As climate impacts worsen, managed retreat may be inevitable in some cases. Managed retreat in the US is centered around flood hazards and most cases occur in the eastern half of the US. Such programs may worsen social inequity if justice considerations are not taken into account.
The Global Covenant of Mayors is the largest alliance for city climate action leadership representing over 1 billion citizens.The GCoM cities and local governments could reduce global emissions by 1.9 GtCO2e annually in 2030, compared to a business-as-usual trajectory, and by 76.5 GtCO2e in 2050.Greater financial investment in city climate actions is needed especially for adaptation activities; implementation of all actions could generate 11 million new jobs worldwide.
The European Parliament voted in favour of a Regulation that would restrict imports to “deforestation-free” products for EU bloc countries on a set of commodities that have been identified as key drivers of deforestation.A reduction of 31.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions is achievable with adoption of the law, which sets international precedent in regulating a high-emission supply and demand chain.The outlined definition of deforestation is weak, and the land-type to which the regulations will apply is limited to natural forests. Other ecosystems have not been considered.
Climate activists protest against the demolition of the hamlet Lützerath in order to expand a coal mine.The responsible Green ministers struck a deal with energy company RWE to bring forward the coal exit in the Western German states to 2030 in exchange for mining the coal below Lützerath.Scientists argue that it is a foul deal under which Germany will not get onto a 1.5° warming path.
Central Asia is one of the most arid regions in the world and is watered nearly entirely by one source: the Tibetan Plateau. The Amu Darya basin within the Tibetan Plateau has shown a decline of 119% in water-supply capacity, and experts predict a near-total collapse in water availability to downstream regions. Water availability has been linked to a number of clashes in the region over the past few decades, such as border clashes in 2014 and 2016.
Summary of developments in the different topic areas discussed during the second week at COP27
by Reinout Debergh For all the talk about a red wave – i.e. a major win for Republicans – in the run up to the midterm elections, already on election day/week it became obvious that it was not materialising (to the disappointment of Wall Street that was betting on it) [1, 2]. In the end,...
Summary of developments in the different topic areas discussed during the first week at COP27.
COP27 will see increased conversations around sustainable finance and how to apply green building technology to under-studied cities in the Global South. With a focus on solutions for African and Asian cities, the 2022 conference will close with an opportunity to redirect adaptation and mitigation strategies away from large cities in the Global North, particularly if leaders can put into action a plan to deliver the promised US$100 billion to developing countries.
Food industry and intensive agriculture emissions and other detrimental impacts must be urgently addressed impact on the environment.The landmark agreement to discuss these topics at COP is called the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture The conversation will hopefully precipitate a plan with mutual agreement at COP27.