Posted on 5/11/21 by Kristen Guida
Need help following COP26? All the news and commentary around the negotiations and other events can be bewildering. Luckily, the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities constituency of the UNFCCC (LGMA) has compiled a list of four publications providing background that can help you get to grips with what’s going on. The NDC Synthesis Report gives a picture of governments’ commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and their likely impacts. The 2020 Adaptation Gap report by UNEP looks at progress in planning, implementing, and financing of adaptation. The 2021 UNEP Emissions Gap report provides an overview of what’s needed to keep us within 1.5 degrees C this century in comparison with actual emissions reduction efforts. And Parliaments and the Paris Agreement examines the role of parliaments in advancing international climate commitments since Paris five years ago.
Climate change adaptation for UK rail The Rail Safety and Standards Board presents a webinar setting out how Network Rail is assessing the impacts of climate change on its network – including services, premises, supply chains – and identifying suitable adaptation plans. Join on 8 November to find out about how adaptation features in Network Rail’s sustainability strategy, how they have developed route weather resilience plans, and how partnership working can contribute to resilience.
Beating the Heat: A Sustainable Cooling Handbook for Cities the UN Environment Programme and the Cool Coalition have launched this handbook and guidance to help cities organize and prioritize action toward sustainable and equitable urban cooling. It includes more than 80 case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of cooling strategies and help cities find the right approach for their contexts.
Current pledges would keep us below 2ᴼC The International Energy Agency has analyzed emissions reduction pledges made so far at COP26 and concluded that if met, they would keep global temperatures to within 1.8 degrees compared with preindustrial levels. Before the conference, the UN official analysis of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) found that the world was on track for 2.7 degrees. But in the past week, India announced a target of net zero by 2070 and the United States and EU pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030. The news provides reason for cautious optimism; action needs to follow promises, and 1.8 degrees is still somewhat off the 1.5 degree target for avoiding catastrophic change.