Former UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres brings new urgency to the global climate conversation with a campaign to ensure greenhouse gas emissions begin rapidly declining by 2020.
On April 10th, 2017, a group of leading climate and business experts will identify the year 2020 as a game changing opportunity to turn the tide on the devastating impacts of carbon emissions.
Convened by Christiana Figueres – former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the group will meet today in London to encourage urgent action in the next three years. The aim is to protect the remaining window of opportunity to protect vulnerable populations from the worst impacts of climate change and safeguard the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Drawing on findings from a newly published report – “2020: The Climate Turning Point” – the campaign will highlight why the 2020 turning point is necessary, and importantly how it can be realistically achieved, thanks to exponentially growing climate action. The new report, a collaboration between Yale University, Carbon Tracker and Climate Action Tracker (a consortium of Ecofys, New Climate Institute and Climate Analytics), with a contribution by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, summarises the most up to date scientific basis for urgent action to reduce carbon emissions and provides a roadmap of action to 2020.
2020: The Climate Turning Point Report link: http://www.mission2020.global/2020TheClimateTurningPoint.pdf
What needs to happen by 2020?
In the next three years, businesses, investors and policy makers need to take bold, but achievable steps so that major milestones are reached by 2020. A wide range of sectors have a role to play so that by 2020:
- Energy: Renewables outcompete fossil fuels as new electricity sources worldwide.
- Transport: Zero emission transport is the preferred form of all new mobility in the world’s major cities and transport routes
- Infrastructure: Cities and states have established plans and are implementing policies and regulations with the aim to fully decarbonise infrastructure by 2050
- Land Use: Large-scale deforestation is replaced by large-scale land restoration and agriculture shifts to earth friendly practices
- Industry: Heavy industry – including iron & steel, cement, chemicals, and oil & gas – commits to being Paris compliant
- Finance: Investment in climate action is beyond USD $1trillion per year and all financial institutions have a disclosed transition strategy
You can watch the event here: https://youtu.be/7TQ4Prs
