India, other parts of Asia, and, especially, Africa, where more than 50 percent of the world’s projected population increases will occur through 2050. This will put further strains on already scarce resources which are being exploited at a growing cost to the environment. The need to find alternative sources of energy had already been identified when SDG 7 was defined in 2015. The goal specifically mentions “sustainable” and “modern” sources of energy, explicitly addressing one of the main challenges of our times: the rapidly progressing changes of the global climate with massive repercussions on all aspects of our lives.
flooding, droughts and storms. High temperatures make previously prospering regions uninhabitable, water resources are drying up and Nick Golledge, professor of glaciology at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, warns: “Past greenhouse gas emissions mean we are now committed to future ocean warming throughout this century. The rate of change depends on our future emissions, but the process itself is now irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales.” In the same year the SDGs were adopted, the international community also hammered out the Paris Agreement on climate change with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach the global peak of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a legally- binding agreement brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. The international treaty was adopted by 194 parties to date. The accord requires all signatories to develop comprehensive plans for their economic and social transformation. These plans for climate action are known as the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and cover a five-year cycle.
according to a new research paper from the IMF. Global climate finance currently amounts to about US$630 billion annually, mostly provided in the form of loans. Although the Paris Agreement places demanding obligations on countries, by far the largest contributions to climate financing to date come from multilateral development banks. Development finance institutions continued to deliver the majority of public finance, contributing almost 70 percent of public climate finance to date. Though total climate finance has steadily increased over the last decade, flows have slowed in recent years. External shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine have taken their toll. Needs, however, remain
Action on climate Human-induced climate change,
including more frequent and intense extreme weather events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people, beyond natural climate variability. Across sectors and regions, the most vulnerable people and systems are disproportionally affected. The rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts and natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt. Approximately 3.6 billion people live in circumstances that are highly vulnerable to climate change. Impacts of a changing climate include rising sea levels, more extreme weather,
urgent and pressing: An increase of at least 590 percent in annual
climate finance is required to meet the internationally agreed climate objectives by 2030 and to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change, the Global Landscape of Climate Finance report says. The need for more financing is all the more urgent as emissions are again rising: Following an unprecedented drop of 5.4 percent in 2020, global CO2 emissions are bouncing back to pre- COVID-19 levels and concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to rise. The emissions gap remains large: New NDC pledges for 2030 reduce projected emissions by only 7.5 percent, whereas 30 percent is needed to keep global warming below a 2°C increase relative to pre-industrial levels and 55 percent is needed to keep global warming below a 1°C increase. More support is necessary especially in countries and regions that are disproportionally affected by the impact of climate change: Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions at just 3.8 percent, according to the global environmental disclosure system CDP. Yet, the continent is particularly exposed to increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more extreme weather, threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development, the UN climate change authority UNFCCC says.
Fatima Yakubu, Investment Manager, Private Sector & Trade Finance Operations
Financing for change While agreeing on binding climate targets took two decades – the first so- called Conference of the Parties (COP) took place in Berlin in 1995, and Paris hosted what was already COP21 – mobilizing climate financing proved even more challenging. Estimates of global investments
“For my husband and me who have both worked in the energy sector the starting point is energy efficiency. There are many things you can easily do, from switching off lights to not running your appliances on stand-by.
Lower consumption means lower demand means lower production means lower emissions. Simple.”
required to achieve the Paris Agreement’s temperature and adaptation goals range between US$3-US$6 trillion per year until 2050,
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