“Now is the time for all leaders to step up and take bold action.” – Delegates of the Global Climate Action Summit 2018
This message, broadcast on the 14th of September, the final day of the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), called upon businesses, cities, and regional governments to join the cooperative effort to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the most outstanding of which is to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Much of the focus revolves around the 2020 peak-emissions target, after which, a general consensus of scientists suggests global emissions must start to fall if society is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Having brought together leaders from all over the world, that included President Dr. Hilda C. Heine of the Marshall Islands, and former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, this summit continued the ongoing Talanoa Dialogue of high-level civil and business figures, that was mandated by the COP23 in Bonn, Germany. Initiated in January 2018 and inspired by the COP23 President, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama (who also spoke in the 2018 GCAS), this process facilitates the sharing of ideas and submission of proposals for methods of accelerating and broadening the objectives of NDCs before 2020, incorporating from the word’s Fijian origin the principles of inclusivity, respect and transparency. Most importantly, the Dialogue invites the discussion of three key questions: Where are we?; Where do we want to go?; and How do we get there?
Further information on the Talanoa Dialogue can be found here, on its official website.
The Dialogue in San Francisco last month focussed on the last of these questions: the How? The call stated three broad goals for national governments to achieve before 2020, centred on stimulating climate action through national planning and local investment:
- Step-Up Ambition Now.
- Chart a Clear path to your Zero-carbon future.
- Empower Bottom-Up Climate Action.
These goals recognise that individual governments cannot drive this progression alone, so will rely on business, investment, civil and spiritual leaders to educate, incentivise and be the voice of their subjects and clients so as to encourage regional action, while national legislation and regulation shape the vision of a net-zero emissions society. One of the campaigns of particular interest to us leading up to this summit was that of C40 cities, a network of metropolii committed to meeting climate action goals, and their research has yielded startling results: It is claimed, for instance that by 2030, in order to meet the 2050 net-zero emissions target, nearly every new home built will need to be powered by clean energy. Sustainable building should be supported, says C40, by the creation of zero-emission areas in cities, driven by investment in zero-emission buses and increased capacity for alternative modes of transport, such as walking and cycling. C40’s Deadline 2020 report shows that building energy use accounts for over half of city emissions on average, which points to the creation of sustainable buildings as a fundamental change for any city. Other ambitious initiatives from C40 cities include reducing city waste by 15% per capita by 2030, and reducing the amount of municipal solid waste disposed to landfill or incineration by 50%.
It seems to me that La Plata could learn from these lessons. Ours is a flat, regularly planned, relatively small city, outside the international eye and intense touristic draw of Buenos Aires and thus finds itself in a favourable position to experiment and make quick and widespread civil development, unrestrained by the regulation and free-market competition for land and height that burden green-building efforts in the capital. This is a unique opportunity for La Plata to commit to being part of the C40 group, by pledging an inclusive climate action plan by the end of 2020. By pursuing a low-carbon emission economy, findings in reports produced by the GCAS suggest huge job generation and extensive health benefits for local people.
The 2018 Talanoa Dialogue’s preparation phase will terminate as COP24 begins on the 3rd of December. At this point world environment leaders will discuss and agree changes and new initiatives to further the climate change action needed to achieve 2050 targets. Over the next few posts I shall discuss the results of New York Climate Week, other events that have shaken the foundation of climate action this year, and the Poland Conference at the end of this year, in addition to continuous reporting on the work of the Fundacion and its Encuentro series.
Regards,
Will Feakes