Glasgow Dispatch - November 1

View this newsletter online Subscribe Review EESI Welcome! Today is World Leaders Summit Day at COP26 Welcome to EESI’s first issue of Glasgow Dispatch! We will be landing in your inbox each afternoon for the next two weeks to bring you the latest on the U.N. Climate Conference (COP26) happenings.  On Sunday, COP26 officially kicked off with the opening of the conference and plenary meetings of the major bodies under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) where they adopted the agendas for the next two weeks. ⇒⇒⇒ EESI Resource: Watch or read highlights from our most recent briefing, The Negotiations: What’s on the Table, for a quick dive into UNFCCC bodies, agendas, and more!  Today, heads of state and other world leaders descended on the Scottish Event Campus for the World Leaders Summit. The Summit, which will run through tomorrow, features national statements from each of the leaders in attendance. Today, we heard from about 60 leaders, and another 57 leaders are scheduled to speak tomorrow. Check out the Around the World section below for some of the highlights.  Topics Key Takeaways            U.S. Updates            Around the World            Resources            Events       The COP26 Presidency team speaks at an event. Photo Credit: UNFCCC Chile to the U.K.: During the opening of the conference yesterday, the COP presidency officially transferred from Chile to the United Kingdom. Outgoing COP25 President-designate Carolina Schmidt emphasized that “ambition, finance and rules is how we are going to measure the success of COP26.” The COP26 President-designate is Alok Sharma, who emphasized in his speech that the climate talks must deliver on the promises and plans laid out in the Paris Agreement.   Negotiations: Also on Sunday, each of the negotiating groups and observer constituency groups had the opportunity to make opening statements. International climate finance was the most prevalent theme. The G77/China “underscored the need to fulfill long-standing climate finance commitments, such as the $100 billion goal” that runs through 2025, and Switzerland, on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group, called “for COP26 to launch efforts to define a post-2025 finance target.”  ⇒⇒⇒ EESI Resource: To learn more the $100 billion climate finance goal, watch or read the highlights of EESI’s recent briefing, The Role of International Climate Finance.  COP26 goals: Across the opening events and statements, the United Kingdom underscored their central goals for COP26: mitigation, adaptation, finance, and collaboration. British Ambassador to the United States Karen Pierce explained that countries need to commit to action to reduce emissions from the power sector, transportation sector, deforestation, and methane to keep warming well-below 2 degrees Celsius, as set in the Paris Agreement. Some big polluters have not yet made ambitious commitments, and she suggests that an indicator of the summit’s success will be whether these countries raise their ambitions before world leaders depart COP26.     Bloomberg coal phaseout: U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael Bloomberg announced an effort to shut down 25% of the world’s coal plants and cancel all proposed plants by 2025. Bloomberg Philanthropies launched an accompanying Global Coal Countdown platform to track progress. These initiatives build off the Beyond Coal project, which “has helped retire 65% of U.S. coal plants, leading to a 43% drop in coal emissions (2011-2019). This also allowed the U.S. to achieve 31% of its [NDC] by 2019 and put the country on track for a total coal phaseout that will comprise 58% of the U.S. NDC by 2030."      President Biden, Special Envoy John Kerry, and Former Vice President Al Gore. Photo Credit: UNFCCC U.S. net-zero plan: The Biden-Harris Administration made a number of announcements today, including releasing The Long-Term Strategy of the United States, which lays out pathways to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.   Adaptation plan: On adaptation, the Administration announced the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), which will provide funding ($3 billion annually) and technical support (e.g., NOAA climate information and services) to developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change. President Biden also shared that the United States will submit its first adaptation communication on U.S. adaptation efforts. Adaptation communications are a mechanism under the Paris Agreement for countries to convey their “adaptation priorities, support and implementation needs, and plans and actions.”   U.S. climate leadership: According to White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, President Biden is “renewing his commitment” to climate leadership at COP26, including through his Build Back Better Framework, which would be the largest investment in combating climate change in U.S. history and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over a gigaton in 2030.    Congress at COP26: More than 50 members of Congress will attend COP26, according to U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.   State officials at COP26: Governors and other state officials from California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington are at COP26. Several examples of states leading the way on climate action were highlighted during U.S. Center events, including by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who noted that the state is aiming to achieve 80% renewable energy by 2040 and a net-zero utility sector by 2045.  During the World Leaders Summit, some leaders made specific climate commitments in their speeches, a few of which are highlighted below. All of the statements are expected to be uploaded to the UNFCCC website. Notably absent with new climate commitments is China, which did not introduce new goals during the Summit and whose president, Xi Jinping, is not attending COP26. As Seychelles President Wavel John Charles Ramkalawan emphasized, “May the industrialized nations understand that they cannot continue polluting without reserve.” Australia | Prime Minister Scott J. Morrison pledged to double its climate finance to A$2 billion through 2025, which is given directly to partners, specifically Pacific island nations. Canada | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to cap oil and gas sector emissions immediately. By 2030, Canada will have phased out coal-fired electricity and will not finance any coal abroad. India | Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi pledged to increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW, fulfill 50% of its energy requirements from renewables, reduce projected emissions by one billion tons, and reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030. India pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Republic of Korea | President Jae-in Moon pledged to cut emissions by 40% from 2018 levels and lower methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Korea pledged to phase out coal by 2050 and suspend financing for coal projects overseas. Mauritius | Prime Minister Pravind K. Jugnauth pledged to reduce emissions by 40%, achieve 60% renewable energy, phase out coal use in electricity, and avert 70% of waste from landfills by 2030. Spain | President Pedro Sánchez Perez-Castejón pledged to increase climate funding to €1.3 billion per year by 2025.  United Kingdom | Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a new “Clean Green Initiative,” which includes investments of £3 billion over five years for new green infrastructure projects worldwide. Tracking the negotiations Earth Negotiation Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development | @IISD_ENB Carbon Brief: Who wants what at COP26 living document to be updated in real time | @CarbonBrief ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International | @CANIntl COP26 Resource Hub: Analysis from the World Resources Institute | @WRIClimate Background and logistics U.K. COP26 Presidency website: Priorities, details, and logistics for the negotiations | @COP26 UNFCCC COP26 website: Conference details and all updates on documents produced during the negotiations | @UNFCCC and @UNFCCCDocuments Congressional Research Service: Reports related to the UNFCCC EESI resources Briefing series: What Congress needs to know in the lead up to COP26 Creating Policies, Coalitions, and Actions for Global Sustainable Development Momentum on Climate Adaptation The Role of International Climate Finance The Negotiations: What’s on the Table Articles: Quick reads connecting international climate talks to Congress Climate Change Solutions: Biweekly newsletter covering climate, energy, and environmental issues

Tuesday, November 2 World Leaders Summit Day Two Watch the webcast here   Equitable Deep Decarbonization: A Roundtable Discussing the Historic Justice40 Initiative 7:30am ET/11:30 GMT Host: U.S. Department of Energy   U.S. Climate Action Opening Program 10am ET/2pm GMT Host: America Is All In.   Technology for Net Zero 12:30pm ET/4:30pm GMT Hosts: Business Council for Sustainable Energy and U.S. Council for International Business Questions about COP26?   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 COP26 will be running from November 1 to November 14. If you thought this newsletter was interesting, forward it to someone you know! If you were forwarded this edition, sign up here. Thank you to EESI staff for their contributions: Anna McGinn, Savannah Bertrand, Emma Johnson, 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.   www.eesi.org                 CFC #10627