achieve the return you expected.

“Passive investors should also beware because several companies that are most exposed are part of mainstream benchmark indexes.”

Risk is highly concentrated in a few companies. NTPC, India’s largest power utility whose main shareholder is the Indian government, is the single most exposed company with $19 billion of assets at risk — 96 per cent of its market capitalisation.

Just 10 Asian companies account for $65 billion of stranded asset risk.

Six are Indian, including four of the top five. After NTPC, Adani is the company most exposed with $12 billion of risk, nearly double its market capitalisation.

Two are Japanese, including J-Power, with $4 billion at risk, 1.5 times the company’s market capitalisation.

South Korea’s largest utility KEPCO is exposed to $6 billion of risk. Malaysian electric power utility TNB is exposed to $4 billion of risk, a year’s operating earnings.

UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has called phasing out coal from energy generation “the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement”, urging OECD countries to phase out coal by 2030 and non-OECD countries by 2040.

Exchanges across Asia face stranded asset risk if listed coal utilities close plants early. Hong Kong has $3.4 billion at risk and Singapore $1.6 billion despite having little or no domestic coal capacity.

Jakarta has $2 billion, Bangkok $1 billion, and Shanghai and Shenzhen with $0.8 billion.

The report warns investors should learn the lessons from the energy transition in Europe, where most coal plants are no longer economically viable. They face increasing competition from cheap renewables, growing carbon taxes, and closures are being driven by the market and government policy.

Coal.

The report ‘Taking Stock of Coal Risks’, finds that worldwide $220 billion of investment in coal plants could be stranded if the world takes action to achieve the temperature goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

This includes $110 billion in listed Asian companies, $11 billion in companies listed on either the New York, European or Sydney exchanges, and another $100 billion in unlisted companies, including those with publicly traded debt.

The report warns investors that listed companies still planning to build new coal capacity are making “a very risky bet”.

Growing competition from low-cost renewables and carbon pricing mean they are unlikely to generate a return over their lifetime and countries’ net zero commitments may drive early closures.

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-Top News UK News

Britain secures 190-strong coalition to phase out coal power

Twenty-eight new members signed up to the world’s largest alliance on phasing out coal, the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) launched and co-chaired by the UK, reports Asian Lite News

The end of coal — the single biggest contributor to climate change — is in sight thanks to the UK securing a 190-strong coalition of countries and organisations at the UN climate negotiations (COP26), with countries such as Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile and Morocco announcing clear commitments to phase out coal power.

Wednesday’s commitments, brought together through UK-led efforts, including the new ‘Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement’, encompass developed and developing countries, major coal users and climate vulnerable countries.

This includes 18 countries committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile, marking a milestone moment at COP26 in the global clean energy transition.

Picture by Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street

This statement commits nations across the world to: end all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally; rapidly scale up deployment of clean power generation; phase out coal power in economies in the 2030s for major economies and 2040s for the rest of the world; and make a just transition away from coal power in a way that benefits workers and communities.

This is on top of China, Japan and Korea, the three largest public financiers of coal, committing to end overseas finance for coal generation by the end of 2021, announced in 2020 during the UK’s incoming COP26 Presidency.

Agreements at the G7, G20 and OECD to end public international coal finance send a strong signal that the world economy is shifting to renewables. This could end over 40GW of coal across 20 countries, equivalent to over half of the UK’s electricity generating capacity.

Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Today marks a milestone moment in our global efforts to tackle climate change as nations from all corners of the world unite in Glasgow to declare that coal has no part to play in our future power generation. Spearheaded by the UK’s COP26 Presidency, today’s ambitious commitments made by our international partners demonstrate that the end of coal is in sight. The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal’s fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.”

To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, the global transition to clean power needs to progress four to six times faster than at present.

With coal being the single largest contributor to climate change, phasing it out and delivering a rapid, inclusive transition to clean energy is essential if we are to keep 1.5 degrees alive.

Twenty-eight new members on Wednesday signed up to the world’s largest alliance on phasing out coal, the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) launched and co-chaired by the UK.

Chile, Singapore and Durban joined over 150 countries, sub-nationals and businesses, including finance partners NatWest, Lloyds Banking, HSBC and Export Development Canada. This accounts for more than $17 trillion assets now committed to PPCA coal phase-out goals.

There has also been a 76 per cent cut in the number of new coal plants planned globally over the last six years which means the cancellation of 1,000GW of new coal plants since the Paris Agreement, roughly equivalent to around 10 times the UK’s total peak generating capacity.

Responding to the UK government securing coalition with commitments to phase out coal power, Jonathan Sims, Carbon Tracker Senior Analyst, told IANS: “Fresh country pledges to end the construction of new coal plants, which is vital if long-term climate goals are to be achievable, send a strong signal that coal is out for the count.”

Dave Jones, Ember’s global lead, said: “Today’s commitments will help to shift whole continents on their journey to phase out coal. This is such a big moment because by far the biggest gap in ambition to get to 1.5 degrees is a rapid collapse in coal generation i.e. for major economies to phase-out coal power by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040.”

ALSO READ: UK issues coin to honour Mahatma on Diwali

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-Top News Environment India News

90% Indians want greater women role at climate talks

ActionAid Executive Director Sandeep Chachra said: “The vulnerable communities of India, and amongst them, women and children, are being hardest hit by the climate crisis they did the least to cause…reports Asian Lite News.

Around 90 per cent of respondents in a survey of people in India called for greater female representation at the COP26 climate talks while 87 per cent, nearly nine in 10 people, think more must be done to give women from the Global South a voice at the global summit, according to the latest survey from ActionAid.

The term Global South -broadly refers to Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania includes regions outside Europe and North America, mostly low-income and often politically or culturally marginalised.

As many as 67 per cent of women in the Global South, or nearly two-thirds, think that women and girls are more likely to be adversely affected by the climate crisis, while 73 per cent, or nearly three-quarters, say that addressing gender inequality is a vital part of solving climate change, according to the survey.

ActionAid Executive Director Sandeep Chachra said: “The vulnerable communities of India, and amongst them, women and children, are being hardest hit by the climate crisis they did the least to cause.

“But women and their communities are also leading the fight against climate change and designing inclusive and sustainable solutions in their villages and neighbourhoods to build climate resilience and help safeguard lives and livelihoods.”

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for $1 trillion from developed countries as finance for developing countries to lessen the impact of climate change through mitigation and adaptation measures, should be used to draw these vulnerable communities, led by women into climate change practices. We need to encourage these communities to fulfil their role as custodians of ecological resources, to ensure their well-being and the good of all the whole world,” he added.

ALSO READ-Farm fires from Pakistan to increase air pollution load for Delhi-NCR

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News World

COP26 Red Cross Appeals to World Leaders

The ICRC has witnessed conflicts that are more fragmented, more deadly for the civilian population, and are harder and harder to solve politically…reports Asian Lite News

Robert Mardini, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has called on the more than 100 world leaders attending the ongoing UN climate summit, to prioritise the planet’s most vulnerable populations who face the dual challenge of armed conflicts and the dire consequences of climate change.

COP26 Red Cross Appeals to World Leaders

Mardini spoke to Xinhua news agency on the sidelines of the ongoing 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Glasgow, Scotland. He identified three main priorities for the participants.

ROBERT MARDINI, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: “The first one is for the international community to acknowledge that actually people living in armed conflicts and in contests affected by climate change are the most vulnerable and are to be really prioritized. The second one is the collective bold effort from the international community to focus on genuine and meaningful mitigation measures to reduce carbon emissions and to avert the climate crisis in the first place. And the third one is really linked to the most vulnerable (populations). They should be top of the list in terms of support, (but) the fact of the matter today (is) they are totally neglected.”

Between 2018 and 2020, Mardini was head of the ICRC’s delegation and permanent observer to the UN in New York. During his 22 years with the ICRC, he also led the ICRC’s Water and Habitat Unit, which managed projects in over 40 countries, such as Rwanda and Iraq.

On the eve of the current COP26 meeting, he visited Mali, where he gained first-hand experience of how climate change is pushing families to the brink in a country also battered by nearly a decade of conflict.

“I think Mali and many of the countries in the Sahel region exemplify really the ‘perfect storm,’ where communities find themselves being at the intersection of conflicts, violence, and also the consequences of climate change that are more and more visible,” he said.

“I was in Mali last week and I could see first-hand how those double challenges are hitting hard communities… I spoke with a woman for instance in a (displaced) camp, and she told me how she lost her house twice. The first time she lost it to floods, the second time she lost it to violence because of armed competition and violence around shrinking water resources and grazing lands,” he said.

“This is the story of millions of people living across the Sahel, in Niger, in Burkina Faso, including in places like Afghanistan. Out of the 25 countries that are today the most vulnerable to climate change, 14 are actually countries that are torn by armed conflict. So, you can imagine how challenging it is for those populations to face this double adversity,” he noted.

According to the UN, climate hazards have already damaged around 80 per cent of the farmlands in the Sahel region, drastically reducing food sources.

ALSO READ: Sheikh Abdullah meets US counterpart at COP26

Some 29 million people in the region were reported to need humanitarian assistance and protection, more than ever before.

Whether in Mali, Niger or Afghanistan, where the ICRC is present, “if I put really myself in the shoes of ordinary people who are struggling with the consequences of climate change, with the more frequent floods, drought, desertification, declining of water tables and hardship, I think that we are reaching a point where … the collective action needs to be taken by all states today”.

Mardini said that the ICRC has witnessed conflicts that are more fragmented, more deadly for the civilian population, and are harder and harder to solve politically.

“So the key here is for the international community and the warring sides to reach settlements, to really create political consensus to solve conflicts in the long term,” he said, urging the international community to “put everything in place to ensure respect for the rules and for international humanitarian law, which when respected, will reduce human suffering”.

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-Top News UAE News World

Will Support Practical, Scalable Solutions to Climate Change: UAE

UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change said an umbrella approach that brings together all the elements is needed for success in reducing the impact of climate change…reports Asian Lite News

The United Arab Emirates has called for an inclusive approach to unlock the economic opportunity in climate action and said it would support progress towards practical, commercial and scalable solutions if affirmed as hosts of COP28 in 2023.

Addressing a panel discussion by Atlantic Council at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, said an umbrella approach that brings together all the elements is needed for success in reducing the impact of climate change.

“We have adopted an inclusive approach to growth and progress, which contributed to many significant achievements over the past 50 years. We will continue to follow this approach in line with the principles of the Fifty-Year Charter, which prioritises sustainable economic and social growth. Sustainable investments must first be sustainable financially.”

Dr. Al Jaber was speaking alongside the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Ambassador Raychelle Omamo, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Kenya, and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Addressing the audience, John Kerry said, “First of all, let me thank the UAE and Dr Sultan Al Jaber; he has just been a spectacular envoy and partner with us over these past months. The UAE hosted the very first Middle East climate dialogue, which involved four or five oil and gas producers, all of whom came on board for Net Zero, all of whom have been really committed to COP and the process of responsible activity in all sectors and I thank them for that, and I wish them happy UAE Flag Day.”

Commenting on the launch of the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, Bill Gates added, “Thanks to leadership of UAE and United States for kicking this off we have about 30 countries now signed up for the initiative where you make a commitment to raise your research and development for better agriculture, both seeds and livestock, digital mapping to help the farmers and digital advice.”

Commenting on the need for inclusive approach to climate action, Raychelle Omamo said, “COP 26 must remember the African woman, because the African woman is the way forward on our continent she’s the farmer, she’s the person that deals with our SMEs, she drives our economies. So whatever applications that we use or innovations that we begin to develop, we must develop them with the view of building inclusive society, societies that are prosperous for everyone.”

The need for an inclusive approach Addressing the panel, Dr. Al Jaber reiterated that the UAE’s inclusive approach was important to take “innovation to scale, from capital to R&D, technology development and project delivery. Inclusivity means all sectors – governmental, private, academic and civil society – working together. This must include countries with major hydrocarbon resources. They have huge energy experience and an essential role to play. The world needs to be open, not closed; it needs answers, not justifications.”

Dr. Al Jaber said the UAE moved early into renewables. “We began our investments in renewable energy 15 years ago. We focused on science and innovation, providing the space and the capital to turn ideas into world-class projects. Today, we have renewable investments worth US$70 billion across 70 countries. We will grow our renewables position and we already have plans to increase the renewable energy capacity fourfold to about 9 gigawatts by the end of 2025.”

Highest ambitions for COP28 Commenting on the UAE’s offer to host COP28 in 2023, which was endorsed by the Asia Pacific Group of nations, Dr. Al Jaber said the UAE had set its ambitions high, adding the nation would approach dialogue and discussions with the same progressive drive – focusing on achievement and progress – that enabled the UAE to mark significant achievements over its 50-year history.

“We would push towards practical solutions that the world needs real solutions that are both commercial and scalable. We would also bring fresh perspectives because we understand that progress and development remain essential in parallel with global efforts to reduce the effects of climate change.”

“We seek to make COP28 both flexible, compatible with the requirements of both developed and developing countries and inclusive, recognising there are various paths towards net-zero emissions. It is about getting to the destination on time not about the route to get there,” he added.

On this year’s UN Climate Conference, Dr. Al Jaber said there is “good progress and a great sense of hope. I would like to see COP26 propose practical plans and solutions and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Certainly, developing nations require a completely different set of policies and incentives. Climate action should not become an economic burden on developing nations. Our focus must be on holding back emissions, not slowing growth and progress.

“It would be fruitful for developed nations to meet the US$100 billion pledge on climate finance. The successful delivery of Article Six to set up functioning global carbon markets would be another strong indicator of the success of COP26. If COP26 can achieve all of this, then it will have been a big success. A successful COP26 will also create momentum for COP27, COP28 and beyond.”

If UAE is affirmed as the COP28 host in 2023, Dr. Al Jaber said he would work closely with the UK, Egypt and the UNFCCC to push for practical solutions that are both commercial and scalable.

Will Support Practical, Scalable Solutions to Climate Change: UAE

“The UAE has deep practical experience in energy, climate action and renewables, and we have a strong track record of mobilising support to address common challenges,” he added.

“The COP process is critical to the world, and each COP must build on those that have come before. COP28 is also the year of the global stocktake and this presents its own opportunity to assess where the world is and to further accelerate climate action.”

ALSO READ: Countries Pledge to Increase Climate Change Budgets

UAE focuses on collaboration and partnership Dr. Al Jaber said collaboration and partnership underline the UAE’s recent climate initiatives. For instance, the new Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, a US$1billion US-funded facility, launched in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), is designed to finance 1.5 GW of new renewable energy power projects in developing countries by 2030.

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) is a major joint initiative by the UAE and US with the support of more than 30 other countries. The goal is to accelerate innovation in climate-smart agriculture and food systems over the next five years.

“Investing in innovation and advanced technological solutions in agriculture such as heat resistant crops, vertical farming and digital agriculture, will help enhance resilience in parts of the world that are most vulnerable to climate change,” said Dr. Al Jaber.

As an early mover in renewables, the UAE has the world’s largest solar park and a burgeoning peaceful nuclear power sector. The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is set to provide up to a quarter of the nation’s electricity needs when it becomes fully operational, avoiding up to 21 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

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Africa News World World News

New partnerships for Africa to put climate equity, resilience

The mobilization of action and scaling-up of finance for these geographies is critical to advancing the climate action agenda…reprots Asian Lite News

As delegates gathered in Glasgow for the second day of COP26 on Tuesday, real economy leaders join heads on stage to launch new partnerships that will catalyze finance and climate solutions in Africa and Small Island Developing States, and help half a billion farmers to implement regenerative farming practices this decade.

The cluster of new public-private partnerships, which unite captains of industry, finance and philanthropy with leading voices from civil society, such as Xiye Bastida and Selina Leem, address acute climate vulnerabilities countries face while accelerating rates of decarbonisation and resilience building.

New partnerships for Africa to put climate equity, resilience

The mobilization of action and scaling-up of finance for these geographies is critical to advancing the climate action agenda.

This climate action agenda will be at the centre of COP26 and is led by two UN High-Level Climate Champions — Nigel Topping and Gonzalo MuAoz — to drive breakthroughs across regions and sectors to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and build resilience of 4bn people to the impacts of climate change.

As well as the new partnerships, the Champions also announce the latest members of their Race to Zero campaign, which now counts 5,235 businesses, 67 regions, 441 financial institutions, 1,039 educational institutions and 52 healthcare institutions — all committed to contributing their fair share of halving global emissions by 2030.

Of particular note, Mayor Eric Garcetti (C40 Chair) reports that 1,049 cities have joined the campaign under ‘Cities Race to Zero’.

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Gonzalo MuAoz said: “This is the decisive decade — the decade to deliver on the promise of Paris and the prospect of a better, safer, fairer, healthier future for everyone.”

Nigel Topping said: “To keep 1.5 degrees alive, we must cut global emissions five times faster than we have over the last decade, which requires transformative action that simultaneously builds resilience, and puts the most vulnerable communities at the heart of the conversation.”

The first partnership is the Africa Green Finance Coalition (AGFC) — a continent-wide collaboration — to spur the trillions of green investment needed to transform Africa’s economy by accelerating green finance policy and regulatory reform to attract private capital at scale, both from international and domestic investors.

Secondly, Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, announced a multi-jurisdictional and multi-asset financing facility to scale public and private finance for climate solutions and resilient infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean.

This financing facility aims to invest in approximately 800 megawatts of new wind, solar and EV charging infrastructure projects in Caribbean Small Island Developing States.

This initiative, which will invest in shovel-ready projects, has the potential to generate game-changing impact towards accelerating clean energy transition and deployment in the region.

The third and final partnership is Regen10, a bold new platform to achieve regenerative food systems this decade across 50 per cent of world food production.

Regen10 will work with over 500 million farmers to apply regenerative production methods, while simultaneously ensuring roughly $60bn per year is deployed to finance the transition to reverse nature loss in line with the Paris Agreement.

These initiatives kick-off a full programme of thematic events at COP26 — convened High-Level Climate Champions — starting with Finance Day on November 3 and concluding with Cities, Regions and the Built Environment next week on November 11.

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-Top News UAE News World

UAE, US Launch AIM For Climate Initiative

The initiative aims to increase and accelerate agricultural and food systems innovation in support of climate action…reports Asian Lite News

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) – a major new initiative led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United States (US) with the support of over 30 governments – officially launched on Tuesday and announced an “early harvest” of US$4 billion of increased investment to accelerate innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over the next five years.

UAE FLAG

The UAE has pledged US$1 billion of increased investment as part of this initiative.

Launched as part of the World Leaders’ Summit at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the initiative aims to increase and accelerate agricultural and food systems innovation in support of climate action.

Nearly 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. AIM for Climate is focused on leveraging high-potential economic returns and job creation from innovation investment in a sector that employs over 2 billion people and feeds the world’s growing population.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said, “AIM for Climate is focusing on a sector that has been previously overlooked in terms of the opportunities it offers for global climate action. This initiative demonstrates the UAE’s holistic and inclusive approach to climate action, which characterises our offer to host COP28.”

UAE, US Launch AIM For Climate Initiative

“The United Arab Emirates has already driven change in the energy sector through green innovation and growth, investing over US$17 billion in clean energy around the world. AIM for Climate is a smart extension of that investment strategy, and the UAE is pleased to pledge US$1 billion as part of the initiative.”

John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, said, “The United States is proud to be launching the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate initiative alongside the United Arab Emirates and over 80 partners across the globe. Investment in climate-smart agriculture innovation is critical to addressing the climate crisis. Innovation can reduce emissions, feed the world’s growing population, and help farmers and ranchers mitigate and adapt to climate change.”

“AIM for Climate has an impressive start, garnering US$4 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation thus far, but together AIM for Climate partners can and must do more to catalyse even greater investment in the years ahead. I look forward to seeing what AIM for Climate can accomplish and encourage more to join this effort.”

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said, “A major part of the climate challenge revolves around food and agriculture. When we consider that about a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, and the world’s growing population is increasingly dependent on climate-vulnerable food production, we can see the urgency of driving investments in agricultural innovation and R&D.”

“AIM for Climate is the kind of bold move towards accelerating the global food systems transformation that we need, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 and eradicate world hunger by 2030. The initiative will go a long way in mobilising a global movement to strengthen food security, transform our food systems into more sustainable ones and mitigate climate change.”

TOM VILSACK, U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: “The climate crisis threatens to disrupt food systems around the globe, exacerbate food insecurity and negatively impact farmers’ livelihoods. We must invest in innovative, science-based solutions to help agriculture mitigate and adapt to climate change – and that’s what AIM for Climate is all about. We welcome our newest AIM for Climate supporters and urge additional nations and organisations to join us in this global effort to accelerate agricultural innovation through increased investment in research and development.”

AIM for Climate’s diverse list of supporters include over 30 countries from six continents including the recent addition of Azerbaijan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous other non-governmental agencies.

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The AIM for Climate partners intend to catalyse greater public and private sector investment in, and other support for, climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to help to raise global ambition and underpin more rapid and transformative climate action in all countries, including by enabling science-based and data-driven decision and policy-making. AIM for Climate partners are committing to significantly increase total investment in agricultural innovation by 2025 versus the 2020 baseline.

The initiative seeks to enable ambitious investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to help create a surge of solutions, enabling the world to meet nutritional needs, increase agricultural productivity, improve livelihoods, conserve nature and biodiversity, build resilience to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester carbon.

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Arab News World World News

Egypt Prez urges developed nations to fulfil annual $100bn pledge to face climate change

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday that developed countries must fulfill their long-standing pledges to provide $100 billion per year to developing countries to face climate change…reports Asian Lite News

“We are concerned about the gap between the available funding and the actual needs of developing countries as well as the obstacles that our countries face to have access to it,” Sisi said during his speech at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) which is being held in Glasgow from Monday to Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Developing countries’ implementation of their commitments to address climate change is conditioned by the amount of support they receive,” Sisi stressed.

Egypt Prez urges developed nations to fulfil annual $100bn pledge to face climate change

He noted that Egypt has initiated serious steps to apply a sustainable development model. “This model is aimed at lifting the share of government-funded green projects to 50 per cent by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2030,” the Egyptian President added.

Sisi said the African continent faces the most negative repercussions and economic, social, security and political consequences of the climate change crisis.

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Therefore, Egypt calls for the need to provide the African continent with special treatment, especially within the framework of implementing the Paris Agreement, given its severe conditions and the challenges it faces.

“I am confident that our summit’s deliberations and outcomes will convey our political commitment to facing climate change and adapting to its negative impacts,” he added.

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G20 Rome summit ends with more commitments

The two-day summit was held both online and offline under the Italian Presidency of the G20. Indonesia will take over the rotating presidency from December 2021…reports Asian Lite News

 The G20 Summit in Rome ended on Sunday with the adoption of a declaration reaffirming the crucial role of multilateralism and international cooperation in overcoming the global challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The “G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration” pledges to strengthen the common response to the pandemic and pave the way for a global recovery, with particular concern for the most vulnerable, Xinhua news agency reported.

The leaders of the world’s major economies have pledged to use all available tools to address the consequences of the pandemic, sustain the recovery and remain vigilant to global challenges such as supply chain disruption.

Pic credits @g20org

Highlighting the essential role of vaccines in the fight against the pandemic, they vowed to advance efforts to ensure timely, equitable and universal access to safe, affordable, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, with particular regard to the needs of low- and middle-income countries.

“We will take steps to help boost the supply of vaccines and essential medical products and inputs in developing countries and remove relevant supply and financing constraints,” the declaration said.

Regarding climate change, the leaders remain committed to the Paris Agreement goal to hold the global average temperature increase well below two degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Pic credits @g20org

“This summit was a success,” said Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the closing press conference, adding that cooperation is essential on issues like climate, wealth and poverty.

“The form of cooperation we know best is multilateralism,” Draghi said, calling on G20 members to act swiftly together.

The G20 members account for almost two-thirds of the world’s population, over 80 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 per cent of global trade.

The two-day summit was held both online and offline under the Italian Presidency of the G20. Indonesia will take over the rotating presidency from December 2021.

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