Climate Change
Climate Diplomacy

COP27 Announcement Tracker: Key Announcements from the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit

By Anna McGinn and Emma Johnson and Savannah Bertrand and Molly Brind’Amour and Alison Davis

November 8, 2022

Throughout the U.N. climate summit (COP27)—which officially runs from November 6 to 18, 2022—a number of agreements, declarations, and collaborations will be and have been announced on a range of climate, environmental, and energy topics. EESI is tracking the happenings of COP27 through our daily newsletter, COP27 Dispatch: What Congress Needs to Know from Sharm El-Sheikh. This article provides a compilation of the announcements included in COP27 Dispatch.

Announcements made by world leaders related to nationally determined contributions (NDCs)—the commitments nations make under the Paris Agreement to cut their greenhouse gas emissions—are not included in this tracker. This information can be found in the Climate Action Tracker or through ClimateWatch.

These announcements are organized by key themes and signatories but many also touch on multiple different themes. For more on reports, tools, and U.S. federal government plans released during COP27, check out our article "COP27 Report Tracker: Key Climate Reports Launched at the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit."

 

International declarations and announcements that include the United States

Adaptation and resilience

  • U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres launched the Early Warnings for All Action Plan, calling for targeted investments of $3.1 billion over the next five years to improve disaster risk knowledge, observations and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings.
  • Spain and Senegal launched the International Drought Resilience Alliance to “shift drought management from emergency response to resilience against climate change impacts.” Spain is committing €5 million (about $5 million) for this to become operational.
  • The COP27 Presidency hosted an event with Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry about accelerating adaptation action in Africa. Kerry announced a package of U.S. investments: $28 million for early warning systems in Africa, $25 million to the Africa Adaptation Initiative to launch a new food security accelerator, $24 million to help farmers access insurance after disasters, and $10 million to create a new learning center on climate adaptation and resilience in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad spoke as well, saying “let us move from policy to actual practice.”
  • The U.S. and the United Arab Emirates announced a second round of funding for the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, 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.
  • The U.N. World Adaptation Science Programme published the sixth Science-for-Adaptation Policy Brief.  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.”

Clean energy

  • Nine new countries—Belgium, Columbia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the U.K., and the U.S.—joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), which is spearheaded by the International Renewable Energy Agency, Denmark, and the Global Wind Energy Council to accelerate deployment of offshore wind energy to at least 380 gigawatts by 2030.
  • U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth Fund launched the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) to mobilize private capital for clean energy transitions in developing countries to help them reach their Paris Agreement goals.
  • The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt announced the first CEDI pilot—a partnership between the Philippines Department of Energy and USAID—that will lead to new renewable energy procurements for manufacturing operations. The Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI) was first launched at COP26 to help link public- and private-sector partners in efforts to develop and produce renewable energy in emerging markets.
  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis announced that two letters of interest have been issued for U.S. nuclear exports to Romania. Lewis also announced EXIM’s support for climate finance has surpassed $176 million in fiscal year 2022.
  • The G7 countries, led by the U.S. and Japan, declared that they will launch Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP) with India, Indonesia, Senegal, and Vietnam to accelerate decarbonization in those countries. A similar partnership was announced at COP26 with South Africa. Earlier during the conference, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a $1 billion loan agreement to support U.S. climate commitments, including JETPs.
  • 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.
  • Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced during a U.S. Center panel that Singapore and Thailand will be joining Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ukraine in the Net Zero World Initiative, which aims to leverage expertise from U.S. government agencies and national laboratories, in partnership with philanthropy, to help partner countries with energy decarbonization projects. In addition, she discussed the release of a series of reports that will cover progress made by the initiative. Granholm originally launched the initiative at COP26.
  • At the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the E.U., France, Germany, the U.S., and other G20 countries announced a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with Indonesia. The JETP aims to mobilize $20 billion over the next three to five years to help Indonesia shift away from fossil fuels. The JETP is modeled after other initiatives launched at COP, such as the South Africa JETP.

Climate finance

  • The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. 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.
  • The UNFCCC’s two major technology programs and the focus of technology negotiations at COP, the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), launched a five-year collaboration focused on providing climate technologies to developing countries. The U.S. announced $3 million to support this new Joint Work Programme. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry explained, “We are committed to ensuring that the Parties cooperate effectively to accelerate action at the scale and pace needed through research, development, demonstration, and deployment of climate technologies.” Canada will provide a C$6 million ($4.5 million) grant to the CTCN, and Germany will provide €1.5 million ($1.56 million) to the CTCN and €500,000 ($520,000) to the TEC this year.

Emissions reductions

  • John Kerry and Special Envoy to the U.N. Secretary-General on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael Bloomberg announced the Subnational Climate Action Leaders’ Exchange (SCALE), “a first–of-its-kind initiative to support cities, states, and regions in the development and implementation of net-zero, climate-resilient targets and roadmaps.” SCALE will initially focus on implementing the Global Methane Pledge, which has a goal of reducing methane emissions 30% by 2030. The U.S. State Department supports SCALE and is planning to provide $1.5 million.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that HHS will align procurement efforts with England's National Health Service to reduce emissions from the transport and production of medicines, equipment, and other health products. The healthcare sector is responsible for about 8.5% of emissions in the U.S., and this latest announcement is part of a larger initiative organized by HHS and the White House to reduce the sector’s emissions. More than 100 healthcare organizations have now signed on to this initiative.
  • The U.S., in addition to Canada, the E.U., Japan, Norway, Singapore, and the U.K., issued a joint declaration stating: “We commit to taking immediate action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil energy production and consumption, particularly to reduce methane emissions.” The countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Global Methane Pledge and vowed to adopt policies and measures to eliminate routine gas venting and flaring.
  • Countries added new priority actions under the Breakthrough Agenda, a plan established at COP26 with signatories agreeing to spur the innovation and adoption of clean technologies and climate solutions in clean power, road transportation, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture. The 25 new priority actions set to be accomplished by COP28 include deploying at least 50 net-zero emissions industrial plants, agreeing to set a date to phase out polluting cars and trucks, and driving investment in agriculture research. The United States is one of more than 45 signatories.
  • 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. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced that the U.S. will invest $48 billion to help Mexico accomplish its climate goals.
  • Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory launched the Net-Zero Government Initiative to “show the leadership role of governments in catalyzing climate action.” In addition to the U.S., there are 17 countries in the initiative: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.K. The initiative has three goals: 1) achieving net-zero emissions from national government operations by no later than 2050; 2) developing a roadmap by COP28 that outlines the pathway for achieving this goal, including interim targets; and 3) publishing that roadmap.
  • Leaders, including those from Egypt, the E.U., France, the U.N., and the U.S., attended a ministerial meeting focused on reducing methane emissions through the Global Methane Pledge where Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced that 150 countries have signed onto the pledge. It was also announced that there are two new pathways in the pledge, focusing on methane emissions from waste and agriculture. China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs Xie Zhenhua made a surprise appearance to share his country’s plans to reduce methane emissions, but he did not indicate that China was joining the Global Methane Pledge.

Forests

  • Ghana and the United States chaired the first meeting of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), a group launched to accelerate implementation of a COP26 pledge between 140 countries to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Twenty six countries and the European Union were included in the partnership. The U.K. committed £90 million (about $103.8 million) for conservation in the Congo Basin as part of FCLP, in addition to £65 million (about $74.8 million) for supporting Indigenous and local forest communities.

Shipping

  • The United States and Norway announced the launch of a Green Shipping Challenge. According to a press release from the White House, “this initiative encourages governments, ports, maritime carriers, cargo owners, and others in the shipping value chain to come forward with concrete steps that will help put the international shipping sector on a credible pathway this decade toward full decarbonization no later than 2050.” See the full list of announcements around green shipping here.

Oceans

  • During a U.S. Center panel, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced the first cohort of countries to join the Ocean Conservation Pledge: Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, France, Greece, Japan, Malta, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka. In July 2022, at the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, the U.S. launched the pledge, an invitation to other nations to “join the U.S. in a commitment to conserve, protect, and restore at least 30% of ocean waters under their jurisdictions by 2030.”

 

U.S. plans released during COP27

Clean energy

  • The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced that it committed $2.3 billion for climate-related development projects in fiscal year 2020, including $50 million in financing for solar projects in Egypt and a $500 million loan to First Solar to construct a manufacturing facility in India.

Shipping

  • As part of the Green Shipping Challenge, the U.S. announced several new green shipping initiatives, including a study to explore the creation of a green shipping corridor between the Republic of Korea and the United States, a U.S.-U.K. green shipping corridor task force, the launch of the Green Shipping Corridors Initiation Project, and the creation of a U.S. action plan for maritime decarbonization in 2023.

 

U.S. Agency announcements

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

  • Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Alice Albright announced the launch of a new collaboration, the Joint Green Finance Pilot Program, between MCC and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to scale up green finance in low- and lower middle-income countries. According to Albright, “USAID will support the development of green bonds in up to five additional countries by public-private partnerships.”
  • 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.
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced two new investments to support both the deployment of early warning systems and to work to improve early action—how communities receive and act upon early warnings. USAID will support 20 African countries, small island states, and least developed countries to install early warning systems with an initial investment of $33 million, which could be increased to $75 million. To help communities use the information, USAID will provide small grants with up to $200 million in total funding through the Climate Smart and Disaster Ready Program. The State Department will complement these efforts by providing $50 million to support weather services in Africa and $13.6 million to the Systematic Observations Financing Facility to fill data gaps on weather, water, and climate information.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  • U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced that the agency is strengthening its proposed oil and gas standards, aiming to reduce methane emissions and energy waste by 87% by 2030 through a Super-Emitter Response Program, leak mitigation, and limited gas flaring.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • 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.

 

International declarations and announcements that do not involve the United States, U.S. states, or U.S. cities

Adaptation and resilience

  • The heads of state of Ghana, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh presented their countries’ Climate Prosperity Plans, including Sri Lanka’s newly-launched plan. The plans are framed around climate solutions, with an eye towards also supporting growth, health, and development. The four countries are members of the V20, a group of vulnerable countries that work together to increase global climate ambition.
  • Iceland’s Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdottir shared that Iceland and Chile will launch the Ambition on Melting Ice initiative with 18 countries interested in joining this effort to protect the world’s ice sheets and glaciers. Iceland will also stop issuing licenses for oil exploration in the country’s ocean area.
  • Adaptation Fund Board Chair Albara Tawfiq stated that the fund has approved a medium-term strategy for 2023 to 2027, which will focus on locally-led and locally-based adaptation. Tawfiq also announced $105 million of new pledges to the Fund, bringing the total 2022 pledges to $172 million.
  • The COP27 Presidency, the Government of Germany, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched the Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) initiative as part of the events for biodiversity day. ENACT aims to “coordinate global efforts to address climate change, land and ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity loss through nature-based solutions.” It is a voluntary coalition of state and non-state actors that will, under IUCN’s leadership, compile an annual State of Nature-based Solutions report, to be delivered to the COP Presidencies ahead of future UNFCCC conferences.
  • The U.N. announced the launch of the Nature for Cool Cities Challenge to use nature-based solutions to reduce temperatures in cities in lower- and middle-income countries. Municipalities, groups of municipalities, and regional governments can take part in the challenge and must demonstrate progress by 2025. Award winners will receive technical assistance and matching finance to implement their pledges by 2030. Homa Bay County, Kenya, is the first region to participate in the challenge.
  • During the first Urbanization and Climate Ministerial of COP27, the Presidency announced the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation initiative to accelerate urban climate actions through five tracks: buildings and housing, energy, waste and consumption, mobility, and water.

Clean energy

  • Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan pledged to increase renewable energy use from 60% in 2015 to 80% in 2025. The country also plans to preserve 48 million hectares of forest, which is 55% of Tanzania’s total land area.
  • Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi pledged to increase renewable energy from 2% to 30% of its total energy mix by 2030, doubling the country’s NDC targets.
  • South Africa unveiled its new Investment Plan as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which was established at COP26 to decarbonize the country. The JETP Investment Plan will guide the $8.5 billion mobilized by the International Partners Group—which includes the United States—and identifies investments needed in the energy sector, electric vehicles, and green hydrogen.
  • Egypt unveiled plans to develop a 100-megawatt green hydrogen facility powered by solar and wind energy. The facility—the first green hydrogen plant in Africa—is planning to produce green ammonia.
  • The Africa Carbon Markets Initiative was inaugurated “to support the growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa.” The Initiative announced it would create 300 million carbon credits annually by 2030 and 1.5 billion carbon credits annually by 2050 with the goal of supporting 110 million jobs by mid-century.
  • Indian ​​Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav noted that the country’s updated NDC from August 2022 features renewable energy, e-mobility, biofuels, and green hydrogen. Yadav also stated India’s support for global alliances, including the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
  • The COP27 Presidency launched the Africa Just and Affordable Energy Transition Initiative. This project aims, by 2027, to increase access to affordable energy and clean cooking technologies for at least 300 million people and increase the share of Africa’s renewable electricity generation by 25 percent.
  • The E.U. and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding to serve as a framework for “the development of a renewable hydrogen industry and trade across the E.U. and Egypt.” The European Commission also agreed to provide a €35 million ($36.4 million) grant to support Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy initiative, which aims to implement Egypt’s climate strategy by shutting down inefficient fossil fuel power generation and increasing renewable energy deployment.

Climate finance

  • Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to triple its financial commitment to $1.4 billion over the next five years, including €840 million (about $842.7 million) through the new Italian Climate Fund, which will deploy clean technologies and adaptation strategies in developing countries.
  • The Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte pledged to increase its annual contribution to the $100 billion climate finance goal to €1.8 billion (about $1.8 billion) by 2025. The country will also double its public finance for climate adaptation, including €100 million (about $100.3 million) for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program.
  • The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged that the U.K. will triple funding for adaptation programs to £1.5 billion (about $1.7 billion) in 2025, part of a package of international climate finance pledges.
  • Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen stated that Austria will allocate an additional €220 million (about $221.7 million) to international climate finance over the next three years. Austria also announced that it would provide $50 million for climate change loss and damage.
  • The U.K. announced that it would provide £200 million (about $231.3 million) to the African Development Bank Group’s Climate Action Window to help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
  • The COP27 Presidency unveiled two new initiatives, the Sustainable Debt Coalition and the Reducing the Cost of Green Borrowing, which aim to facilitate access to climate finance and alleviate debt burdens in developing countries.
  • Nigerian Minister of Environment Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi announced that because of the lack of public international finance to support implementation of its climate plan, Nigeria is setting up innovative funding schemes like debt for climate swaps, the Nigeria emissions trading scheme, and the African Carbon Market Initiative to move forward with implementing its climate plan.
  • Eight countries—Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Walloon Region of Belgium—announced $105.6 million in new funding for the Global Environment Facility’s Special Climate Change Fund and Least Developed Countries Fund. This funding is focused on adaptation for countries most vulnerable to climate change. Endorsing this development, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell explained in the press release, “adaptation funding for the poorest and most vulnerable nations is not an expense, it is an investment in the safety and well-being of millions of people.” U.S. Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources Monica Medina signaled U.S. support for the adaptation focus of these funds, but did not announce any specific funding support.

Education

  • The Netherlands Minister for the Environment Vivianne Heijnen signed an agreement to improve active mobility in developing countries. The initiative will train 10,000 people, including urban planners, to become active mobility experts improving cycling and walking infrastructure around the world. Heijnen stated: “Investing in active mobility makes sense. The returns are a healthier population and less congested, more livable and sustainable cities.”

Emissions reductions

  • The second meeting of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit took place, with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledging $2.5 billion to support the Initiative. At the first MGI Summit meeting in 2021, 28 countries agreed to work together to combat climate change. The crown prince also said Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would aim for net-zero emissions by 2050.
  • Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 55% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. The country is also joining the Global Methane Pledge and starting widespread decarbonization of their economy, which will reduce industry carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030.
  • Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa raised the country’s target to reduce emissions by 27.2% by 2030 and plans to increase its renewable energy generation from 18.2% to 30% of its total by 2030. Mongolia also became the first country in Asia to sign onto the E.U.’s Forest Partnerships Program.
  • Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre pledged that Norway will reduce its emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The country will also increase its carbon tax, double its climate finance over the next four years, and triple its adaptation finance with a focus on Africa.
  • The U.N. announced a new satellite-based system to detect methane emissions. The Methane Alert and Response System will help implement the Global Methane Pledge by alerting government, companies, and operators to major sources of methane including leaks, allowing them to tackle emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.
  • 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.
  • Australian Minister of Climate Change and Energy Christopher Bowen announced that the country recently updated its NDC to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030. He also said that 82% of the country’s energy will come from renewable energy sources this decade, and Australia will provide an additional $900 million in climate finance to its Pacific neighbors.
  • Singapore’s Minister of Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced that Singapore has updated its low emissions development strategy to achieve net zero by 2050 and updated its NDC to reduce emissions to 60 million tons by 2030. Singapore has also increased its carbon tax and developed a national hydrogen strategy. The country also joined the Net Zero World Initiative led by the U.S., and for its first project it will conduct a feasibility study on creating a multi-country power grid that could deliver up to four gigawatts of low-carbon electricity to Singapore by 2035.

Forests

  • The E.U. signed five Memoranda of Understanding with Guyana, Mongolia, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Zambia on Forest Partnerships. The new framework aims to enhance the socio-economic role of forests and their ongoing contribution to climate and biodiversity protection. They also contribute to the European goal of sustainably managing 40 million hectares of forests by 2027.
  • Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa announced that the country has committed to planting three million trees from 2022-2027 to help meet its NDC and national adaptation plan.

Vehicles

  • The COP26 U.K. Presidency launched the Accelerating to Zero Coalition platform, connecting the world’s leading organizations and companies on zero-emission transportation. This was part of a number of announcements by the presidency to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). They also announced there are now a total of 214 signatories to the ZEV Declaration, up from the initial 130 signatories at COP26. The Declaration commits signatory countries, cities, and companies to all-ZEV sales by 2035 for leading markets and by 2040 globally.
  • The COP27 Presidency launched the Low Carbon Transport for Urban Sustainability initiative to tackle five issues to improve urban mobility, including the mobility financing gap, weak mobility policies, and the lack of alignment between mobility and broader climate goals. The initiative aims to scale up electric vehicles, invest in transportation, and build capacity to develop mobility frameworks in low- and middle-income countries.

 

Private sector announcements

Clean energy

  • The IBM Sustainability Accelerator announced a new cohort of organizations joining the accelerator: the U.N. Development Programme, Sustainable Energy for All, Miyakojima City Government in Japan, Environment Without Borders Foundation, and Net-Zero Atlantic. The accelerator “is a pro bono social impact program that applies IBM technologies, such as hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence, and an ecosystem of experts to enhance and scale nonprofit and government organization interventions helping populations especially vulnerable to environmental threats including climate change, extreme weather, and pollution.”

Emissions reductions

  • The First Movers Coalition expanded into the carbon-intensive cement and concrete industry, and member companies have committed to purchasing at least 10% low-emission concrete and cement per year by 2030. Launched at COP26, the coalition is a U.S.-led network of companies using their purchasing power to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. Next year, the First Movers Coalition will explore expanding into the shipping, electric vehicle charging, and finance sectors.
  • In its second progress report released in September, the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) found that 44 of its members have set near-term net-zero targets, representing $7.1 trillion in assets. The NZAOA has grown to 80 members with $10.9 trillion in assets.
  • PepsiCo just joined the First Movers Coalition to support decarbonization of the trucking and aluminum sectors and is aiming to have a completely zero-emission medium-duty fleet, a 30% zero-emission heavy-duty fleet, and source 10% net-zero emissions aluminum by 2030. The coalition, a U.S.-led network of companies using their purchasing power to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, led a discussion with some of the companies in their network about accelerating this work. This event follows an announcement that the First Movers Coalition was expanding into the cement and concrete industry.

 

Other notable announcements

Adaptation and resilience

  • COP27 President Sameh Shoukry announced the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, which is “a comprehensive, shared agenda to rally global action around 30 adaptation outcomes that are needed to address the adaptation gap and achieve a resilient world by 2030.”

Emissions reductions

  • The World Bank Group announced a new partnership to catalyze climate action called Scaling Climate Action by Limiting Emissions (SCALE), which “will provide grants for verifiable emissions reductions and aim to expand the funding sources for these activities, including from the private sector and philanthropies.”
  • A new poll released by U.S. Nature4Climate found that 86% of voters nationwide support natural climate solutions. Of the range of natural climate solutions tracked in the poll, “programs that help cities and towns plant trees in parks and along streets” was the most popular at 89% support. EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette participated in a panel about these results, saying “natural climate solutions are a key area for U.S. policy leadership at COP27. And that leadership can move ahead on a bipartisan basis.”
  • The Net-Zero Asset Managers initiative reported that 86 new investors have set initial net-zero targets, increasing the number of investors with net-zero targets to 169, representing $21.8 trillion. In total, the initiative has 291 investors, with 21 new investors joining at COP27.

 

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