Camda Insights: A Year in Review
22 December, 2020
| Camda Insights Coordinating Impact Camda Insights supports the coordinated communication of the impact of states, regions, cities, businesses, and investors in global climate action. If you have an announcement or update you would like to share with the Camda community through this newsletter, please contact Roisin Gorman at RGorman@theclimategroup.org. Contents: – A year in review: Camda Highlights 2020 – Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure Report key findings – Emissions Gap Report key findings – Conference: International Climate Governance for the Paris Agreement A Year in Review: Camda 2020 Highlights This past year has been a very challenging time globally. Despite this, we see that climate action and commitment to reporting has remained a priority for many states and regions, cities, businesses, and investors around the world. At the end of last year, during COP25 in Madrid, Camda released a collective statement which outlined our commitment to creating a common framework for tracking progress in climate action that looks at targets, ambition, outputs, and outcomes in alignment with the Paris Agreement. The framework is intended to be used for tracking and identifying credible climate action, to inform better decision-making and unlock the benefits of credible and tangible progress. The statement laid out that the process to develop this framework and the subsequent progress metrics would be inclusive, transparent, and holistic and that an initial set of metrics would be presented at COP26 and would also be reflected in the Global Climate Action Portal by that time. The wider objective is to prepare a standard set of tested metrics that can support and guide subnational and non-state actors contribution to the Global Stocktake mechanism, and showcase credible global climate action that can help raise national ambition. Since releasing the statement, we have made significant progress in delivering what we committed to do. Also this year, we have seen a building momentum towards net zero, with many states and regions, cities, businesses, and investors pledging to decarbonise by 2050 or earlier. Many Camda members have made great efforts to begin clarifying the net zero landscape at subnational and non-state actor level and to begin identifying standard criteria for net zero targets. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the work of Camda and its members this year: February – Initial progress metrics established Camda held a two-day workshop in London to initiate delivery on the collective statement and establish an initial set of progress metrics, shown below, to be used to measure progress of climate action by states and regions, cities, businesses, and investors as well as International Cooperative Initiatives.  These metrics were selected as priorities based on existing data availability, quality, and coverage. Whilst there is currently a strong focus on mitigation, in the future the metrics will be expanded to include other dimensions of climate action, including adaptation and resilience. May – Net zero network sessions conclude The Oxford University Net Zero Network convened a series of online discussions in April and May to better understand the landscape of net zero commitments from states and regions, cities, businesses, investors, and other actors, and to discuss how to develop benchmarks and begin outlining common criteria for net zero targets. Participants discussed seven topics related to net zero targets and produced a mapping of general points of convergence and divergence related to them. The topics were scope; timing; offsetting; equity; future uncertainties; dependence on other actors; and governance. The outcomes of the discussions informed the criteria for commitments included in the Race to Zero campaign. September – Camda stakeholder consultation on progress tracking metrics In total, 44 Camda stakeholders attended and gave their feedback on the progress metrics that have been developed by Camda members over the course of this year to track climate action commitments from individual actors (states and regions, cities, businesses, and investors) and international cooperative initiatives. Three breakout groups discussed how the progress metrics could be applied to the Global Climate Action portal based on mockups of the profile pages of cities and regions, companies and cooperative initiatives. The feedback received provided important and useful inputs to inform the further development of the portal and identified focus areas for future consultation and discussion. October – Progress tracking framework published in Climate Policy Journal The progress tracking framework developed by 17 co-authors across the Camda community and led by Tom Hale was published in a the Climate Policy Journal in a paper titled Sub- and non-state climate action: a framework to assess progress, implementation and impact, The framework is shown below and can be used as a template to assess progress, implementation, and impact of climate action by states and regions, cities, businesses, and investors. View a PDF version of the paper.  October – Navigating the Nuances of Net Zero full report released NewClimate Institute and Data-Driven EnviroLab released the full updated version of their report which aimed to capture the landscape of net-zero targets set by states and regions, cities, and businesses and to unravel the ambiguity related to those targets. The report found: 1. Net zero momentum is accelerating: the number of net-zero pledges from cities, regions, and companies has roughly doubled in less than a year 2. Net zero can be ambiguous: nuances in target implementation approaches can determine the real ambition and impact of actors’ net zero pledges 3. Transparency can enable accountability and positive pressure to translate net zero targets into ambitious action December – Stakeholder consultation on progress metrics with Marrakech Partnership The UNFCCC and members of the Camda community engaged in an information sharing and consultative workshop with members of the Marrakech Partnership to inform them of how the tracking of climate commitments undertaken by Camda can provide credibility to their activities. The importance of tracking climate commitments was highlighted and its relevance to the work of the Marrakech Partnership set out, including how it can underpin the long term vision to reach a climate neutral world: by providing evidence of short term results on progress, the tracking work can demonstrate if we are moving in the right direction. Participants were shown how the metrics will be applied in upcoming reports, through a presentation by NewClimate Institute, and incorporated in the Global Climate Action portal, through a presentation by UNFCCC of the revised actor and initiative profile page prototypes. The work and metrics were positively received, and an open discussion provided useful inputs to their application. The workshop also explored how the work fitted into the bigger picture, including its role in the global stocktake. In order to foster greater collaboration, breakout groups explored synergies between the work of Marrakech Partnership and Camda. The meeting closed with the proposal to explore the opportunities to work together on common challenges, such as recognizing climate action related to resilience and adaptation, and mobilizing non-Party stakeholder reporting. Recent Publications Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure 2020 The Climate Group and CDP recently released their Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure Report, which analyses the climate action of 121 states and regions from across the world. The authors determined five key calls to action for states and regions to accelerate their climate action based on their findings: 1. Act fast to build resilience and protect against the impacts of climate change – 108 states and regions report that they are experiencing 1024 climate change and water security impacts. – 45% have developed an adaptation plan. 2. Commit to achieving net zero emissions – 18 states and regions have committed to net zero. – 21 more have long-term targets of 75% reductions or more and could raise their ambition to net zero. 3. Transform their electricity systems away from fossil fuels to renewable energy – On average, states and regions generate 47% of their electricity from renewables compared to 26% globally. – 20% of their electricity is generated from wind, geothermal, and solar energy, with significant scope to increase reliance on these sources. 4. Halt deforestation and forest degradation with clearly defined targets, policies and plans – 91% report the impacts of deforestation and forest degradation as serious or extremely serious. – 46% have determined policies, 37% report a plan, and 18% have set region-wide targets to tackle these issues. 5. Set ambitious 2030 targets for this crucial decade of climate action – 26 have set a 2030 target in line with IPCC recommendations. – 89 did not report a 2030 target.  Emissions Gap Report 2020 This year’s Emissions Gap Report produced by the UNEP DTU Partnership shows that despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century – far beyond the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C. However, a green pandemic recovery can cut around 25% off the greenhouse emissions predicted in 2030 and put the world close to the 2°C pathway. Governments should pull out all the stops to implement a green recovery and strengthen their pledges before the next climate meeting in 2021. Other key findings include: – Carbon dioxide emissions are predicted to fall up to 7 per cent in 2020. However, long-term, this dip means only a 0.01°C reduction of global warming by 2050. – The levels of ambition in the Paris Agreement must be roughly tripled for the 2°C pathway and increased at least fivefold for the 1.5°C pathway. – At the time of report completion, 126 countries covering 51 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions had adopted, announced or were considering net zero goals. If the United States of America adopts a net-zero target by 2050, as suggested in the Biden-Harris climate plan, the share would increase to 63 per cent. – Although the net-zero emissions goals are encouraging, they highlight a vast discrepancy between the ambition of the goals and the inadequate level of ambition in NDCs. The report also analyses low-carbon recovery measures so far, summarizes the scale of new net-zero emissions pledges by nations and looks at the potential of the lifestyle, aviation and shipping sectors to bridge the gap. See here for the full list of key messages. Conference: International Climate Governance for the Paris Agreement Date: 15th December, 13:30-16:30 CET Register for the conference Next year, a big question for the Climate Action Network France will be: what kind of international governance do we need for climate policy, especially after COP26, with the new implementation phase of the Paris Agreement? To begin answering this question, Réseau Action Climat are hosting an online conference on December 15th from 13:30 to 16:30 CET on the topic with 9 experts from across different sectors. If you are interested in attending, you can find the agenda here. Note: there is translation available during the conference from English to French. Please contact Marine Pouget to register for this service. For those who could not attend Réseau Action Climat’s previous webinar on multi-stakeholder coalitions, you can find the report here. Thank you to all organizations involved, including:, America’s Pledge, Bloomberg Philanthropies, BSR, C40, California Air Resources Board, CDP, Ceres, CIFF, ClimateNexus, ClimateWorks Foundation, Climate Bonds Initiative, Climate Strategies, Data-Driven EnviroLab, German Development Institute, European Commission, Global Covenant of Mayors, Global Climate Action Summit, Global Strategic Communications Council, Grantham Research Institute, GreenFaith, ICLEI, IDDRI, The Mission 2020 Campaign, New Climate Economy, NewClimate Institute, Regions4, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Principles for Responsible Investment, Rocky Mountain Institute, The Climate Group, The Stanley Foundation, UNEP DTU Partnership, UN Environment, United Nations Climate Change, University of Maryland, University of Oxford, We Mean Business, World Resources Institute, and WWF. Have an announcement or update to share with the Camda community? Contact Roisín Gorman at RGorman@theclimategroup.org to submit to the Camda Insights newsletter. The Mission 2020 Campaign – The Climate Group – ClimateWorks – United Nations Climate Change You are receiving this email because of your relationship with Camda members and the coordinating organisations listed above. Please only share this email with trusted partners and colleagues. The information and intelligence for this briefing was collected in confidence. If you would like someone to be added to this mailing list, please email requests to RGorman@theclimategroup.org. If you would not like to receive further Camda Insights, please email ‘Camda Insights Opt-out’ to RGorman@theclimategroup.org. This update is in part thanks to ClimateWorks Foundation and various organizations listed above who provided relevant information. |