Yearbook, pathway documents unveiled at COP25

Two publications were presented at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid this week that shine a light on current climate action and lay down pathways to climate neutrality by mid-century, required to meet the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The reports are part of the work of UN Climate Change with experts and civil society groups.

At a special event, titled What We Are Doing and What We Need to Do, speakers from various sectors summed up where we are on climate action and gave their views on a way forward.

High-Level Climate Champion Gonzalo Muñoz said that those engaged in the international response to climate change must work harder to connect with the “concrete needs” of people on the ground.

“Success in meeting the climate crisis is about collaboration, about interaction with different people that sometimes feel apart, but when they see a common goal they can achieve magic,” he said.

“We are in the midst of a climate crisis,” said Martin Frick, Senior Director for Policy and Programme Coordination, UN Climate Change, who expressed cause for hope in an awakening that he sees happening among the investment community, “where finally environmental action is moving from corporate social responsibility to the core business; and, it has to be the core business.”

Yearbook and the Pathway Documents are Comprehensive References for Delegates at COP25

The Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2019  takes stock, highlighting climate action success stories and the need for conditions conducive to stepped up climate action, while the Climate Action Pathways suggest transformational actions and milestones towards neutrality in key areas, such as energy, industry, transport, human settlements, water, land use, and resilience to the inevitable effects of climate change. The documents were developed in a collaborative effort with the coalitions and initiatives of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, under the leadership of the High-Level Champions.

“The bottom line is that active participation by all of us—governments, businesses, investors, regions and more—is needed if we are to overcome the climate emergency we currently face,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa.

The 2019 Yearbook and the Pathway documents are comprehensive references for delegates at COP25. They are tools for all those looking for ways to incentivize climate-friendly action and draw economies and people towards ambitious climate action.

The documents will be integrated throughout the events of the Marrakech Partnership in Madrid.

“The goals are set, the science is clear, tools are there, and needed actions are defined—let’s all work together in a holistic and integrated manner to make the required changes happen,” said the High-Level Champions.

Complementing the Yearbook and Pathways documents, there is another key knowledge product available for policymakers and the public, the Global Climate Action Portal (NAZCA), which records and recognizes climate action from a diverse range of stakeholders. Altogether, they show climate action and how climate action can be undertaken to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.

“Our choices matter. Climate-thoughtful choices add up to meaningful levels of ambition, especially when markets and policymakers recognize these actions and reflect them in products, policy and programmes,” said Ms. Espinosa.

The Yearbook makes clear that all actors – government and non-governmental, public and private – need to urgently step up the pace of action if the world is to achieve the Paris targets and avoid the worst effects of climate change. The Yearbook calls on governments to:  Increase implementation across all thematic areas to realize multiple benefits; create the conditions needed for non-Party action; continue and strengthen the Global Climate Action agenda within the UNFCCC process post- 2020; align finance flows with finance needs, and; strengthen the completeness and robustness of the reporting of results from climate action.

The Climate Action Pathways chart the longer-term sectoral vision for a 1.5-degree climate-resilient world and sets out actions needed to achieve that future. The Pathways, which will be updated and added to over time, present a forward-looking concrete roadmap and actions from 2020 to 2050 for different actors towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Together, these tools aim to help catalyse climate action and support Parties to enhance ambition through collaboration with non-Party stakeholders.