Climate

UN urges global insurance industry to invest in climate programs for net zero carbon emissions

London/New York, June 8 – The United Nations is calling on the global insurance industry, which controls over US$ 35 trillion in assets under management, to align its investments and porfolios with programs aimed at achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was delivered to the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) as it closed its June 7-8 meeting in London. IDF is a public-private partnership led by the insurance industry and supported by international organizations.

The finance ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, the world’s seven most advanced countries known as G7 were also meeting in London. A summit of G7 leaders is to take place in London June 11.

“I am pleased to close this year’s Insurance Development Forum, which provides industry and development actors a platform to promote the transformation we need for a sustainable future for all on a healthy planet,” Guterres said in remarks to the concluding forum. “We are in a race against time to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.”

“Your investments should not be contributing to climate pollution but should be directed towards climate solutions,” he said. “Invest in renewables, low- and zero-carbon transport and climate resilient infrastructure.”

He said some 20 insurance companies that are asset owners have joined the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance in 2019. He said the Alliance is a gold standard setting credible and transparent targets and timelines to back the net zero pledges made by its members.

Guterres said the world is facing three imperatives to address the climate crisis: achieve global carbon neutrality by 2050, align global finance behind the Paris Agreement and deliver a breakthrough on adaptation to protect the world from climate impacts.

“We need net zero commitments to cover your underwriting portfolios, and this should include the underwriting of coal — and all fossil fuels,” Guterres said, adding that the upcoming international conference on climate change known as COP 26 in Glasgow in November “must signal the end of coal.”

“I support the G7 commitment to end all public international support for coal by the end of this year,” he said.

(Explanations provided by Wikipedia): Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be done by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the “post-carbon economy”). It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industry.

Although the term “carbon neutral” is used, a carbon footprint also includes other greenhouse gases, usually carbon-based, measured in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalence. The term climate-neutral reflects the broader inclusiveness of other greenhouse gases in climate change, even if CO₂ is the most abundant. The term “net zero” is increasingly used to describe a broader and more comprehensive commitment to decarbonization and climate action, moving beyond carbon neutrality by including more activities under the scope of indirect emissions, and often including a science-based target on emissions reduction, as opposed to relying solely on offsetting.

US shows leadership in action on climate change; world leaders join virtual meeting to pledge new goals

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Washington/New York, April 22 – US President Joe Biden convened a high-profile virtual meeting attended by some 40 world leaders to take action on climate change and he pledged the US would cut greenhouse gas emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030.

China, Russia, India and other heads of state and government also made new or repeated previous pledges in a joint effort to keep planet temperatures from rising above 1.5 degree Celsius under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Carbon emissions, which mainly come from burning fossil fuels and coal, contribute to climate change.

“Those that do take action and make bold investments in their people in a clean energy future will win the good jobs of tomorrow and make their economies more resilient and more competitive. So let’s run that race,” Biden said in opening a two-day climate summit in Washington. He said the US has “resolved to take action” on climate change and urged world leaders to intensify their national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative. A moment of peril but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities,” he said.

“The signs are unmistakable, the science is undeniable and the cost of inaction keeps mounting,” Biden said about the damaging impacts of climate change. Biden’s pledge to cut 50 percent to 52 percent of carbon emissions would require a steep decline of fossil fuel use in every sector of the US economy. His plan would work depending on how much cooperation of the Republicans would give him.

Just before Biden’s climate summit in Washington, The World Meteorological Organization said it its State of Global Climate 2020 that the year was the worst so far with dozens of tropical storms, severe drought, wildfires and the melting of Artic ice.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after reading the report that 2021 should be the year of action. He said the report “be read by all leaders and decision-makers in the world. 2020 was an unprecedented year for people and the planet. It was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He said data in the report showed an alarming rise of temperatures of 1.2 degrees Celsius that are hotter than pre-industrial times and getting close to the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit set by the scientific community.

The climate disasters reported by WMO included temperatures at Verkhoyansk in Russia that reached 38 degrees Celsius in June 2020, which was the highest recorded temperature anywhere north of the Arctic Circle; major greenhouse gases that continued to climb and carbon dioxide concentrations that rose extremely high — 410.5 parts per million, which is a 148 per cent increase above pre-industrial levels.

The report said the number of tropical cyclones globally was above average in 2020 with 98 named tropical storms and in Brazil the drought caused serious wildfires in the Pantanal wetlands.

In the Arctic, it said the annual minimum sea-ice extent in September 2020 was the second lowest on record and in the Greenland ice sheet lost 152 billion metric tons of ice from September 2019 to August 2020.

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, whose country is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, told the summit that his country has taken speedy measures to reduce emissions in order to reach carbon neutrality sooner than the 2060 target it has set.

“China has committed to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in a much shorter time span than what might take many developed countries, and that required extraordinarily hard efforts from China,” Xi said.

Xi said China is phasing out coal after 2025 so the country will be able to reach the goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India said his country’s emissions are far smaller than other major emitters and made no new commitment. “We in India are doing our part,” Modi said. “Despite our development challenges we have taken many bold steps.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada pledged to reduce emissions levels 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030

The pledges to reduce emissions are known as “nationally determine contributions” (NDCs), which countries are submitting to enforce the Paris Agreement on climate change.

UN: World faces anthropogenic climate change caused by human activities; calls for action

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New York, April 19 – In addition to the pandemic that has upended most countries, the world is facing an “anthropogenic climate change caused by human activities, human decisions and human folly,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said following the publication of a weather report describing 2020 as an unprecedented year of extreme weather and climate disasters.

“This is an extremely alarming report,” Guterres said of the just published The World Meteorological Organization State of the Global Climate 2020 Report. “It needs to be read by all leaders and decision-makers in the world. 2020 was an unprecedented year for people and the planet. It was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The report said the number of tropical cyclones globally was above average in 2020 with 98 named tropical storms and in Brazil the drought caused serious wildfires in the Pantanal wetlands.

In the United States the drought triggered the largest wildfires ever recorded in California and Colorado.

“This must be the year for action,” Guterres said.

Guterres called for action in 2021 in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change including reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. But he said, “We are way off track.”

He called for a number of “concrete advances” before the Conferences of Parties known as COP26 in Glasgow in November, including for countries to commit to a net zero carbon emissions and for them to submit to Nationally Determine Contributions (NDC) to the 2015 Paris Agreement for the next 10 years. The NDCs are climate plans to adopted by countries that have signed up with that agreement.

The Paris Agreement called for countries to renew their NDCs every five years, which was supposed to happen in 2020 for the first time. But the pandemic cancelled or postponed many international gatherings in 2020, including the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), in Glasgow, which was pushed back to November 2021.

Guterres asked developed countries to deliver on climate finance for the developing world, particularly the promise of $100 billion dollars a year and subsidies to polluting fossil fuels must be shifted to renewable energy.

Other calls aim at developed countries to lead in phasing out coal by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2040 elsewhere, and for all financial institutions, public and private, to ensure that they fund sustainable and resilient development for all and move away from a grey and inequitable economy.

In Washington, President Joe Biden is convening a virtual climate summit on April 22 – Earth Day – and has invited up to 40 government leaders to attend in an effort to show the world that the US is leading the fight against climate change.

Biden is expected to announce more ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse emissions, which is the main target of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The White House said Biden’s virtual summit aims at prodding countries to make stronger commitments of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and to keep the 1.5-degree goal which are main demands under the Paris Agreement.

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Michael Bloomberg, a major contributor to UN programs, is honored with new, separate terms as UN climate and WHO ambassador

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New York, February 5 – Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, was re-appointed the UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the critical Glasgow Climate Conference – COP 26 – in November 2021.”

Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and a US presidential candidate, was also confirmed (February 3) for a third term as the World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General in Geneva.

Following is the statement issued by the UN on Bloomberg’s reappointment as climate envoy:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (February 5) announced the reappointment of Michael R. Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions to mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the critical Glasgow Climate Conference – COP 26 – in November 2021.

Mr. Bloomberg will support the work of the Secretary-General in growing and strengthening the coalition of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions committing to net-zero before 2050 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Special Envoy will engage government officials and members of the private sector and civil society to finalize and implement plans, particularly in high-emitting countries, industries and sectors, to vastly accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. Mr. Bloomberg will leverage his deep experience and track record in accelerating the transition from coal to help deliver on the Secretary-General’s global call for the phase-out of coal in industrialized countries by 2030, and all other countries by 2040, underpinned by a just transition for affected communities and workers.

As Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Mr. Bloomberg’s work will build on the outcomes of the 2019 Climate Action Summit and 2020 Climate Ambition Summit and will stress the Secretary-General’s call to ensure that all measures to respond to the CoViD-19 pandemic are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

As founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th Mayor of New York City, Mr. Bloomberg is globally recognized for his work to accelerate climate action, including support for the Beyond Coal movement, which helped to catalyze momentum towards the clean energy transition in the United States and other countries, and America’s Pledge, an initiative to quantify and report the actions of U.S. states, cities, businesses and organizations, to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

In addition, Mr. Bloomberg also supports efforts of cities and mayors taking climate action at the local level. He is the board president of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of 97 major cities, and co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, a network of more than 10,000 cities and local governments. He also currently serves as chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and at the Secretary-General’s request, formed the Climate Finance Leaders Initiative in 2019.

Mr. Bloomberg is a graduate of John Hopkins University and Harvard Business School and is co-author of Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.

—-WHO in Geneva said Bloomberg has contributed to efforts to tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases, which account for over 74% of deaths globally and worsen outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

Following is the statement issued (February 3) by WHO in Geneva:

His WHO Ambassador role follows decades of involvement in health policy, including his three terms as mayor of New York City, and a long-standing collaboration with WHO to take on some of the biggest global health challenges.

In his role, Bloomberg will continue to raise awareness about the link between COVID-19 and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), advocate for investment in measures to tackle NCDs and injuries, mobilize cities for better health, and support the use of health data to drive programs and policies.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the full danger of noncommunicable diseases – and signaled the urgent need for stronger public health policies and investment to prevent them,” said Dr Tedros. “We urge world leaders in business and government to take aggressive steps to prevent noncommunicable diseases. Fewer NCDs would have meant fewer deaths during the pandemic.”

“The majority of those who have died from COVID-19 had an underlying noncommunicable disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease or cancer. NCDs account for nearly three-quarters of all deaths around the world, and the scale and urgency of the problem was thrown into sharp relief by COVID-19. NCDs can be prevented, and we know what works,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries.

“Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working with WHO to reduce tobacco use, support healthier diets, fight cardiovascular disease, and strengthen health data to guide our work. We look forward to expanding our efforts to help more cities and countries take action on NCDs and to save lives.”

NCDs currently kill over 40 million people every year. These chronic conditions have also increased the death toll from COVID-19, which has already taken over two million lives. People who are obese, who use tobacco, and who have hypertension are at increased risk of being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19.

In addition to COVID-19, Bloomberg’s work with WHO and investments more broadly in public health focus on major, life-saving initiatives to reduce tobacco and youth e-cigarette use, support healthy food policy, reduce drowning, and improve road safety and maternal health, among others.

In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with WHO and Vital Strategies to launch the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a network of 70 global cities, covering nearly 300 million people, committed to preventing NCDs and injuries since 2017. Over the past year, it has expanded its support to urban leaders around the world to include the resources and tools to overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

After more than 15 years of collaboration, WHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies have shared major achievements across public health:

5 billion people covered by at least one strong tobacco control measure

3.3 billion people have benefitted from stronger road safety laws

70 cities covering almost 300 million people, committed to preventing NCDs and injuries

Countries around the world have been supported to strengthen their health data systems through the Data for Health Program. The newly released SCORE Report is the first to gauge countries’ progress in producing sustainable health data.

WHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to drive change in tobacco control, prevention of noncommunicable diseases, road safety, injuries and improving health data. Later this year, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO will launch a new “NCD investment case” outlining the value of investing in policies and interventions to prevent NCDs.

World’s biggest survey shows majority of people believe climate change is a global emergency. US to host climate meeting

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New York, January 27 – It is called “People’s Climate Vote” because two-thirds of over 1.2 million people surveyed showed that they view climate change as a global emergency that demands urgent action, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said of the biggest public opinion yet conducted that covered 50 countries with over half of the world population.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden decided that the US will host a climate meeting on April 22 when he signed executive orders putting measures to fight climate change as an essential element in the US foreign policy. The move also reaffirmed and implemented Biden’s decision to provide US leadership on climate issues.

Biden’s measures to fight climate change included freezing new oil and gas leases on federal lands and doubling offshore wind-produced energy by 2030.

“Today is climate day at the White House,” Biden said on January 27. “We have already waited too long. And we can’t wait any longer.” He insisted that the US “must lead” in the global efforts to fight climate change.

Achim Steiner, the UNDP administrator said in a news release announcing the poll results: “The results of the survey clearly illustrate that urgent climate action has broad support amongst people around the globe, across nationalities, age, gender and education level.”

“From climate-friendly farming to protecting nature and investing in a green recovery from Covid-19, the survey brings the voice of the people to the forefront of the climate debate. It signals ways in which countries can move forward with public support as we work together to tackle this enormous challenge,” Steiner said.

UNDP said its public opinion poll carried out jointly with the University of Oxford was the “biggest survey ever” on climate change as a preparation for negotiations at the 26th session of Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The survey aimed at finding out whether climate change has become a global emergency and whether respondents support 18 key climate policies across six action areas: economy, energy, transport, food and farms, nature, and protecting people.

People want broad climate policies, the news release said (the following is part of the news release):

The results showed that people supported “broad climate policies”, beyond the current situation, UNDP said.

For instance, in eight of the ten survey countries with the highest emissions from the power sector, majority backed more renewable energy. In four out of five countries with the highest emissions from land-use change and enough data on policy preferences, the majority supported conserving forests and land. Nine out of ten of the countries with the most urbanized populations backed more use of clean electric cars and buses, or bicycles.

The survey also found a direct link between a person’s level of education and their desire for climate action, according to UNDP.

There was very high recognition of the climate emergency among those who had attended university or college in all countries, from lower-income countries such as Bhutan (82 per cent) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (82 per cent), to wealthy countries like France (87 per cent) and Japan (82 per cent).

Findings also revealed that while younger people (under 18) were more likely to say climate change is an emergency, other age groups were not far behind, with 65 per cent aged 18-35; 66 per cent aged 36-59; and 58 per cent over 60, expressing affirmation.

“[This] illustrated how widely held this view has become,” said UNDP.

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UN calls for global State of Climate Emergency after a decade of hottest temperatures; rich countries must lead the way to help poorer ones

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New York, December 12 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm as carbon dioxide, the harmful gas heating up the planet, has reached its highest levels in a decade and he urged world leaders to declare a climate emergency until carbon neutrality is reached.

Guterres said 38 countries have already declared a climate emergency and it will be time for the rest of the world to follow the example as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising, provoking storms, fires, floods and drought of uncommon force.

“I appealed to leaders worldwide to declare a State of Climate Emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached,” Guterres told a virtual Climate Ambition Summit organized by the United Kingdom. Guterres said climate change will be the main focus of the United Nations in 2021 as it seeks to build a truly Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality and for global net zero emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050.

“There is solid momentum behind the net zero goal,” Guterres said. “By early next year, countries representing two thirds of global carbon dioxide emissions and 70 per cent of the world economy will have made strong commitments to carbon neutrality.”

“As we prepare for next year’s United Nations climate conference – COP26 — we need concrete action right away to get on the right path. The scientific community tells us that to reach net zero by 2050, we need to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels.”

The UN chief said developed countries must meet their commitment to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 so they can install measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The 2020 target, however, has lagged behind even before the pandemic hit in early 2020.

A report by independent experts issued prior to the virtual meeting on climate change backed Guterres’s renewed call for rich countries to mobilize urgently the $100 billion a year. The report pointed out that the climate crisis is only worsening and the funds needed by poor countries in 2021 and beyond have exceeded the original target of $100 billion.

The new report, “Delivering on the $100 billion climate finance commitment and transforming climate finance,” recommended that grants, which is a lifeline for vulnerable and poorer countries, should be doubled because such grants have declined to around $12 billion in the 2016-2018 period. Another recommendation is to increase the adaptation finance, which the report said is a small share of overall climate finance but it allows poor countries to adapt and build resilience to the ever challenging climate.

“The UN Secretary-General recently called on all donors and multilateral development banks to increase the share of adaptation and resilience finance to at least 50 per cent of climate finance support,” the report said.
The report was drawn from data and analyses generated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as from civil society organizations such as Oxfam, among other sources.

It found that the pandemic, which remains an enormous threat, also offers a “one-off, last chance opportunity to restructure economies at the pace and scale that the climate crisis requires by integrating climate action into the economic recovery from Covid-19.”

The virtual Climate Ambition Summit heard dozens of government leaders, including the two co-hosts, the UK prime minister and the president of France, and the two partners, the president of Chile and the prime minister of Italy.

Countries that are most vulnerable to climate change are leading the way in the debate. The UN said Barbados and Maldives want to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030; Fiji, Malawi, Nauru and Nepal remain firm to achieve the goal by 2050.

The UN said the United Kingdom has pledged to cut emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 and to end external financing of fossil fuel projects.

The European Union has decided to cut its emissions by at least 55 per cent by the end of this decade.

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Oil and gas firms commit to report and reduce methane emissions to help solve climate crisis

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Governments, UN, civil society, companies collaborate on robust new tracking and disclosure system

Nairobi/Brussels/New York, 23 November – In a move that will help tackle one of the biggest and most solvable contributors to the climate crisis, major players in the oil and gas industry agreed today to report methane emissions with a new, much higher level of transparency.
Methane released directly into the atmosphere is a highly potent greenhouse gas, with more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Actions to cut methane emissions can yield a near-term reduction in the rate of warming, complementing efforts to decarbonize the world’s energy and transport systems while also delivering air quality benefits.

The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) is a Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) initiative led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Commission (EC), and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Already 62 companies with assets on five continents representing 30 per cent of the world’s oil and gas production have joined the partnership. The new OGMP2.0 framework is the new gold standard reporting framework that will improve the reporting accuracy and transparency of anthropogenic methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 At the core of the effort is a comprehensive measurement-based methane-reporting framework that will make it easier for officials, investors and the public to accurately track and compare performance across companies in ways that have not been possible to this point.

As stipulated in the EU methane strategy, the European Commission is planning to elaborate a legislative proposal on compulsory measurement, reporting, and verification for all energy-related methane emissions, building on the OGMP 2.0 framework Crucially, the OGMP 2.0 includes not only a company’s own operations, but also the many joint ventures responsible for a substantial share of their production.
The OGMP 2.0 framework applies to the full oil and gas value chain, not only upstream production, but also midstream transportation and downstream processing and refining – areas with substantial emissions potential that are often left out of reporting today.
The goal is to enable the oil and gas industry to realize deep reductions in methane emissions over the next decade in a way that is transparent to civil society and governments. In order to support the realization of global climate targets, OGMP 2.0 aims to deliver a 45 per cent reduction in the industry’s methane emissions by 2025, and a 60-75 per cent reduction by 2030.
Cost-effective solutions – According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), roughly three-quarters of methane emissions could be reduced with the technology that exists today, and close to half at zero net cost. Reducing methane emissions from the energy sector by 90% would shave two tenths of a degree Celsius from the forecasted rise in the planet’s average temperature by 2050.
Reducing fossil methane emissions by 75 per cent can prevent up to 6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually – almost ten per cent of the planet’s 2019 greenhouse gas emissions, including land-use change.
New observatory in the works – UNEP and the European Commission are also finalizing plans to set up an independent International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). IMEO will aggregate and analyse multiple methane emissions data streams, including data reported by OGMP member companies, to accelerate reductions in methane emissions globally.
By assisting industry and governments globally in addressing uncertainty related to reported emissions, the Observatory will improve the consistency and credibility of methane emissions data and accelerate mitigation actions.
Comments: “To win the race to net zero emissions, we need everyone on board. We need ambitious action from the oil and gas industry. UNEP is committed to supporting efforts that reduce methane emissions, and we recognize the leadership of companies that have joined such an ambitious methane reporting framework. We look forward to seeing actions that turn commitments into actual emissions reduction.” Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme

“I am very happy to see the energy industry taking immediate action on methane emissions. A clear commitment to measure and monitor emissions is an important first step for significantly reducing them and I am proud of what we have achieved together. Today’s signature is the first deliverable under the Commission’s recent methane strategy.There are many more steps to take to cut emissions along the entire value chain and I hope to work closely with all – European and international – partners to reach this goal.” Kadri Simson, EU Energy Commissioner

“Thanks to the 62 companies for committing to measure, report and reduce pollution from their core operations and joint ventures. This will be the basis for robust standards in Europe, and beyond, that ensure the oil industry takes the practical actions urgently needed for our climate.” Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund.

“Reducing methane emissions is a crucial effort in the industry’s decarbonization pathway. As a factor on which we can have an immediate and concrete positive impact, OGMP 2.0 offers an internationally recognized blueprint to companies across our industry willing to make improvements in their emission reductions in all phases of the value chain. We look forward to continue working with all partners involved, as only through collaboration with international organizations, civil society and governments we can deliver on our common goals.” Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer, ENI.

NOTE TO EDITORS
About the OGMP The OGMP, launched at the UN Climate Summit in 2014, was created by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) as a voluntary initiative to help companies reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.
Managed by UNEP, OGMP is the only multi-stakeholder partnership working on methane emissions reporting and provides a protocol to help companies systematically manage their methane emissions from oil and gas operations and offers a credible platform to help member companies demonstrate actual reductions to industry stakeholders.
About the UN Environment Programme 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: www.unep.org
About the European Commission The European Commission is the EU’s politically independent executive arm, responsible for drawing up proposals for European legislation, and its further implementation. Additionally, to managing EU policies and allocating EU funding, the Commission defends the European Union’s interests by representing it internationally. The European Green Deal is the cornerstone of the European Commission’s ambition for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent. Therefore, climate and energy objectives play an important role in shaping the Commission policy-making. For more information: https://europa.eu/

About the Environmental Defense Fund One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships.
With more than 2.5 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund

About the Climate and Clean Air Coalition CCAC is the only global partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate by reducing short-lived climate pollutants – methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone. It runs 11 initiatives across key emitting sectors and acts as a catalyst to create, share and implement solutions that rapidly reduce the rate of warming, improve people’s lives, and ensures sustainable development for future generations.
For more information: https://ccacoalition.org/en
* * * * *
Member companies, OGMP 2.0 Adnoc; Bahia de Bizkaia Gas S.L.; BALANCE Erneuerbare Energien GmbH; BP; Ecopetrol; EnagasEnergienetze; Bayern GmbH & Co.KG; Eni; Equino; EUROPE MAGHREB PIPELINE LIMITED; Eustream; EWE GASSPEICHER GmbH; EWE Netz GmbH; Fluvius; GASCADE Gastransport GmbH; Gasunie Deutschland Transport Services GmbH; GEI SPA; GRDF; GRTGaz; GRTGAaz Deutschland GmbH; Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) S.A.; Italgas; LD Reti; Medgaz; Moldovagaz; NEDGIA; NEL GasTransport GmbH; Neptune Energy; Netbeheer; NederlandNV; Nederlandse Gasunie; OGE; Ontras; Opal Gas Transport; PLANTA DE REGASIFICACIÓN DE SAGUNTO, S.A. (Saggas); REN; Repsol; Retragas; Schwaben Netz GmbH; Shell; SNAM S.p.A.;Storengy Deutschland; STORENGY FRANCE; Storengy UK; TeReGa; Thüga AG; Thyssengas; Total; Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH; Unareti; Uniper Energy Storage GmbH; VNG Gasspeicher GmbH; Wintershall
* Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712, tc@tca.tc

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UN: Virus clobbers global tourism, millions of jobs at risk, Asia-Pacific hit hard

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New York, August 25 – Lockdowns and border closures across the world to contain the spread of coronavirus had resulted in the loss of 300 million tourist arrivals and $320 billion in receipts in the first five months of 2020 and the economic losses for the whole year could surpass $1 trillion unless governments reopen their borders, the UN World Tourism Organization said in a survey on the Covid-19 impacts on one of the world’s most lucrative industries.

While it is calling for the return of tourism in an effort to revive local economies, particularly in the least developed countries that depend much on international tourism for their development, the WTO said such a decision should be taken only if Covid-19 cases and deaths are declining.

“The crisis is an opportunity to rethink how tourism interacts with our societies, other economic sectors and our natural resources; to measure and manage it better; to ensure a fair distribution of its benefits and to advance the transition towards a carbon neutral and resilient tourism economy,” said a policy brief issued by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The UN chief joined WTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili in reviewing the state of global tourism under the pandemic.

Surveys made by WTO showed that lockdowns imposed in response to the pandemic resulted in a 97-per cent fall of international tourist arrivals by May 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019.

From January to May 2020, the surveys said Asia-Pacific suffered a 60-percent fall in tourist arrivals; 58 percent in Europe; 52 percent in the Middle East; 47 percent in the Americas and 47 percent in Africa.

The policy brief provided scenarios on the pandemic’s economic impacts painting a grim picture of tourism in 2020. It said international tourist numbers could decline by 58 per cent to 78 per cent in 2020, which could translate into a sharp drop in visitor spending from $1.5 trillion in 2019 to between $310 billion and $570 billion in 2020.

It said as many as 100 million direct tourism jobs are at risk because of the sharp decline in global tourism. In addition, global tourism’s labor-intensive hotels and food services employ some 144 million people, who will be also affected by the decline. Women make up about 54 percent of the total workers in tourism.

Tourism represented 20 percent of gross domestic products (GDP) in some developing countries. But for Small Island Development States (SIDS), tourism accounted for up to 80 percent of incomes.

The policy brief said the fall of international tourism and related revenues have cut off funding for biodiversity conservation, including wildlife, resulting in a rise in poaching, looting and consumption of bushmeat. Other programs that depended on tourism like cultural activities, festivals and handicraft products and goods are also affected.

“As countries gradually lift travel restrictions and tourism slowly restarts in many parts of the world, health continues to be a priority and coordinated health protocols that protect workers, communities and travellers, while supporting companies and workers, must be firmly in place,” the brief said.

Pololikashvili said before the policy brief was launched that it is important to restart tourism “as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“The dramatic fall in international tourism places many millions of livelihoods at risk, including in developing countries. Governments in every world region have a dual responsibility: to prioritize public health while also protecting jobs and businesses. They also need to maintain the spirit of cooperation and solidarity that has defined our response to this shared challenge and refrain from making unilateral decisions that may undermine the trust and confidence we have been working so hard to build.”

Responsible restart is possible

“The restart of tourism can be undertaken responsibly and in a way that safeguards public health while also supporting businesses and livelihoods,” Pololikashvili said.

“As destinations continue to ease restrictions on travel, international cooperation is of paramount importance. This way, global tourism can gain people’s trust and confidence, essential foundations as we work together to adapt to the new reality we now face.”

Tourism is slowly returning, more than 80 destinations lifted travel bans, but confidence is low

WTO noted, however, that there have been attempts to revive tourism in many countries but they have been gradual and cautious, particularly in the Schengen Zone of the European Union starting in July. By the end of July more than 80 destinations, including 20 small islands, have eased travel restrictions and it can be confirmed that the reopening is slow but in a continuous adaptation and responsible manner.

WTO warned that confidence in the tourist revival has dropped to record lows because of the ongoing pandemic when it evaluated tourism during the period of January-May 2020 and prospects for the May-August this year.

“Most members of the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts expect international tourism to recover by the second half of 2021, followed by those who expect a rebound in the first part of next year,” WTO said. adding that the experts

It said the group of global experts reminded that a series of downside risks still remain in place such as travel restrictions and border shutdowns in most destinations. It said travels between many countries are still clamped down, including between the United States and China, and by other reasons like safety concerns, the resurgence of Covid-19 and risks of new lockdowns.

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Start of ITER assembly paves ways for fusion energy era

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UN sets strict rules for annual meetings; blames Covid-19 for reinforcing inequalities

Leave a Comment / Climate, Environment, Health, News feature / admin

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

New York – The United Nations was supposed to mark its 75th anniversary this year with an elaborate forward looking program for more achievements and a brighter future. But it found instead that the coronavirus pandemic has mostly gutted progress made in areas like living standards and has worsened social injustice.

The UN was established on June 26, 1945 when victorious World War II allies and scores of governments signed the UN Charter in San Francisco.

The pandemic has severely upended scheduled UN meetings, one of which is the important annual UN General Assembly session taking place in September. Under normal times in the past 74 years the sessions were attended scrupulously by presidents, ministers and leaders of international organizations at UN headquarters in New York, packing the assembly hall that can have 2,000 delegates.

But the UN has told presidents and prime ministers to stay home this year when the session opens on September 21st. Each of the 193 countries that are UN members can send only one or if possible two delegates rather than a delegation of more than a dozen officials. All meetings will be held virtually, with pre-recorded speeches aired in a mostly empty General Assembly. Attendees will have to wear facial masks and keep social distancing.

“We have been brought to our knees – by a microscopic virus,” UN Secretary General Antonio said in a speech delivered remotely on July 18 to the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa, which was titled “Tackling the inequality pandemic: A new social contract for a new era.”

“The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of our world. It has laid bare risks we have ignored for decades: inadequate health systems; gaps in social protection; structural inequalities; environment degradation; the climate crisis.”

He said progress made in eradicating poverty and narrowing inequality have been set back years “in a matter of months,” warning that some 100 million more people could be pushed into extreme poverty because of the pandemic.

“The virus poses the greatest risk to the most vulnerable: those living in poverty, elder people and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions,” he said, adding that coronavirus has shone the light on inequalities.

“Covid-19 has been likened to an X-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built.”

“Because while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in super yachts while others are clinging to floating debris,” he said.

Latin America and the Caribbean

A policy brief on Latin America and the Caribbean issued by Guterres said the region has become a hotspot of the pandemic while it is torn with “profound inequalities” because of high levels of informal labor and fragmented health services. The brief said that the region will suffer a 9.1-percent contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), the largest in a century.

“The social impacts of pandemic will be felt acutely, with sharp rise in unemployment, poverty, extreme poverty and inequality,” it said.

The region, which has a total population of 230 million, will have more than 44 million unemployed people under the pandemic, 45 million people will live in poverty and 28 million in extreme poverty.
The brief said people disproportionately affected by the pandemic are indigenous and those of African descent because they live in “worse economic conditions and have limited access to social protection compared to the rest of the population, in addition to high levels of discrimination in the labour market.”

Pandemic disrupts 15-year UN Sustainable Development Goals

In another study issued in July the UN said its 15-year global efforts to improve the lives of people everywhere under the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were disrupted by the fast spreading coronavirus within a few months in the first part of 2020

The study said progress had been made to advance the goals even though it was not even and sufficient in areas such as improving maternal and child health, increasing women’s representation in government and access to electricity in developing countries.

“As Member States recognized at the SDG Summit held last September, global efforts to date have been insufficient to deliver the change we need, jeopardizing the agenda’s promise to current and future generations,” Guterres said. “Now, due to COVID-19, an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis is threatening lives and livelihoods, making the achievement of goals even more challenging.”

Other findings in the study said the over 1 billion people living in slums around the world are vulnerable to Covid-19 because of the lack of water, housing, shared toilets, crowded space and limited access to health care facilities.
It said women and children are among those suffering the most from the pandemic due to the disruption of health and vaccination services. School closure has kept 90 percent of the 1.57 billion students worldwide out of schools, causing millions of them to miss out school meals they depended on and health services provided schools.

Adopted in 2015, the SDGs targeted 17 goals to be achieved by 2030 with ending poverty at the top of the list. It is followed by hunger, maternal and child mortality, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, decent work, reduction of inequalities, sustainable cities and responsible consumption.

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