Summary
The following events were covered by IISD Reporting Services on Thursday, 6 December 2018:
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz / Diego Noguera
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Climate Resilient Development: Comprehensive Climate Risk Management Strategies to Secure Livelihoods for All
Presented by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
The side event discussed the use of synergies between comprehensive risk management (CRM) and disaster risk management (DRM) to ensure a smart mix of implementation instruments to cover the full range of potential risks to sustainable development and secure livelihoods. Pablo Suarez, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, moderated the event.
Frank Fass-Metz, BMZ, noted that progress on mitigating the impacts of climate change is essential, especially for the vulnerable populations of small island states. He also stressed the importance of providing support for CRM and climate risk financing in line with the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Nasry Asfura, Mayor of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and ICLEI Regional Committee, highlighted Tegucigalpa’s commitment to reducing emissions and stressed the need for politicians to change their attitudes and understand their commitment towards future generations. He also stressed that donor funds need to be invested in the best way possible to help vulnerable groups.
Debra Roberts, Co-Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability), noted that the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) stresses the importance of redirecting financial flows to manage risk effectively. She also stressed the need for new governance patterns, ensuring local governments, youth and indigenous communities have a voice in the process.
Tania Osejo Carrillo, World Food Programme (WFP), underscored the need for scientists and policymakers to speak the same language when dealing with the issues of climate change and food security.
Michael Mullan, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), noted that climate-resilient infrastructure takes into account risks associated with climate change. He also highlighted that the benefits deriving from adaptation are tangible for people, such as increased reliability of service provision, stressing the challenge of turning these benefits into a funding stream.
Anne Hammill, Director, National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network, stressed that the main challenge of creating integrated national planning processes is the identification of priorities for action when knowledge and efforts of different sectors are brought together.
In the ensuing discussion, participants replied to questions regarding the role of institutional arrangements in linking climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, the transparent management of funds by politicians responding to long-term challenges, and the inclusion of the private sector.
CONTACT
Monika Zimmermann, BMZ | monika.zimmermann.cop24@online.de
MORE INFORMATION
Can CCS Help Poland and Similar Countries to Decarbonize Industry?
Presented by the University of Texas, in collaboration with Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), International CCS Knowledge Centre (ICKC), Bellona, and IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG)
This side event highlighted developments on the issue of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a mitigation option for industry.
Moderator Tim Dixon, IEAGHG, opened the event. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Vice-Chair Thelma Krug noted that according to the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, renewables will account for 49-67% of the global energy mix by 2050, with coal reduced to 1-7%, stressing that a large fraction of this coal use will be combined with CCS.
Manuela Ojan, HeidelbergCement, noted that her company has a target to reduce by 30% CO2 emissions in cement production by 2030. She stressed that while use of alternative fuels and thermal efficiency are required to meet the 2°C scenario, innovative technologies such as CCS are key in this regard, and pointed to the importance of enhancing funding for research on Carbon Capture and optimizing related energy consumption.
Mike Monea, ICKC, said his organization is advancing CCS around the world, noting that the next generation plant developed by ICKC can contribute to reducing the cost of capture and create value by capturing 95% of CO2 produced.
Calling for more optimistic messaging from climate meetings, Brian Kohler, IndustriALL Global Union, outlined that, in light of job losses forecasted for coal and oil and gas workers, a just transition would be best achieved by greening existing industries to ensure that workers are not left behind in the transition to low carbon economies.
Stressing the urgency of action to operationalize CCS technologies, Jonas Helseth, Bellona and European Union Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), described ZEP’s work in supporting the European Commission on the research, demonstration and deployment of CCS.
Katherine Romanak, University of Texas, noted that, in order to understand how CCS can fit into sustainable development in developing countries, the Gulf Coast Carbon Center explores the safest sites for carbon storage, highlighting the need to accelerate the sharing of lessons learned with developing countries.
Andrew Jupiter, University of the West Indies, said that more than 80% of overall carbon emissions from petrochemicals are from methanol and ammonia, and reported that the main concerns of CCS in Trinidad and Tobago involve public perception and costs.
Mark Field, Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK, stressed the need to transition to low carbon economies by reducing the world’s appetite for carbon and removing it from the supply chain, while ensuring communities do not bear an undue burden. He underscored that CCS should be viewed as an opportunity for innovation and employment creation as countries transition to low-carbon economies.
In the ensuing discussion, participants considered, inter alia: the effect of carbon pricing schemes on industry; the need for optimistic messaging from climate meetings, to prevent social upheaval such as the Yellow Vest protests in France in 2018; and the need to incorporate the cost of carbon into cement products. One participant also stressed that, until developing countries see the positive effects of CCS, including employment creation, it will be difficult to get them on board.
Innovative Energy Systems for Refugee Settlements
Presented by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV)
This event aimed to find lasting solutions to clean energy access for refugees. Moderator Dean Cooper, SNV, opened the event by highlighting that: the current level of displacement is the highest on record; due to the lack of energy access, 20,000 forcibly displaced people die prematurely each year from a lack of indoor heating; and annual displaced populations cause about 65,700 acres of deforestation per year.
Thomas Fohgrub, UNITAR, highlighted that 90% of refugees lack electricity access and that 80% rely on fossil fuels for cooking. He outlined five key challenges to providing energy access to refugees:
- energy not prioritized in the humanitarian system;
- displaced people usually located far from national grids and energy access agendas;
- underfunded energy in displacement settings;
- high humanitarian staff turnover; and
- limited data and expertise on humanitarian energy needs.
Speaking via video link, Arturo Gianvenuti, FAO, said that the demand for energy in refugee settlements is significant, and that the need for cooking fuel increases the rate of forest loss and degradation in settlement areas. He outlined FAO’s responses to these problems, including: promoting alternative energy sources to reduce pressure on the surrounding environment; and creating dedicated woodlots, managed through sustainable agroforestry practices. He noted that long-term affordability and availability are concerns for energy demand, and underlined the importance of including local stakeholders, authorities and communities in finding solutions.
In a video address, Sixtus Odumbe, SNV Kenya, showcased the introduction of market-based interventions in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. He reported that the intervention aimed to provide sustainable, market-based access to clean stoves and solar energy, reducing indoor pollution and allowing increased access to electricity in situations where both lighting and cooking fuel are often generated by polluting or unsustainable sources.
Cooper then moderated an audience discussion aimed at feeding into SNV’s liaison with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Participants considered: the importance of partnerships; the importance of bringing in private financing, especially when refugees are able to work; how camps are heterogenous and defy one-size-fits-all approaches; links between energy and food and water; how interventions in refugee camps connect with surrounding landscapes and communities; and the importance of recognizing existing solutions and avoiding reinventing the wheel.
Around the Venue
