FleishmanHillard COP26 Daily Digest, Day 11: Wednesday 10th November 2021
Climate Action Tracker, a global scientific research group that presents an annual analysis of COP commitments, issued a warning Tuesday that the pledges made this year put the world on track for heating of 2.4°C – with 2030 commitments particularly insufficient to make progress in stopping heating this decade.
Tuesday’s COP26 programme focused on the intersection of gender and climate, with attention to the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and children, even as COP26 delegates are overwhelmingly male. Discussions also examined the role of health systems in achieving carbon emissions reductions, and the lack of specific plans and targets from governments to reduce the climate footprint of healthcare.
COP26 PLEDGES SET WORLD ON COURSE FOR 2.4°C TEMPERATURE RISE | COP26 Daily Digest, Day 11
World temperatures are set to surge to 2.4°C above pre-industrial levels despite the many pledges made at COP26, says the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). It predicts that the world is on track to emit roughly twice as much in 2030 as required to keep heating to 1.5°C.
In its annual global update at COP, the respected scientific group warned that implementation of the pledges made at the conference so far, along with previous commitments, would lead to global temperatures to increase to 2.4°C in 2100. Following last week’s more positive analysis from the International Energy Agency that commitments could limit heating to 1.8°C, it was a sobering reminder of the challenge remaining for negotiators.
Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, which partners with CAT, says the figures reveal that the short-term commitments for 2030 are insufficient.
“The vast majority of 2030 actions and targets are inconsistent with net zero goals: there’s a nearly one-degree gap between current government policies and their net zero goals,” he said.
Hare also challenged leaders on the feasibility of longer-term net zero targets, stating, “It’s all very well for leaders to claim they have a net zero target, but if they have no plans as to how to get there, and their 2030 targets are as low as so many of them are, then frankly, these ‘net zero’ targets are just lip service to real climate action.”
GENDER DAY HIGHLIGHTS CLIMATE IMPACT UPON WOMEN AND GIRLS | COP26 Daily Digest, Day 11
Women and girls around the world are most impacted by climate change yet are most overlooked and underrepresented, delegates to COP26 were told as the event spent Tuesday focused on gender.
A report by the UNFCC reveals 80% of those displaced by climate-related disasters are women and children, as they are on average poorer, less educated, and more dependent on subsistence farming.
But the number of women participating at COP26 events as leaders, negotiators and business representatives is extremely low – a point not lost on activists and the media, and an important consideration for companies attending COP26 that have touted their gender equality credentials.
Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon were among those calling for increased representation, greater investment, and more gender-sensitive climate policies.
Åsa Regnér, UN Women Deputy Executive Director, said: “Only 3% of the climate overseas development aid actually targets women’s rights and gender equality specifically. The UN, with its convening power, should really address that because as long as we don’t have the resources, little will happen.”
Several countries also outlined plans for more gender-sensitive climate policies, including Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, Germany and Sweden.
The UK announced funding of £165 million on two new programmes to boost women’s climate leadership and support those most vulnerable to climate change.
HEALTH SYSTEMS COMMIT TO ACHIEVING NET ZERO…IN THE FUTURE | COP26 Daily Digest, Day 11
Around 50 nations have so far committed to developing climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems in a move to drive greater health leadership and ambition on climate action.
Globally health systems still account for around 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Put another way; if they were a country, they would be the fifth-largest emitter.
The counties have pledged to reach net zero as part of the COP26 Health Programme, which is led by the UK government, alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Care Without Harm and the UNFCCC Climate Champions.
However, the timelines are still fluid in many cases, and in the UK alone, milestones and targets range from 2030 to 2045.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, said: “The future of health must be built on health systems that are resilient to the impacts of epidemics, pandemics and other emergencies, but also the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and the increasing burden of various diseases related to air pollution and our warming planet.”
This COP26 Daily Digest is brought to you by the FleishmanHillard Cop26 Unit. For more information, please contact the FleishmanHillard COP26 team.
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FLEISHMANHILLARD COP26 DAILY DIGEST: DAY 11
