SWAY from Year 10: Global Citizenship Climate Focus

Extracts from Lower 5 Habs Girls SWAY Project.

During the opening speeches of COP26 the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, Ms Patricia Espinosa said “We stand at a pivotal point in history. Humanity faces several stark but clear choices. We either choose to achieve rapid and large-scale reductions of emissions to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C - or we accept that humanity faces a bleak future on this planet. We either choose to boost adaptation efforts to deal with current extreme weather disasters and build resilience to address future impacts - or we accept that more people will die, more families will suffer, and more economic harm will follow. We either choose to recognize that business as usual isn’t worth the devastating price we’re paying and make the necessary transition to a more sustainable future - or we accept that we’re investing in our own extinction. It is about much more than environment, it is about peace, stability and the institutions we have built to promote the wellbeing of all. It is for these reasons and more that we must make progress here in Glasgow.” COP 26 Speeches and statements | UNFCCC

As a community here at Habs we must continue in our efforts to support our fellow citizens of the world in the fight against climate change and the devastating impacts associated. Following on from a SWAY completed by Year 10 in 2021, this successive SWAY focuses on the response to climate change, looking at a country level and by individual actions.

Defend the Planet - Global Citizen

Sunday 26 September 2021

The Global Citizen campaign to defend the planet and defeat poverty marked a major milestone at Global Citizen’s 24-hour global broadcast, Global Citizen Live on Saturday 25 September, during which key commitments were announced through the hard work of many partner organizations.

Global Citizen Live represents a call to action to end extreme poverty and build momentum ahead of the G20 Summit in October and UN Climate Conference, COP26, in November.

The campaign calls on world leaders, businesses, and philanthropists to urgently commit resources to: meet the $15-20 billion funding shortfall of the $100 billion promised annually to the most vulnerable countries confronting climate change; businesses to help curb emissions through joining the Race to Zero campaign and pledging 1 billion additional trees by 2022 in support of the 1t.org ambition to conserve, restore, and grow 1 trillion trees this decade; $6 billion to provide food to 41 million people facing famine; 2 billion Covid 19 vaccines to be redistributed to low-income countries by early 2022; and for Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna to share mRNA technology with the WHO-backed Africa mRNA vaccine hub.

CLICK ON THE LINK Defend the Planet - Global Citizen - How can we defend our planet?

Read about the work of Global Citizenship and sign up to be part of the movement!

Not only is the annual COP the moment for stakeholders across the world to collectively grapple with the climate crisis, but this particular COP comes at an especially critical time. Climate has risen to the top of the global agenda, with the UN SecretaryGeneral calling the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change a “code red for humanity.”

Given the devastating climate impacts we have seen in 2021 from drought and wildfires to severe flooding and rising sea levels countries need to decisively ramp up their climate abatement ambition. Furthermore, this COP represents a deadline for countries to submit new and enhanced nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for 2030 - the pledges countries put forward every five years under the Paris Agreement. A successful COP 26, marked by strong country commitments, will be critical to keep within reach the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial temperatures.

COP 26 Explained: What to Know About the UN Climate Change Conference (unfoundation.org)

Research released during the conference shows that the plans countries have laid out so far for reducing emissions (known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs) still add up to a terrifying 2.4C of temperature rise by the end of the century.

We are now at 1.1 degrees of warming. Crossing the 2 degrees threshold is enough to put over 1 billion people under extreme heat stress; bleach over 99% of coral reefs: double the extinction of plant species and intensify the melting of sea ice in summer by 10 times, fueling up to 6 metres of sea level rise in vulnerable parts of the world. The Maldives Environment Minister, Aminath Shauna stated it baldly in the final plenary

“The difference between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees, for us, really is a death sentence.” Theoretically at least, ‘1.5 is still alive’ after the negotiations. An agreement made in Glasgow - known as the Glasgow Climate Pact - requests that countries “revisit and strengthen” their climate pledges by the end of 2022. This may seem like a thin victory, but it wasn’t a given before the conference started, and it puts diplomatic pressure on governments to strengthen their plans over the next year.

As the Secretary-General of the United Nations put it during the negotiations, if 1.5 is still alive, it’s on life support. Changing the political, social and economic priorities of governments around the world to refocus on new, ambitious plans for COP27 to reduce emissions as fast as possible would be - will be - a momentous task.

A project to build a giant island providing enough energy for three million households has been given the green light by Denmark’s politicians.

The world’s first energy island will be as big as 18 football pitches (120,000sq m), but there are hopes to make it three times that size. It will serve as a hub for 200 giant offshore wind turbines. It is the biggest construction project in Danish history, costing an estimated 210bn kroner (£24bn; €28bn: $34bn). Situated 80km (50 miles) out to sea, the artificial island would be at least half-owned by the state but partly by the private sector. It will not just supply electricity for Danes but for other, neighbouring countries’ electricity grids too. Although those countries have not yet been detailed, Prof Jacob Ostergaard of the Technical University of Denmark told the BBC that the UK could benefit, as well as Germany or the Netherlands. Green hydrogen would also be provided for use in shipping, aviation, industry and heavy transport. Under Denmark’s Climate Act, the country has committed to an ambitious 70% reduction in 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and to becoming CO2 neutral by 2050. Last December it announced it was ending all new

oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

Protein feed: Insects to replace imports (fleischwirtschaft.de)

DENMARK, Copenhagen. With protein feed based on insects, Denmark wants to avoid some of its soy imports in the future and thus contribute to environmental and climate protection. Now that the European Union has approved protein from insects for feeding monogastric animals, a research group is to explore practical ways of using this innovative protein source by 2024 as part of the Danish Agriculture Authority’s development and demonstration program. The authority reported that initial trials on pigs and poultry have shown that, under realistic assumptions, up to 10% of the approximately 1.5 mill. t of annual soybean imports could be substituted with insect protein. However, this would require a significant expansion of existing production capacity.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/topocean-experts-tell-radio-davos-their-hopes-forcop26-climate-talks/

Thunberg began a global movement by skipping school: starting in August 2018, she spent her days camped out in front of the Swedish Parliament, holding a sign painted in black letters on a white background that read Skolstrejk för klimatet: “School Strike for Climate.” In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the UN, met with the Pope, sparred with the President of the United States and inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on Friday 20 September 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history. Her image has been celebrated in murals and Halloween costumes, and her name has been attached to everything from bike shares to beetles. Margaret Atwood compared her to Joan of Arc. After noticing a hundredfold increase in its usage, lexicographers at Collins Dictionary named Thunberg’s pioneering idea, climate strike, the word of the year.

Greta Thunberg: TIME’s Person of the Year 2019 | Time

Background to the UNFCC

How we live and work together in communities and cities can have a huge impact in tackling climate change. Energy efficient buildings, low carbon public transport and encouraging cycling and walking are essential to cutting CO2 emissions. Greening cities with parks and gardens reduces CO2 and helps cool urban areas and reduce flooding. Thinking and acting at a local level helps communities fight climate change and build resilience to climate impacts