Livestream
Special Interview
Video Streaming
08
November

 

IK7SRGQVJ5OSZM57HKMTGNT6TE.jpg

 

Promises by companies, banks and cities to achieve net-zero emissions often amount to little more than greenwashing, U.N. experts said in a report on Tuesday as they set out proposed new standards to harden net-zero claims.

The report, released at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, is intended to draw a "red line" around false claims of progress in the fight against global warming that can confuse consumers, investors and policy makers.

At last year's climate negotiations in Glasgow, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed 17 experts to review the integrity of non-state net-zero commitments amid concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" around corporate climate claims.

"Too many of these net-zero pledges are little more than empty slogans and hype", group chair and Canada's former environment minister, Catherine McKenna, said during a news conference launching the report.

"Bogus net-zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she said.

Regulators across the world are starting to set tougher rules around what activities can be deemed environmentally friendly, yet progress is patchy and campaigners and activists are increasingly turning to the courts to challenge weak claims.

On Tuesday, an official at Australia's corporate watchdog said it was investigating several companies over greenwashing, in which a company or group makes exaggerated claims over the environmental impact of their products or practices.

Last month, meanwhile, Britain's financial watchdog proposed new rules from 2024 for funds and their managers to prevent consumers being misled about their climate credentials.

An estimated 80% of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net-zero emissions.

The report set out a list of recommendations that companies and other non-state actors should follow to ensure their claims are credible. For example, a company cannot claim to be net-zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

The report also dismisses the use of cheap carbon credits to offset continued emissions as a viable net-zero strategy, and recommends companies, financial institutions, cities and regions focus on outright emissions and not carbon intensity - a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of output.

The report was "potentially very significant, depending on the traction it gets", said Eric Christian Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management.

"If this report becomes a legal standard against which one can measure if a net-zero commitment is bona fide or not, then it... can provide ammunition for the lawsuits and regulatory action which are sorely needed to make the absence of climate action more expensive at the individual company level."

The report "gives companies, investors, cities, regions - and by implication, countries - a clear statement of what 'good' looks like", said Thomas Hale, a global public policy researcher at Oxford University and co-leader of the Net Zero Tracker project which measures the effectiveness of such pledges.

"We need to be clear that most net-zero targets are not on track," he told Reuters, noting the tracker found that only half of companies with pledges have robust plans.

Teresa Anderson, global lead for climate justice at poverty-eradication non-profit ActionAid International, said corporations had "long hidden behind net-zero announcements and carbon offsetting initiatives, with very little intention of really doing the hard work of transforming and cutting emissions."

"These recommendations will aim to keep them in line and close any loopholes." (Reuters)

08
November

4SHOJ6O4DZKNVFRN7HWHGJBNWA.jpg

 

 

The hosts of the COP27 climate talks on Tuesday launched a global plan to help the world's poorest communities withstand the impacts of global warming.

Unveiling the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, named after the Egyptian resort where the talks are being held, the plan sets out 30 goals to hit by the end of the decade to enhance the lives of 4 billion people.

The hope is that by setting targets across themes including food and agriculture, water and nature, and coastlines and oceans, the public and private sectors will work with common goals and accelerate adaptation to change.

Urgent targets highlighted by the COP27 Presidency include moving the world to more sustainable agriculture practices that could increase yields by 17% and cut emissions by 21%.

Other goals include protecting 3 billion people from catastrophic weather events by installing early warning systems to help them prepare; investing $4 billion into mangrove restoration, which protects against flooding; and expanding clean cooking options to 2.4 billion people to reduce indoor air pollution.

"The Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda is a critical step at COP27," COP27 President and Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said in a statement

"The COP27 presidency has long articulated our commitment to bringing together state and non-state actors to progress on adaptation and resilience for the 4 billion people that live in the most climate vulnerable regions by 2030."

In total, the plan seeks to mobilise up to $300 billion a year from private and public investors. By contrast, the world's biggest multilateral development banks spent $17 billion on adaptation finance for poorer countries in 2021, a report by the lenders published last month showed.

The majority of climate finance goes towards mitigation efforts, such as reducing emissions, despite U.N. pleas that half of all funding should be channelled into helping vulnerable countries adapt.

Africa, hosting its first COP, receives just 3% of total climate finance globally and was being "short changed", Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, told a conference session on the theme of adaptation.

Among specific Africa-focused projects to be announced at COP27 that will help meet the adaptation targets are a plan to improve water resilience for 29 million people across 100 cities.

Going forward, the U.N. Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP27, which form a link between the hosts of the COP, other national governments and non-state actors such as companies, said they would continue to refine and expand the targets.

U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said: "The Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda firmly puts key human needs at its core, along with concrete, specific action on the ground to build resilience to climate change." (Reuters)

08
November

Screenshot_2022-11-08_174627.jpg

 

 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin highlighted Indonesia's three points of view regarding efforts to address climate change while delivering a national statement at the Conference of The Parties 27 (COP27) Summit.

"First, COP27 in Egypt needs to become an 'implementation COP.' One year after Glasgow (COP26), there has been no significant global progress. For this reason, COP27 must be used not only to advance ambition but also implementation, including the fulfillment of support from developed countries to developing countries," Amin remarked in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday.

As per the second point, Amin invited all parties to become part of the solution.

"All countries must contribute according to their respective capacities, with the spirit of burden-sharing instead of burden-shifting. Countries that are more capable must help and empower other countries," Amin remarked.

Under the third point brought up, the vice president said that Indonesia continues to strive for lead by example, including by submitting the Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (ENCD) or Indonesia's Commitment to Contribute More in Maintaining Global Temperature.

"The commitment contains the target of reducing Indonesia's emissions to 31.8 percent with its own capabilities and 43.2 percent from international support. This increase is in line with significant improvements in our policies, including the expansion of nature conservation and restoration, the implementation of a carbon tax to achieve zero emissions by 2070, the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem, and the initiation of the B40 biodiesel program," Amin noted.

To ensure funding for energy transition in Indonesia, Amin remarked that the government had also launched the Country Platform for Energy Transition Mechanism.

"All these national efforts must be accompanied by clear international support, including the creation of an effective and equitable carbon market, investment for energy transition, and funding for climate action," he added.

Moreover, as holder of the 2022 G20 Presidency, Indonesia will continue to encourage green recovery and strong and inclusive climate action. Furthermore, through the ASEAN Chair in 2023, the country will continue to pay attention to strengthening climate action.

In his closing statement, Vice President Amin invited all countries to strengthen collaboration based on dialog and trust.

"We must do that to create a better and sustainable world," he remarked.

Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, and Director General of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tri Tharyat, accompanied the vice president. (Antaranews)

08
November

Screenshot_2022-11-08_174508.jpg

 

 

The development of Indonesia's future capital city (IKN) Nusantara, with the concept of Forest City, will begin with forest and land rehabilitation to ensure that the city will be ready to tackle climate change.

Director General of Watershed Management and Forest Rehabilitation (PDASRH) at the Environment and Forestry Ministry Dyah Murtiningsih noted in a statement on Tuesday that the development project would pay attention to landscape management and biodiversity in the area.

The attempt is made on account of the fact that Kalimantan Island, where IKN is located -- precisely in East Kalimantan Province -- has diverse species, as well as endemic fauna, such as orangutans and proboscis monkeys.

"IKN must be a habitat for endemic flora and fauna," the director general stated in an online discussion on Monday (November 7, 2022) at the Indonesian Pavilion at the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-27 UNFCCC).

Currently, the surrounding area where the IKN will be built is an industrial plantation forest. As the city will be developed with the Forest City concept, the surrounding area will be turned into a tropical rain forest by planting endemic plants, she remarked.

"The condition of the natural forest around it (the IKN) must be maintained and preserved," she remarked.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has prepared an area of 16 hectares for the construction of the Mentawir Nursery that will provide 15 million trees annually to support the forest development and rehabilitation around IKN.

Furthermore, the attempts to restore tropical rain forests will be made by involving local communities.

The government has also invited the private sector to become actively involved in developing the IKN Forest City with the Public-Private Partnership scheme.

Murtiningsih expected that involvement of the private sector in the construction of the city can support the reduction of carbon emissions, which is important to mitigate climate change.

IKN Nusantara will be constructed on an area of 256 thousand hectares that is divided into three zones of the central government area, 6,671 hectares; the state capital area, 56,181 hectares; as well as the development zone. (Antaranews)