COP27 Dispatch - November 14, 2022 | Newsletter

Welcome! Today is gender and water day at COP27.

On this two-theme day, gender day dives into the role of women in all aspects of climate change and climate action, and water day highlights how climate impacts affect water resources. This issue of COP27 Dispatch also covers what happened on Saturday at the conference, which was adaptation and agriculture day.

There is a strong connection between gender, water, and climate change. Women are disproportionately affected by climate threats like drought and flooding, but at the same time are the key to finding solutions. As Kenyan climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti said: “We need to put women’s needs, experiences, and their wisdom at the center of places where policies are being made. Women are not only the victims of the climate crisis, they are also the leaders who can lead us out of this crisis.”

Missed Friday's issue? Check it out here! Also, explore EESI's glossary of terms and other helpful guides in the Resources section.

Over the weekend, members of Congress highlighted the numerous climate benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. Check out this updated tracker for a list of U.S. elected and appointed officials spotted at COP27. (Congress)

Today marks the start of week two of COP27, when much of the focus will turn to what is happening in the negotiating rooms. (Negotiations)

Canada and Nigeria released new regulations for reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. (Around the World)

Sections

Senior Policy Counsel at the U.S. Green Building Council Elizabeth Beardsley speaks with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) during an event on Saturday.

Senators at COP27: At a press conference on Saturday, Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reiterated their core COP27 messages about the historic nature of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the strong influence of fossil fuel companies in Congress, and the commitment of the U.S. to international partners. Cardin noted that the Senate delegation has held over 30 meetings while at COP, including with representatives from Egypt, U.S. federal agencies, the U.N., NGOs, and human rights groups. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) staffer Tim Ryder described the IRA as “meaningful, resilient, and replicable.”

► EESI Article: “What the Inflation Reduction Act Means for U.S. Engagement at the U.N. Climate Talks”

Buildings and transportation: On Saturday, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) discussed steps for the effective implementation of the climate programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act. Blumeanauer also highlighted that the U.S. government is the largest landowner and landlord in the country, so there are opportunities to set standards to increase building safety, comfort, and affordability while also reducing emissions. As a co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus, Blumenauer did not miss the opportunity to promote active mobility and biking as a climate solution.

Governors Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Jay Inslee of Washington State speak on an America Is All In panel. Credit: Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Advanced nuclear energy: On Saturday, the U.S. State Department announced two new initiatives to use small modular reactors (SMRs) to enhance national, energy, and food security in Europe and specifically in Ukraine. The Ukraine Clean Fuels from SMRs Pilot project aims to use SMRs to produce clean hydrogen and ammonia. An array of U.S. and Ukrainian public- and-private sector partners, including the Argonne National Laboratory, are involved in the pilot. In addition, the Project Phoenix initiative aims to transition coal-fired power plants in Europe to SMRs. The initiative builds on a coal-to-nuclear conversion project currently underway in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

► EESI Briefing: 2022 Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Forum Energy Security Panel

Governors advancing climate action: Governors Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Jay Inslee of Washington State spoke about what the Inflation Reduction Act means for their states during a panel hosted by the U.S. Climate Alliance. Grisham explained that the new law has three major components that help governors advance climate action. First, it allows governors to be less risk averse because the funding comes in addition to their annual budgets; second, it creates enormous opportunities for the private sector to leverage the funds; and third, the law encourages partnerships between states to address large-scale problems like drought in the Colorado River Basin.

Unlocking federal funding: At a panel hosted by the America Is All In coalition, Indiana State Representative Carey Hamilton shared that she is drafting legislation to create a green bank for Indiana. The initiative could be supported by the $27 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for subnational governments to leverage private capital for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At another America Is All In panel, Phoenix City Councilor Yassamin Ansari discussed how more than $40 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has enabled Phoenix, Arizona, to purchase electric buses and improve bike connectivity.

► EESI Article: “New Climate Law Jumpstarts Clean Energy Financing”

USAID agriculture investments: At COP26 last year, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates launched the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate initiative. This year, they announced a second round of funding for the program, which supports research and development for climate-smart agriculture. USAID and the U.S. State Department are collaborating to launch the Methane Accelerator program to integrate methane emission reductions across USAID’s programs.

Climate-smart agriculture: Over the weekend, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the agency’s initiatives bolstering climate-smart agriculture and forestry. Notably, Vilsack explained that the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program provided an initial $2.8 billion investment in 70 pilot projects in all 50 U.S. states from the first funding pool. He announced that USDA will direct an additional $300 million to the second pool of pilot projects by the end of the year, bringing USDA’s total expected investment to $3.1 billion.

► EESI Article Series: Agriculture and Climate

Negotiators gather for the high-level ministerial round table discussions. Credit: UNFCCC

Ministers have arrived: During the second week of COP, ministers are joining the negotiating teams to try and work through numerous unresolved issues such as loss and damage financing. In addition to negotiating on the agenda items that were agreed to at the beginning of COP27, ministers are also participating in high-level ministerial round tables. Today, they covered pre-2030 ambition and climate finance. The U.S. emphasized three points during the pre-2030 ambition session: countries should not go back on any commitments already made under the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact; pressure needs to be applied to countries that have not updated their NDCs to do so; and countries need to use all available tools—within and outside the UNFCCC—to reduce emissions.

► EESI Briefing: What’s on the Table for the Negotiations?

Halfway through COP27: The Earth Negotiations Bulletin held a halfway through COP27 webinar yesterday. They covered the status of each area under negotiation, including the Global Goal on Adaptation, the global stocktake, the Mitigation Work Programme, and loss and damage finance.

Who wants what: Carbon Brief is tracking what countries want in each area of the negotiations. All this information is compiled in a table that can be organized by country, topic, specific issue under negotiation, and a country’s current position on that issue.

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard speak about Mexico’s updated NDC. Credit: Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Reducing methane emissions: Canada issued a new regulatory framework to support its goal of reducing methane emissions from the country’s oil and gas industry by at least 75% by 2030. Nigeria also finalized new rules for regulating methane emissions from oil and gas, including enhanced leak detection and limits to gas flaring. Both Canada and Nigeria are participating in the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions 30% by 2030.

► EESI Article: “Addressing Methane Emissions Is Critical for Fighting Climate Crisis”

Mexico’s climate commitments: On Saturday, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced that the country will update its NDC to commit to cutting emissions by 35% by 2030 (up from 22% in its previous NDC). One element of the plan is to co-locate renewable energy generation with science and technology centers so that industry can be directly powered by renewable energy. At the event, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced that the U.S. will invest $48 billion to help Mexico accomplish its climate goals.

Gender and climate action: At a U.S. Center event, USAID Deputy Mission Director Margaret Sancho announced that the agency is dedicating more than $21 million to gender-responsive climate action. This money will go towards initiatives like building women’s climate leadership and supporting women in green jobs. Rebekah Shirley, director of Research, Data & Innovation at WRI Africa, spoke about the progress of the Clean Air Catalyst initiative that launched last year. It analyzes air pollution in Jakarta, Indonesia; Indore, India; and Nairobi, Kenya, to address air quality concerns, especially for women and children. Beth Roberts, director of the Center for Women’s Land Rights at Landesa, a U.S. nonprofit, discussed the Stand for Her Land Campaign, which works to help women secure the right to own land, which in turn, protects biodiversity and boosts climate resilience. The project operates in Bangladesh, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, and just expanded to Colombia in October.

► EESI Podcast: “Love into Action: The Power and Politics of Motherhood in Climate Activism”

Flags line the COP27 conference center. Credit: UNFCCC

Food and climate initiatives: The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) officially launched its 10-year climate strategy today. The plan “aims to address a broad range of interlinked challenges, including the loss of biodiversity, desertification, land and environmental degradation, the need for accessible renewable energy, and food and water security.” On Saturday, the FAO also launched the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation initiative, which will be a multi-stakeholder partnership designed to serve as a catalyst for improving the quality and quantity of climate finance for sustainable agriculture and food systems. In addition, the COP27 Presidency and the World Health Organization started the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition, which aims to address challenges that lie at the nexus of climate change and nutrition.

Global Goal on Adaptation: The U.N. World Adaptation Science Programme published the sixth Science-for-Adaptation Policy Brief today. The brief discusses the status of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), established by the Paris Agreement to enhance climate adaptation and resilience. It notes that operationalizing the GGA will require a collective effort from all levels of government; however, there is not currently an agreed framework for assessing progress. In lieu of this, the brief adds that “periodic national vulnerability self-assessments, National Adaptation Plans, and other processes at local to national scales can be synthesized to monitor the extent to which adaptive capacity and resilience are facilitated.”

► EESI Article: “A National Adaptation Strategy Could Guide the Way Towards a More Resilient Future”

Assets to Flows: The Assets to Flows report, published by the UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champions, “summarizes the work and key insights on what it will take to convert financial assets into flows” to fund climate action. The report is based on a series of workshops hosted by the COP27 Presidency, the High-Level Climate Champions, and the U.N. Regional Commissions. During these workshops, over 100 projects were presented requiring financing of approximately $120 billion.

EESI resources

Articles: Quick reads connecting international climate talks to Congress
Briefing series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP27
Climate Change Solutions: Biweekly newsletter covering climate, energy, and environmental issues
COP27 Announcement Tracker: Key Announcements from the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit
COP27 Report Tracker: Key Climate Reports Launched at the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit
EESI United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Glossary of Terms
Go-to Resources on the Key Themes of COP27 for Week 1 and Week 2
U.S. Leaders at COP27: Members of Congress and Other U.S. Officials at the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit

Tracking the negotiations

CarbonBrief: Reporting and analysis on the U.N. Climate Talks, with in-depth tracking of country positions in the negotiations.
COP27 Resource Hub: World Resources Institute's extensive set of resources on the climate negotiations.
Earth Negotiation Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development | @IISD_ENB
ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International | @CANIntl

Background and logistics

Egypt COP27 Presidency website: Priorities, details, and logistics for the negotiations | @Cop27P
UNFCCC COP27 website: Conference details and all updates on documents produced during the negotiations | @UNFCCC and @UNFCCCDocuments
Congressional Research Service: Reports related to the UNFCCC
UNFCCC glossary of terms

Questions about COP27?

Reach out to EESI Policy Manager Anna McGinn with your question and we will get back to you or include the information in an upcoming newsletter.

Thanks for reading!

This newsletter covering COP27 will be running from November 7 to November 21.

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Thank you to EESI staff for their contributions: Anna McGinn, Savannah Bertrand, Emma Johnson, and Amaury Laporte

Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Daniel Bresette, Executive Director

EESI is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus to provide timely information and develop innovative policy solutions that set us on a cleaner, more secure and sustainable energy path.

COP27 Dispatch - November 14, 2022

Gender and Water Day

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