The climate emergency is a direct consequence of carbon-heavy land-use and agriculture, transport, buildings and industrial processes and polluting energy sources. Without profound changes to these sectors and a drastic cut to carbon footprints, there is little hope of protecting the planet from the devastating effects of a warmer world.
Below are climate-related news and events from the United Nations and partners.
Assemble a team of 7 to 10 sustainability enthusiasts and register for the "My Sustainable Living Challenge" before 5 July 2024.
The challenge is a 6-week online gamified learning platform that channels learning towards behaviour change through actionable commitments.
On World Refugee Day, UNEP CCC are hosting a webinar on market creation strategies for solar e-cooking technologies in off-grid and displaced communities that ties in with the day’s theme and UNEP’s focus on climate and refugees.
The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 is the world’s largest standalone public opinion survey on climate change launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It serves as a platform for people to express their concerns and needs on climate change to world leaders.
See the survey results, including at the country level.
Four reports were launched on 11 June by experts convened by the UN, showing how action to tackle climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals can be accelerated by addressing both crises together, notably in the key areas of policy frameworks; financial systems; knowledge and data; and cities.
Under the umbrella title Seeking Synergy Solutions, the four thematic reports, spearheaded by the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergy, were launched at a special event at the climate meetings in Bonn, Germany, laying the groundwork for the 2024 global synthesis report on climate and SDG synergy, to be released in July. The Expert Group is co-convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), which co-hosted the launch, joined by the secretariats of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Read the Knowledge and Data report.
Read the Policy report.
Read the Finance report.
Read the Cities report.
The NDC Partnership & UNFCCC launch a tool to support countries in raising NDCs 3.0 ambition and accelerating implementation. Explore the interactive tool (NDC 3.0 Navigator) designed to support countries in raising NDCs 3.0 ambition and accelerating the implementation of the next round of NDCs to be submitted in early 2025. The Navigator was developed with technical inputs from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Resources Institute (WRI) and over 30 other partners.
The tool is launched in time for countries as they submit their revised contributions due in early 2025.
“We’ve taken modest steps forward here in Bonn,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “[But] too many items are still on the table . . . We’ve left ourselves with a very steep mountain to climb to achieve ambitious outcomes in Baku.”
Areas of progress in Bonn include:
Read more in this Press Release.
While cities are significant contributors to climate change due to their rapid growth and high emissions, they also serve as hubs for innovation and solutions. In fact, cities provide extensive opportunities for implementing sustainable practices and reducing GHG emissions.
Cities have a crucial role in anticipating and coping with climate challenges. By prioritizing increased climate investments, ambitious urban planning and robust policies, cities can play a pivotal role in translating global climate targets into locally achievable solutions.
At the 60th session of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, creating enabling environments for ambitious and implementable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 3.0 was a key priority.
Related to transport related NDCs, countries committed to boosting walking and cycling in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) can now count on two innovative tools recently launched by the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH) coalition, of which the UNEP Share the Road Programme is a founding member.
