Climate

Baku, Azerbaijan/New York, November 8, 2024 – The 29^th UN Conference on Climate Change will open next week in Azerbaijan amid catastrophic devastations happening around the world, caused by severe floodings and wildfires among others, and an unprecedented global warming this year.

Heads of governments, business and civil society are expected to offer new ideas and initiatives to fight the climate at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22.

The UN said the conference will seek an agreement on a new climate finance goal that would ensure that every country has the means to take much stronger climate action, slash greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient communities.

The conference is required to help unlock trillions of dollars needed by developing countries to mitigate harmful carbon emissions, adapt to climate change and cope with the loss and damage it has caused.

UNEP: Focus on finance as world off track on emission cuts – The UN Environment Program (UNEP) urged COP29 to focus on finance as it released its Emissions Gap Report 2024 with a warning that without more ambitious cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, the world is on track for a temperature increase of 2.6°C-3.1°C this century, a rise that would be “debilitating” for the planet.  

The report confirmed that global average temperature has risen to near  1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It said if such temperature rise would continue the global temperature would reach the catastrophic level of 2.6-3.1°C this century unless emissions are drastically cut.

“Climate change is already devastating communities across the world, particularly the most poor and vulnerable. Raging storms are flattening homes, wildfires are wiping out forests, and land degradation and drought are degrading landscapes,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“People, their livelihoods and the nature upon which they depend are in real danger from the consequences of climate change. Without action, this is a preview of what our future holds and why there simply is no excuse for the world not to get serious about adaptation, now.”

The report said countries must slash emissions by 42 per cent by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, one of the key goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.   

On the issue of adaptation finance, the report said flows of funds to developing countries increased from US$ 22 billion in 2021 to US$28 billion in 2022, which is still a fraction of the US$187-359 billion needed annually in adaptation finance.  

The report said countries under the Paris Agreement are required in 2025 to deliver updated plans for how they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. It said COP29 is expected to issue calls for these pledges, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), to be bold. 

The report said COP29 will also discuss the  loss and damage fund, which was launched at last year’s COP28 in Dubai. The fund was designed to assist countries hit by climate change and its consequences such as the loss of human lives, damage to infrastructure and the failure of crops.

WMO: Demands for climate services have increased – Just days before the Baku conference, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued The State of Climate Services report, which said that climate change impacts have intensified and demands for climate services to support mitigation, adaptation and increase resilience have spiked.

“In the past five years, there has been progress in provision of this climate information for decision-making, but big gaps remain and investment lags far behind needs,” the report said.

“In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges, the development, delivery and use of climate information to enable climate action has never been more crucial,” WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo said.

The report said of the $63 billion allocated to climate adaptation, only about $4 to $5 billion explicitly supports climate services and early warning activities.

“We need to make necessary investments for a sustainable future, The cost of no action is several times higher than the cost of action,” Saulo said.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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Tonga/New York, August 27 – Inhabitants and their livelihoods in idyllic Pacific islands are threatened by an unprecedented rise in sea levels and ocean warming and acidification, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report on the state of climate in the South-West Pacific.

The dangers of rising sea levels in the Pacific as well as in the Caribbean and coastal cities in some countries around the world have prompted the UN to issue a global SOS – Save our Seas – and warnings that the catastrophe has the “unparallelled power“ to cause havoc to coastal cities and ravage coastal economies.

The WMO report said the Pacific islands, despite accounting for just 0.02 per cent of global emissions, are “uniquely exposed” to destruction caused by coastal floodings because the islands have an average elevation of just 1 to 2 meters above sea level, and 90 percent of the population live within 5 kilometers of the coast and half of the infrastructure is within 500 meters of the sea.

The State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2023 Report, which was issued together with the WMO report said sea level in Western Pacific has risen approximately 10–15 cm (4–6 in), close to or nearly twice the global rate measured since 1993 and in the central Pacific, sea level has risen approximately 5–10 cm (2–4 in).

The reports, which said that the average rate of sea level rise has more than doubled since the 1990s, were issued at the 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting hosted by the Kingdom of Tonga. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined the forum’s 18 member states and he told them that the Pacific is a “beacon of solidarity and strength, environmental stewardship and peace.”

“I am in Tonga to issue a global SOS – Save Our Seas – on rising sea levels,” Guterres told a press conference. “A worldwide catastrophe is putting this Pacific paradise in peril. And around the world, rising seas have unparallelled power to cause havoc to coastal cities and ravage coastal economies. The reason is clear: greenhouse gases – overwhelmingly generated by burning fossil fuels – are cooking our planet.”

Guterres said unless emissions are drastically cut, the Pacific Islands can expect at least 15 centimeters of additional sea level rise by mid-century, and more than 30 days per year of coastal flooding in some places. He also renewed calls for world leaders to drastically slash global emissions, phase-out of fossil fuels, boost climate adaptation investments to protect people from catastrophic climate and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which requires a drastic cut in global emissions.

The Pacific Islands Climate Change Monitor said “notable increases” in sea level include Guam from 2 to 22 times a year; Penrhyn, Cook Islands from 5 to 43 times a year; Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands from 2 to 20 times a year; Papeete, French Polynesia from 5 to 34 times a year; and Pago Pago, American Samoa from 0 to 102 times a year.

One billion people live in coastal areas threatened by rising sea levels – The UN chief said 1 billion people are living in coastal areas across the world, from low-lying islands to megacities and from tropical agricultural deltas to Arctic communities are endangered by floodings. Those people live in coastal megacities in Dhaka, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Lagos and Shanghai.

“Rising seas will increase the frequency of extreme events like coastal floods. If global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees, that frequency could increase from once in 100 years to once in five years by the end of this century,” Guterres said. “Without new adaptation and protection measures, economic damage from coastal flooding could amount to trillions of dollars. Around 1 meter of future sea level rise is already locked in. But its future scale, pace, and impact are not. That depends on decisions we take now.”

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said, “Communities, economies and ecosystems throughout the South-West Pacific region are significantly affected by its cascading impacts. It is increasingly evident that we are fast running out of time to turn the tide.”

“The ocean has taken up more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases and is undergoing changes which will be irreversible for centuries to come. Human activities have weakened the capacity of the ocean to sustain and protect us and – through sea level rise – are transforming a lifelong friend into a growing threat,” she said. “Already we are seeing more coastal flooding, shoreline retreat, saltwater contamination of freshwater supplies and displacement of communities.” (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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Landmark public opinion research reveals overwhelming majority around the world support more ambitious efforts and want to overcome geopolitical differences to fight climate crisis. 80 percent of people globally want stronger climate action by governments according to UN Development Programme survey – Following is a Press Release from UNDP.

New York, 20 June, 2024 – The biggest ever standalone public opinion survey on climate change, the Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024, shows 80 percent – or four out of five – people globally want their governments to take stronger action to tackle the climate crisis.

Even more – 86 percent – want to see their countries set aside geopolitical differences and work together on climate change. The scale of consensus is especially striking in the current global context of increased conflict and the rise of nationalism.

More than 75,000 people speaking 87 different languages across 77 countries were asked 15 questions on climate change for the survey, which was conducted for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) with the University of Oxford, UK and GeoPoll. The questions were designed to help understand how people are experiencing the impacts of climate change and how they want world leaders to respond. The 77 countries polled represent 87 percent of the global population.

“The Peoples’ Climate Vote is loud and clear. Global citizens want their leaders to transcend their differences, to act now and to act boldly to fight the climate crisis,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “The survey results – unprecedented in their coverage – reveal a level of consensus that is truly astonishing. We urge leaders and policymakers to take note, especially as countries develop their next round of climate action pledges – or ‘nationally determined contributions’ under the Paris Agreement. This is an issue that almost everyone, everywhere, can agree on.”

Biggest emitters support stronger climate action – The survey revealed support for stronger climate action in 20 of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, with majorities ranging from 66 percent of people in the United States and Russia, to 67 percent in Germany, 73 percent in China, 77 percent in South Africa and India, 85 percent in Brazil, 88 percent in Iran and up to 93 percent in Italy.

In five big emitters (Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United States), women were more in favour of strengthening their country’s commitments by 10 to 17 percentage points. This gap was biggest in Germany, where women were 17 percentage points more likely than men to want more climate action (75 percent vs. 58 percent.)

Fossil fuel phaseout – Aside from a broad call for bolder climate action, the survey shows support by a global majority of 72 percent in favour of a quick transition away from fossil fuels. This is true for countries among the top 10 biggest producers of oil, coal, or gas, including majorities of 89 percent in Nigeria and Türkiye, 80 percent in China, 76 percent in Germany, 75 percent of people in Saudi Arabia, 69 percent in Australia, and 54 percent of people in the United States.  Only 7 percent of people globally said their country should not transition at all.

Climate anxiety – People across the world reported that climate change was on their minds. Globally, 56 percent said they were thinking about it regularly, i.e. daily or weekly, including some 63 percent of those in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

More than half of people globally said they were more worried than last year about climate change (53 percent). The corresponding figure was higher for those in LDCs (59 percent). On average across the nine Small Island Developing States (SIDS) surveyed, as much as 71 percent said they were more worried than last year about climate change.

69 percent of people globally said their big decisions like where to live or work were being impacted by climate change. The proportion so affected was higher in LDCs (74 percent), but notably lower in Western and Northern Europe (52 percent) and Northern America (42 percent).

Prof. Stephen Fisher, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, said:“A survey of this size was a huge scientific endeavour. While maintaining rigorous methodology, special efforts were also made to include people from marginalised groups in the poorest parts of the world. This is some of the very highest quality global data on public opinions on climate change available.”

Cassie Flynn, Global Director of Climate Change, UNDP, said: “As world leaders decide on the next round of pledges under the Paris Agreement by 2025, these results are undeniable evidence that people everywhere support bold climate action. The Peoples’ Climate Vote has enlisted the voices of people everywhere – including amongst groups traditionally the most difficult to poll. For example, people in nine of the 77 countries surveyed had never before been polled on climate change. The next two years stand as one of the best chances we have as the international community to ensure that warming stays under 1.5°. We stand ready to support policymakers in stepping up their efforts as they develop their climate action plans through our Climate Promise initiative.”

UNDP’s Climate Promise initiative has seen over 100 developing countries submit enhanced NDCs during the second revision cycle – of which 91 percent raised their targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and 93 percent also strengthened adaptation goals.

Read the Full Report: Download the full report here .

Media contacts

For more information or to request an interview:

UNDP: Dylan Lowthian, New York, dylan.lowthian@undp.org  I +1 646 673 6350

UNDP: Sarah Bel, Geneva, sarah.bel@undp.org I +41799341117

Notes to Editors: The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024isthe second edition of the global survey carried out by UNDP and the University of Oxford. The first Peoples’ Climate Vote took place in 2021 and surveyed people across 50 countries through adverts in popular mobile gaming apps. The polling method for this edition differs from The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2021. Therefore, questions and responses are not comparable across the two reports.

The 2024 edition included 15 questions that asked how people’s day-to-day lives are impacted by climate change, how they feel it is being addressed in their countries and what they would like the world to do about it. The results give the most comprehensive public account yet of how people feel and respond to climate change. 

The University of Oxford team was primarily involved in processing data and producing the statistical output. Polling was conducted by international polling firm, GeoPoll, via randomised mobile telephone calling. Randomisation meant almost everyone with a phone in any country had a chance of participating, whereas, in the previous poll, people needed a broadband connection. No one could opt in without being randomly selected, and no one could participate more than once. 

The polling results were collated and processed by survey research experts at the University of Oxford, who weighted the sample to make it representative of the age, gender, and education population profiles of the countries in the survey.

Over 10 percent (9321 respondents) of the total sample comprised people who never went to school. Of those, 1241 were women over 60 who never went to school. These are some of the very hardest-to-reach groups to poll. People in nine of the 77 countries surveyed had never before been polled on climate change. Under-18s were polled in countries where it was legal and viable to do so. 

The country-level estimates quoted above have margins of error no larger than + or – 3 percentage points. The margin of error for SIDS and some regions is + or -1, and even lower for big regions and global estimates. Global, regional and LDC figures are overall estimates, which is possible given the high levels of population coverage of those groupings. Figures for SIDS are a population-weighted average over the nine SIDS surveyed.

Find out more about the Peoples’ Climate Vote, including the global results, at http://peoplesclimate.vote/ .

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

University of Oxford Department of Sociology – Oxford Sociology is at the forefront of ground-breaking empirical research which spans the full spectrum of the social world. We apply a diverse range of rigorous methods to real-world issues in order to address the most pressing societal challenges of our times. Our commitment to collaborative research ensures that our researchers have the freedom to transcend disciplinary boundaries, foster international partnerships, and

explore innovative research. Some of the themes that our researchers are currently working on include social inequality, demography, political sociology, gender and the family, cybercrime and justice, computational social science, and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Global Factsheet – Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 Data

• The Peoples’ Climate Vote polled people in 77 countries on 15 questions about their lived experience of the climate crisis and their responses to it.
• Over half (56%) of people globally said they think about climate change frequently (daily or weekly), while 32% think about it a few times a year, and 11% never think about climate change.
• Over half (53%) of people globally said that compared with last year, they are more worried about climate change, while 31% said about the same, and 15% reported they are less worried.
• Globally nearly half (43%) of people thought extreme weather events were worse this year than last. Four in ten (41%) people said about the same as the year prior, and just 15% said better than usual.
• More than two-thirds of people (69%) said climate change is already impacting their big decisions, such as where to live, work, or what to buy. A third of people (33%) globally said climate change is affecting big decisions a lot, somewhat less than those who said a little (37%). Less than a third (30%) said climate change is not affecting their big decisions.
• People globally were mixed on how they think their country is doing on climate. Nearly half (49%) of people globally said their country is doing somewhat well or very well on climate change. A quarter of people (25%) said their country is doing somewhat or very badly, and a quarter (23%) said their country was doing neither well nor badly.
• Just over one in three people (39%) think big businesses are doing well in addressing climate change.
• When people were asked who has the most impact on climate change in their country, globally, most people (43%) pointed to their government. 14% said big businesses, 13% the United Nations, 12% said campaigners and activists, and 6% of people said faith and community leaders have had the greatest impact addressing climate change. One in ten (11%) said they didn’t know who had the biggest impact.
• A huge majority (80%) of people globally want their countries to strengthen their commitments to address climate change. Just one in eight (13%) recommended keeping them the same, and just one in twenty (5%) said their country should weaken its commitments.
• Nearly three quarters (72%) of people globally wanted to move away from fossil fuels quickly. 41% wanted a very quick transition in their country and a further 30% wanted their country to transition somewhat quickly. Globally, just 18% of people said the transition should happen slowly and only approximately one in twenty (7%) people said there should be no transition at all. 
• Nearly eight in ten people (78%) globally wanted more protection for people at risk from extreme weather. 16% said the current level of protection should remain the same. Only 4% of people globally said their country should provide less protection for the most vulnerable.
• Globally, four in five (81%) people said their country should do a lot to protect and restore nature. This compares with just one in ten (13%) who wanted their country to do a little. Only one in twenty (5%) of people said their country should not protect and restore nature at all.
• Four in five people (80%) globally called for schools in their country to teach more about climate change.
• The vast majority (86%) of people globally were in favor of countries putting aside their differences and cooperating on climate change. Only 7% of people globally said that countries should work separately on climate change, while fewer (5%) said that no country should work on climate change.
• Around eight in ten people (79%) said they want rich countries to give more support to poorer countries. This is compared with one in ten (13%) people who said they were content with rich countries giving the same amount of support as they are currently, and just 6% of people globally who think rich countries should provide less help.

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The United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates, known as COP28 from November 30 to December 12, 2023 ended with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. But the UN said the deal for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” – a first for a UN climate conference – still stopped short of a long-demanded call for a “phaseout” of oil, coal and gas.

Following is a press release from the UN Climate Change News. Dubai, 13 December 2023 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) closed today with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era by laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance.

In a demonstration of global solidarity, negotiators from nearly 200 Parties came together in Dubai with a decision on the world’s first ‘global stocktake’ to ratchet up climate action before the end of the decade – with the overarching aim to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5°C within reach.

“Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.”

The global stocktake is considered the central outcome of COP28 – as it contains every element that was under negotiation and can now be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans due by 2025.

The stocktake recognizes the science that indicates global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, to limit global warming to 1.5°C. But it notes Parties are off track when it comes to meeting their Paris Agreement goals.

The stocktake calls on Parties to take actions towards achieving, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The list also includes accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, with developed countries continuing to take the lead.

In the short-term, Parties are encouraged to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with the 1.5°C limit in their next round of climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions) by 2025.

Helping countries strengthen resilience to the effects of climate change – The two-week-long conference got underway with the World Climate Action Summit, which brought together 154 Heads of States and Government. Parties reached a historic agreement on the operationalization of the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements – the first time a substantive decision was adopted on the first day of the conference. Commitments to the fund started coming in moments after the decision was gaveled, totaling more than USD 700 million to date.

There was more progress on the loss and damage agenda with an agreement also reached that the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the UN Office for Project Services will host the secretariat of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage. This platform will catalyze technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Parties agreed on targets for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and its framework, which identify where the world needs to get to in order to be resilient to the impacts of a changing climate and to assess countries’ efforts. The GGA framework reflects a global consensus on adaptation targets and the need for finance, technology and capacity-building support to achieve them.

Increasing climate finance – Climate finance took center stage at the conference, with Stiell repeatedly calling it the “great enabler of climate action.”

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) received a boost to its second replenishment with six countries pledging new funding at COP28 with total pledges now standing at a record USD 12.8 billion from 31 countries, with further contributions expected.

Eight donor governments announced new commitments to the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund totaling more than USD 174 million to date, while new pledges, totaling nearly USD 188 million so far, were made to the Adaptation Fund at COP28.

However as highlighted in the global stocktake, these financial pledges are far short of the trillions eventually needed to support developing countries with clean energy transitions, implementing their national climate plans and adaptation efforts.

In order to deliver such funding, the global stocktake underscores the importance of reforming the multilateral financial architecture, and accelerating the ongoing establishment of new and innovative sources of finance.

At COP28, discussions continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. The new goal, which will start from a baseline of USD 100 billion per year, will be a building block for the design and subsequent implementation of national climate plans that need to be delivered by 2025.

Looking ahead to the transitions to decarbonized economies and societies that lie ahead, there was agreement that the mitigation work programme, which was launched at COP27 last year, will continue until 2030, with at least two global dialogues held each year.

Event participation and inclusivity – World leaders at COP28 were joined by civil society, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organizations in a spirit of shared determination to close the gaps to 2030. Some 85,000 participants attended COP28 to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions.

The decisions taken here today also reemphasize the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; in particular through the action plan on Action for Climate Empowerment and the Gender Action Plan.

Strengthening collaboration between governments and key stakeholders – In parallel with the formal negotiations, the Global Climate Action space at COP28 provided a platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate and showcase their real-world climate solutions.

The High-Level Champions, under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, launched their implementation roadmap of 2030 Climate Solutions. These are a set of solutions, with insights from a wide range of non-Party stakeholders on effective measures that need to be scaled up and replicated to halve global emissions, address adaptation gaps and increase resilience by 2030.

The conference also saw several announcements to boost the resilience of food and public health systems, and to reduce emissions related to agriculture and methane.

Looking ahead – The negotiations on the ‘enhanced transparency framework’ at COP28 laid the ground for a new era of implementing the Paris Agreement. UN Climate Change is developing the transparency reporting and review tools for use by Parties, which were showcased and tested at COP28. The final versions of the reporting tools should be made available to Parties by June 2024.

COP28 also saw Parties agree to Azerbaijan as host of COP29 from 11-22 November 2024, and Brazil as COP30 host from 10-21 November 2025.

The next two years will be critical. At COP29, governments must establish a new climate finance goal, reflecting the scale and urgency of the climate challenge. And at COP30, they must come prepared with new nationally determined contributions that are economy-wide, cover all greenhouse gases and are fully aligned with the 1.5°C temperature limit.

“We must get on with the job of putting the Paris Agreement fully to work,” said Stiell. “In early 2025, countries must deliver new nationally determined contributions. Every single commitment – on finance, adaptation, and mitigation – must bring us in line with a 1.5-degree world.”

“My final message is to ordinary people everywhere raising their voices for change,” Stiell added. “Every one of you is making a real difference. In the crucial coming years your voices and determination will be more important than ever. I urge you never to relent. We are still in this race. We will be with you every single step of the way.”

“The world needed to find a new way. By following our North Star, we have found that path,” said COP28 President, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber during his closing speech. “We have worked very hard to secure a better future for our people and our planet. We should be proud of our historic achievement.”

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UN climate conference signals beginning of the end of fossil fuel era

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates, known as COP28 from November 30 to December 12, 2023 ended with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. But the UN said the deal for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” – a first for a UN climate conference – still stopped short of a long-demanded call for a “phaseout” of oil, coal and gas.

Following is a press release from the UN Climate Change News. Dubai, 13 December 2023 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) closed today with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era by laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance.

In a demonstration of global solidarity, negotiators from nearly 200 Parties came together in Dubai with a decision on the world’s first ‘global stocktake’ to ratchet up climate action before the end of the decade – with the overarching aim to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5°C within reach.

“Whilst we didn’t turn the page on the fossil fuel era in Dubai, this outcome is the beginning of the end,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “Now all governments and businesses need to turn these pledges into real-economy outcomes, without delay.”

The global stocktake is considered the central outcome of COP28 – as it contains every element that was under negotiation and can now be used by countries to develop stronger climate action plans due by 2025.

The stocktake recognizes the science that indicates global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, to limit global warming to 1.5°C. But it notes Parties are off track when it comes to meeting their Paris Agreement goals.

The stocktake calls on Parties to take actions towards achieving, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The list also includes accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, with developed countries continuing to take the lead.

In the short-term, Parties are encouraged to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with the 1.5°C limit in their next round of climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions) by 2025.

Helping countries strengthen resilience to the effects of climate change – The two-week-long conference got underway with the World Climate Action Summit, which brought together 154 Heads of States and Government. Parties reached a historic agreement on the operationalization of the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements – the first time a substantive decision was adopted on the first day of the conference. Commitments to the fund started coming in moments after the decision was gaveled, totaling more than USD 700 million to date.

There was more progress on the loss and damage agenda with an agreement also reached that the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the UN Office for Project Services will host the secretariat of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage. This platform will catalyze technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Parties agreed on targets for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and its framework, which identify where the world needs to get to in order to be resilient to the impacts of a changing climate and to assess countries’ efforts. The GGA framework reflects a global consensus on adaptation targets and the need for finance, technology and capacity-building support to achieve them.

Increasing climate finance – Climate finance took center stage at the conference, with Stiell repeatedly calling it the “great enabler of climate action.”

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) received a boost to its second replenishment with six countries pledging new funding at COP28 with total pledges now standing at a record USD 12.8 billion from 31 countries, with further contributions expected.

Eight donor governments announced new commitments to the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund totaling more than USD 174 million to date, while new pledges, totaling nearly USD 188 million so far, were made to the Adaptation Fund at COP28.

However as highlighted in the global stocktake, these financial pledges are far short of the trillions eventually needed to support developing countries with clean energy transitions, implementing their national climate plans and adaptation efforts.

In order to deliver such funding, the global stocktake underscores the importance of reforming the multilateral financial architecture, and accelerating the ongoing establishment of new and innovative sources of finance.

At COP28, discussions continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. The new goal, which will start from a baseline of USD 100 billion per year, will be a building block for the design and subsequent implementation of national climate plans that need to be delivered by 2025.

Looking ahead to the transitions to decarbonized economies and societies that lie ahead, there was agreement that the mitigation work programme, which was launched at COP27 last year, will continue until 2030, with at least two global dialogues held each year.

Event participation and inclusivity – World leaders at COP28 were joined by civil society, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organizations in a spirit of shared determination to close the gaps to 2030. Some 85,000 participants attended COP28 to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions.

The decisions taken here today also reemphasize the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; in particular through the action plan on Action for Climate Empowerment and the Gender Action Plan.

Strengthening collaboration between governments and key stakeholders – In parallel with the formal negotiations, the Global Climate Action space at COP28 provided a platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate and showcase their real-world climate solutions.

The High-Level Champions, under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, launched their implementation roadmap of 2030 Climate Solutions. These are a set of solutions, with insights from a wide range of non-Party stakeholders on effective measures that need to be scaled up and replicated to halve global emissions, address adaptation gaps and increase resilience by 2030.

The conference also saw several announcements to boost the resilience of food and public health systems, and to reduce emissions related to agriculture and methane.

Looking ahead – The negotiations on the ‘enhanced transparency framework’ at COP28 laid the ground for a new era of implementing the Paris Agreement. UN Climate Change is developing the transparency reporting and review tools for use by Parties, which were showcased and tested at COP28. The final versions of the reporting tools should be made available to Parties by June 2024.

COP28 also saw Parties agree to Azerbaijan as host of COP29 from 11-22 November 2024, and Brazil as COP30 host from 10-21 November 2025.

The next two years will be critical. At COP29, governments must establish a new climate finance goal, reflecting the scale and urgency of the climate challenge. And at COP30, they must come prepared with new nationally determined contributions that are economy-wide, cover all greenhouse gases and are fully aligned with the 1.5°C temperature limit.

“We must get on with the job of putting the Paris Agreement fully to work,” said Stiell. “In early 2025, countries must deliver new nationally determined contributions. Every single commitment – on finance, adaptation, and mitigation – must bring us in line with a 1.5-degree world.”

“My final message is to ordinary people everywhere raising their voices for change,” Stiell added. “Every one of you is making a real difference. In the crucial coming years your voices and determination will be more important than ever. I urge you never to relent. We are still in this race. We will be with you every single step of the way.”

“The world needed to find a new way. By following our North Star, we have found that path,” said COP28 President, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber during his closing speech. “We have worked very hard to secure a better future for our people and our planet. We should be proud of our historic achievement.”

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Dubai/New York, November 30 – The UN climate summit in the United Arab Emirates opened with a “historic” agreement to help poor and vulnerable countries pay the cost of losses and damages caused by extreme weather.

“I congratulate parties for this historic decision,” said UAR Sultan al-Jaber, who presides over the summit known as COP28 after it formally launched the Loss and Damage Fund on its first day of work. “This sends a positive signal of momentum to the world and to our work.”

The United Nations said it has a roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius and it urges leaders attending the opening of the climate summit in Dubai to fire the “starting gun” on the race to keep that limit alive.

UN Secretary-General Antonio asked the summit – known as COP28 – to set “clear expectations” for the next climate action plans, to commit to the partnerships and finance to make them possible and to triple renewables and double energy efficiency.

He also asked the attendees to “commit to phase out fossil fuels, with a clear time frame aligned to the 1.5-degree limit. We must also go further and faster in protecting people from climate chaos.”

He said an early warning system launched by the UN last year should begin working to protect every person on earth by 2027 and every vulnerable developing country should have the support they need to develop and implement adaptation investment plan by 2025.

“Leaders must get the Loss and Damage Fund off to a flying start, with generous,

early contributions,” he said. “Developed countries must honor the promise to deliver $100 billion a year in climate finance, and they must present a clear plan showing how they will make good on their commitment to double adaptation finance by 2025, as a first step to ensuring at least half of all climate finance goes to adaptation. Today’s report shows we’re in deep trouble.”

“Leaders must get us out of it – starting at COP28,” Guterres said.

Guterres, who visited Antarctica in early November to see for himself how fast ice is melting, said both Antarctica and Greenland are melting well over three times faster than they were in the early 1990s as the Southern ocean is slowly heating up.

“We need a global commitment to triple renewables, double energy efficiency, and bring clean power to all, by 2030,” Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. “We need a clear and credible commitment to phase out fossil fuels on a timeframe that aligns with the 1.5-degree limit.”

“And we need climate justice – setting the world up for a huge increase in investment in adaptation and loss and damage to protect people from climate extremes. Antarctica is crying out for action. It is profoundly shocking to stand on the ice of Antarctica and hear directly from scientists how fast the ice is disappearing.”

He said new figures provided this September by scientists showed that Antarctic sea ice hit an all-time low and was 1.5 million square kms smaller than the average for the time of year – an area roughly equal to the combined size of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. Melting sea ice rises sea levels and endangers lives and livelihoods in coastal communities across the globe.

In addition, floods and saltwater intrusion imperil crops and drinking water – threatening food and water security.

Guterres said the cause of all this destruction came from fossil fuel pollution coating the earth and heating the planet. “Without changing course, we’re heading towards a calamitous three-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the century,” he said.

The 28^th Conference of the Parties (COP28)

The UN climate summit – from November 30 to December 12 – is hosted this year by the United Arab Emirates, the world’s fifth largest oil producer. It will be attended by government representatives, many of them heads of state and government, from some 200 countries. Business leaders, climate activists, scientists and civil society organizations are expected also to attend. The summit is expected to draft a plan to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources among a host of climate issues.

The UN expects three significant results from COP28. The first one known as “global stocktake” which will be the first assessment of whether countries have carried out climate action to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees. The second is a final agreement on the Loss and Damage fund that pays for climate-related damages suffered by poor ad vulnerable countries and the third one is whether the summit would agree to replace fossil fuels with clean energy such as wind and solar power.

The UN website on climate action said COP28 is a “pivotal opportunity to correct course and accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis. COP28 is where the world will take stock of progress on the Paris Agreement – the landmark climate treaty concluded in 2015 – and chart a course of action to dramatically reduce emissions and protect lives and livelihoods.”

“The science is clear: to preserve a livable climate, the production of coal, oil, and gas must rapidly decline, and global renewable power capacity – including wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy – needs to triple by 2030. At the same time, financing for adaptation and investments in climate resilience need a quantum leap.” (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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Stockholm, 8 November 2023 – A major new report published today finds that governments plan to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 69% more than would be consistent with 2°C.

(Press release issued by the Stockholm Environment Institute, Climate Analytics, E3G, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).)

This comes despite 151 national governments having pledged to achieve net-zero emissions and the latest forecasts which suggest global coal, oil, and gas demand will peak this decade, even without new policies. When combined, government plans would lead to an increase in global coal production until 2030, and in global oil and gas production until at least 2050, creating an ever-widening fossil fuel production gap over time. 

The report’s main findings include: 

●Given risks and uncertainties of carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal, countries should aim for a near total phase-out of coal production and use by 2040, and a combined reduction in oil and gas production and use by three-quarters by 2050 from 2020 levels, at a minimum.

●While 17 of the 20 countries featured have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions — and many have launched initiatives to cut emissions from fossil fuel production activities — none have committed to reduce coal, oil, and gas production in line with limiting warming to 1.5°C.

●Governments with greater capacity to transition away from fossil fuels should aim for more ambitious reductions and help support the transition processes in countries with limited resources.

The Production Gap Report — produced by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Climate Analytics, E3G, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) — assesses governments’ planned and projected production of coal, oil, and gas against global levels consistent with the  Paris Agreement’s temperature goal.

July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and most likely the hottest for the past 120,000 years, according to scientists. Across the globe, deadly heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods are cosing lives and livelihoods, making clear that human-induced climate change is here. Global carbon dioxide emissions —almost 90% of which come from fossil fuels — rose to record highs in 2021–2022. 

“Governments’ plans to expand fossil fuel production are undermining the energy transition needed to achieve net-zero emissions, throwing humanity’s future into question,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Powering economies with clean and efficient energy is the only way to end energy poverty and bring down emissions at the same time.”

“Starting at COP28, nations must unite behind a managed and equitable phase-out of coal, oil and gas — to ease the turbulence ahead and benefit every person on this planet,” she added.

The 2023 Production Gap Report provides newly expanded country profiles for 20 major fossil-fuel-producing countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. These profiles show that most of these governments continue to provide significant policy and financial support for fossil fuel production.

“We find that many governments are promoting fossil gas as an essential ‘transition’ fuel but with no apparent plans to transition away from it later,” says Ploy Achakulwisut, a lead author on the report and SEI scientist. “But science says we must start reducing global coal, oil, and gas production and use now — along with scaling up clean energy, reducing methane emissions from all sources, and other climate actions — to keep the 1.5°C goal alive.”

 Despite being the root cause of the climate crisis, fossil fuels have remained largely absent from international climate negotiations until recent years. At COP26 in late 2021, governments committed to accelerate efforts towards “the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, though they did not agree to address the production of all fossil fuels.

“COP28 could be the pivotal moment where governments finally commit to the phase-out of all fossil fuels and acknowledge the role producers have to play in facilitating a managed and equitable transition,” says Michael Lazarus, a lead author on the report and SEI US Centre Director. “Governments with the greatest capacities to transition away from fossil fuel production bear the greatest responsibility to do so while providing finance and support to help other countries do the same.”

More than 80 researchers, from over 30 countries, contributed to the analysis and review, spanning numerous universities, think tanks and other research organizations. 

Reactions to the 2023 Production Gap Report

“The writing’s on the wall for fossil fuels. By mid-century we need to have consigned coal to the history books, and slashed oil and gas production by at least three quarters — well on the way to a full fossil phase-out. Yet despite their climate promises, governments plan on ploughing yet more money into a dirty, dying industry, while opportunities abound in a flourishing clean energy sector. On top of economic insanity, it is a climate disaster of our own making.” – Neil Grant, Climate and Energy Analyst, Climate Analytics.

“Despite governments around the world signing up to ambitious net zero targets, global coal, oil and gas production are all still increasing while planned reductions are nowhere near enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change. This widening gulf between governments’ rhetoric and their actions is not only undermining their authority but increasing the risk to us all. We are already on track this decade to produce 460% more coal, 82% more gas, and 29% more oil than would be in line with the 1.5°C warming target. Ahead of COP28, governments must look to dramatically increase transparency about how they will hit emissions targets and bring in legally binding measures to support these aims.” – Angela Picciariello, Senior Researcher, IISD.

“With demand for coal, oil and gas set to peak this decade even without additional policies, it’s clear that the new economic reality is becoming one of clean energy growth and fossil fuel decline — yet governments are failing to plan for the reality of the inevitable energy transition. Continuing investments into new fossil fuel production as global demand for coal, oil and gas narrows is a near term economic gamble for all but the cheapest producers. And climate damages will be aggravated further unless we stop fossil fuel expansion now. The time is now for governments to take control of the clean energy transition and align their policies with the reality of what’s needed for a climate-safe world.“ – Katrine Petersen, Senior Policy Advisor at E3G.

Notes to Editors 

About the Production Gap Report 

Modelled after the UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report series — and conceived as a complementary analysis — this report conveys the large discrepancy between countries’ planned fossil fuel production and the global production levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C and 2°C. 

About the Stockholm Environment Institute  –  Stockholm Environment Institute is an independent, international research institute that has been engaged in environment and development issues at local, national, regional and global policy levels for more than a quarter of a century. SEI supports decision-making for sustainable development by bridging science and policy. 

About Climate Analytics – Climate Analytics is a global climate science and policy institute engaged around the world in driving and supporting climate action aligned to the 1.5°C warming limit. We connect science and policy to empower vulnerable countries in international climate negotiations and inform national planning with targeted research, analysis and support.

About E3G  – is an independent European climate change think tank accelerating the transition to a climate safe world. E3G is made up of world leading strategists on the political economy of climate change, dedicated to achieving a safe climate for all. E3G builds cross-sectoral coalitions to achieve carefully defined outcomes, chosen for their capacity to leverage change. E3G works closely with like-minded partners in government, politics, business, civil society, science, the media, public interest foundations and elsewhere. E3G is making the necessary possible.

About The International Institute for Sustainable Development  - The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning, independent think tank championing research-driven solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges. Our vision is a balanced world where people and the planet thrive; our mission is to accelerate the global transition to clean water, fair economies and a stable climate. With offices in Winnipeg, Geneva, Ottawa and Toronto, our work impacts lives in nearly 100 countries.  

About the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP –  UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. 

For more information please contact:  Ulrika Lamberth, Senior Press Officer (Stockholm, Sweden), and Lynsi Burton, Communications Officer (Seattle, US), Stockholm Environment Institute.

Keisha Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, United Nations Environment Programme (Nairobi, Kenya).

Paul May, Head of Communications, and Neil Grant, Climate and Energy Analyst, Climate Analytics (Berlin, Germany).

Aia Brnic, Senior Communication Officer, and Angela Picciariello, Senior Researcher, International Institute for Sustainable Development (Geneva, Switzerland).

Riya Amin, Junior Communications Officer, E3G (London, UK).

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New York, June 15 – Countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are urged to completely phase out coal by 2030 and others by 2040 as part of global efforts to transition to renewable energy, the United Nations chief said. There are some 38 countries in the group with a majority ranked as very high-income economies.

Antonio Guterres said the climate agenda is being undermined and countries are backtracking on implementing programs to keep the planet’s temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Instead, current policies are taking the world to a 2.8-degree temperature rise by the end of the century, he said.

“That spells catastrophe,” he said after holding discussion with civil society organizations on his climate acceleration agenda. “Yet the collective response remains pitiful. We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open – with far too many willing to bet it all on wishful thinking, unproven technologies and silver bullet solutions.”

“Countries must progressively phase them out, moving to leave oil, coal and gas in the ground where they belong – and massively boost renewable investment.”

Guterres said the transition cannot happen overnight and he has put forward an Acceleration Agenda to “supercharge these efforts.”

“Transition plans are precisely to provide a roadmap for a managed, orderly process that guarantees affordability, access and energy security,” he said. The agenda calls for a complete phasing out of coal, an end to all international coal funding, both public and private, and an end to licensing or funding of new oil and gas. It alco calls for stopping the expansion of existing oil and gas, ensuring net zero electricity generation by 2035 in developed countries and 2040 everywhere else.

The fossil fuel industry and its enablers are urged “to apply its massive resources to drive, not obstruct, the global move from fossil fuels to renewables and reap the benefits.”

Guterres said the oil and gas industry reaped a record US$4 trillion windfall in net income in 2022 and only 4 cents went to clean energy and carbon capture for every dollar spent on oil and gas drilling and exploration.

 “Trading the future for thirty pieces of silver is immoral,” he said. “I call on all fossil fuel companies to present credible, comprehensive and detailed new transition plans – fully in line with all the recommendations of my High-level Expert Group on net zero pledges.”

U.N. Security Council urged to take climate action

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the 15-nation council on June 13 that action must be taken to avert ever-worsening climate change impacts on peace and security, U.N. News reported. An estimated 3.5 billion people are living in “climate hot spots,” and related peace and security risks are only set to heighten.

“Given the growing linkages of climate change, peace, and security as well as the broader changes to the conflict dynamics in the areas in which we work, we must continue to adapt,” Lacroix said.

Lacroix said the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report showed that climatic and such risks as biodiversity loss and violent conflict will increasingly interact.

Lacroix said that within the past several years, most U.N. peace operations have faced greater dangers and political challenges. Of the 16 countries that are the most climate vulnerable, nine of them host a U.N. field mission: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. Lacroix emphasized that the majority of U.N. peace operations are deployed in contexts that are both highly climate exposed and characterized by high levels of gender inequality.

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New York, March 20 – Decisive political decisions are needed now in the global fight against climate change and developing countries can provide leaders to fulfil the difficult task, the head of the U.N. Development Program said following the publication of the newest scientific report on climate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Climate change is deeply unjust,” said Achim Steiner, the administrator of UNDP which leads U.N. development activities around the globe. “Over three billion people — including some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to the current climate crisis — are disproportionally experiencing its worst effects. It is also holding back their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“Yet developing countries are demonstrating that decisive climate action is possible. Through the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) partnerships with countries and communities across the world, we are witnessing visionary leadership.”

Sieiner said, for instance, Bhutan, Viet Nam, and India are leading on the adoption of electric vehicles. Kenya and Uruguay are now running on 90 per cent renewable energy sources. And Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries are notably taking far-reaching climate action despite a constrained fiscal space and a debt crisis

Steiner said the world has experienced extreme weather with increasing ferocity, from devastating droughts, floods to heatwaves, and “fingerprint of climate change is evident in every corner of the globe.”

“There can be no doubt that the health of people and planet hinges on decisive political action now,” he said.

 IPCC’s “Climate change 2023: Synthesis Report,” which studied the science related to climate change, has provided the most comprehensive assessment of climate change in the past nine years. Steiner, like other officials, said the report is “not all gloom” and outlined “how feasible, effective, and low-cost options for climate mitigation and adaptation are already at the disposal of countries across the world.”

“For instance, that includes widespread electrification from clean energy sources, energy and materials efficiency, and the restoration of forests and other ecosystems. It also calls for an increased emphasis on reducing fluorinated gases — human-made gases used in a range of industrial applications — to drive down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change.”

The report said science is clear that keeping the planet’s temperatures at 1.5 C is feasible by implenting measures that would quickly slash carbon pollution and fossil fuel use by nearly two-thirds by 2035.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for ending new fossil fuel exploration and for rich countries to quit coal, oil and gas by 2040. Steiner said he supported Guterres’ call for the Acceleration Agenda and for immediate, strong, and sustained reductions in GHG emissions to reach global net zero by 2050.

“Indeed, the adverse impacts of climate change will increase with every fraction of a degree,” Steiner said. “Now is the time for an era of co-investment in bold solutions. As the narrow window of opportunity to stop climate change rapidly closes, the choices that governments, the private sector, and communities now make — or do not make – will go down in history.”

The U.N. has called on high-income countries to fulfil promises to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries.

(The following is from U.N. News)

The IPCC study,  “Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report”,  released on Monday, March 20  “brings into sharp focus the losses and damages experienced now, and expected to continue into the future, which are hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems especially hard, U.N. News said.

It said temperatures have already risen to 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a consequence of more than a century of burning fossil fuels, as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use. This has resulted in more frequent and intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world.

Climate-driven food and water insecurity is expected to grow with increased warming: when the risks combine with other adverse events, such as pandemics or conflicts, they become even more difficult to manage.

If temperatures are to be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, deep, rapid, and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions will be needed in all sectors this decade, the reports states. Emissions need to go down now, and be cut by almost half by 2030, if this goal has any chance of being achieved.

The solution proposed by the IPCC is “climate resilient development,” which involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits.

Examples include access to clean energy, low-carbon electrification, the promotion of zero and low carbon transport, and improved air quality: the economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same, or possibly even larger, than the costs of reducing or avoiding emissions

“The greatest gains in wellbeing could come from prioritizing climate risk reduction for low-income and marginalized communities, including people living in informal settlements,” said Christopher Trisos, one of the report’s authors. “Accelerated climate action will only come about if there is a many-fold increase in finance. Insufficient and misaligned finance is holding back progress.”

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Geneva/New York, November 29 – An estimated 3.6 billion people currently have inadequate access to fresh water at least a month per year and that number will increase to more than 5 billion by 2050, the World Meteorological Organization said in its first ever State of Global Water Resources report.

The report said large areas of the globe were drier than normal in 2021 as climate change and La Nina effects severely influenced normal precipitation patterns. The areas in the world with below average streamflow were about twice larger than those with above average.

The report said 74 per cent of all natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related. With water shortage becoming a major global issue, the recent climate change summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has decided for the first time to call on governments to further integrate water into their national climate adaptation efforts.

See report: State of Global Water Resources report 

Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of WMO, said, “The impacts of climate change are often felt through water – more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers – with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems and all aspects of our daily lives. And yet, there is insufficient understanding of changes in the distribution, quantity, and quality of freshwater resources.”

“The State of Global Water Resources report aims to fill that knowledge gap and provide a concise overview of water availability in different parts of the world. This will inform climate adaptation and mitigation investments as well as the United Nations campaign to provide universal access in the next five years to early warnings of hazards such as floods and droughts,” he said.

Csaba Kőrösi,President of the U.N. General Assembly, welcomed the first report saying that it “fills an important knowledge gap, supporting the assessment of effects of climate, environmental and societal change on the Earth’s water resources. It confirms that the conception and sustainable implementation of resilient food and energy systems is possible based on informed scientific analysis. Knowing how much water is available where and when is key to water security as well as a catalyzer of cooperation.”

WMO said in a press release that its first edition of the global report looks at streamflow – the volume of water flowing through a river channel at any given time. It also assesses terrestrial water storage – all water on the land surface and sub-surface and the cryosphere (frozen water).

The press release said information and accompanying maps are largely based on modelled data (to achieve maximum geographical coverage) and remotely sensed information from NASA’s GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission for terrestrial water storage. The modelled results were validated against observed data, wherever available).

The report highlights the lack of accessible verified hydrological data. WMO’s Unified Data Policy seeks to accelerate the availability and sharing of hydrological data, including river discharge and transboundary river basins information.

(Following are excerpts from the press release)

Streamflow

Large areas of the globe recorded dryer than normal conditions in 2021, compared to the average of the 30-year hydrological base period.

These areas included South America’s Rio de la Plata area, where a persistent drought has affected the region since 2019, the South and South-East Amazon, and basins in North America including the Colorado, Missouri and Mississippi river basins.

In Africa, rivers such as the Niger, Volta, Nile and Congo had less than normal discharge in 2021. Similarly, rivers in parts of Russia, West Siberia and in Central Asia had lower than average discharge in 2021.

There was above normal river discharge in some Northern American basins, the North Amazon and Southern Africa (Zambezi and Orange), as well as China (the Amur river basin) and northern India.

Approximately one third of the areas analysed was in line with the 30-year average.

Significant flood events with numerous casualties were reported, among others, from China (Henan province), northern India, western Europe, and countries impacted by tropical cyclones, such as Mozambique, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have faced several consecutive years with below-average rainfall causing a regional drought.

Terrestrial water storage

Terrestrial water storage is all water on the land surface and in the subsurface.

In 2021, terrestrial water storage was classified as below normal (in comparison to average calculated from 2002-2020) on the West coast of the USA, in the central part of South America and Patagonia, North Africa and Madagascar, Central Asia and the Middle East, Pakistan and North India.

It was above normal in the central part of Africa, the northern part of South America, specifically the Amazon basin, and the northern part of China.

On a longer-term basis, the report pointed out several hotspots with a negative trend in terrestrial water storage. These include Brazil’s Rio São Francisco basin, Patagonia, the Ganges and Indus headwaters, as well as south-western USA.

In contrast, the Great Lakes Region exhibits a positive anomaly, as does the Niger basin, East African Rift and North Amazon basin.

Overall, the negative trends are stronger than the positive ones. Some of the hotspots are exacerbated by over-abstraction of groundwater for irrigation. The melting of snow and ice also has a significant impact in several areas including Alaska, Patagonia and the Himalayas.

The Cryosphere

The cryosphere (glaciers, snow cover, ice caps and, where present, permafrost) is the world’s biggest natural reservoir of freshwater. Mountains are often called natural “water towers” because they are the source of rivers and freshwater supplies for an estimated 1.9 billion people.

Changes to cryosphere water resources affect food security, human health, ecosystem integrity and maintenance, and leads to significant impacts on economic and social development. Such changes also cause hazards such as river flooding and flash floods due to glacier lake outbursts.

With rising temperatures, the annual glacier run-off typically increases at first, until a turning point, often called ”peak water”, is reached, upon which run-off declines. The long-term projections of the changes in glacier run-off and the timing of peak water are key inputs to long-term adaptation decisions.

Future assessments in the WMO State of Global Water Resources will provide the incentive to regularly assess changes in the cryosphere and the variability of water resources, at basin and regional level.

Media contact: Clare Nullis, WMO media officer, cnullis@wmo.int. Tel +41-79 709 13 97

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