{UAH} Fwd: Guterres's plea, lowering expectations, and aid's energy footprint

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From: "Devex @ COP24" <info@devex.com>
Date: 13 December 2018 08:17:09 GMT
To: georgeokello_8@hotmail.com
Subject: Guterres's plea, lowering expectations, and aid's energy footprint
Reply-To: <info@devex.com>

Here's what you need to know from COP24 in Poland.   Problems reading this email? Try opening the web version   Dzień dobry from Katowice, As we enter the final days of COP24, there's a long road ahead for more than 100 ministers and their staff to work through negotiations. The emotions in the conference center — a mix of anxiety, frustration over gridlock, and resolve — are palpable. On Wednesday, the Polish presidency of COP24 put out a draft of the rulebook, signaling a shift from the technical to the political — though none of the key issues have yet been resolved. The U.S., Australia, and Japan have found a shared goal in blocking progress on negotiations, according to civil society observers. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres attempted to infuse new energy into the talks, returning to Katowice from Marrakech to deliver a message of urgency to negotiators toiling through the details of the rulebook. In a show of force, a contingent of the #HighAmbitionCoalition — a group of more than 20 ministers — came together to call for stronger outcomes and binding decisions to meet the 1.5 degree climate target. Heading into the final days of climate talks, it remains to be seen whether this COP will culminate in a strong map for implementing the Paris Agreement with high levels of ambition, strong transparency standards, and financial support for developing countries — or if it will be a lost opportunity to respond to a ticking climate clock. We'll be back tomorrow with a final dispatch. — Team Devex (Michael Igoe, Andrew Green, and Kate Midden) WFP: CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HUMANITARIAN ISSUE Climate change and conflict are the two key drivers of increased global hunger. We caught up with Gernot Laganda, WFP's chief of climate and disaster risk reduction programmes, about what a warming planet means for food security: 1 MAJOR COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE NEUTRALITY Fourteen international organizations, including the OECD and African Development Bank, and 68 U.N. organizations have committed to measuring their greenhouse gas emissions, reducing them as much as possible, and compensating for unavoidable emissions with carbon credits. Here's the list: 1 SLEEPY THING Not-so-hidden among exhibitors booths, there's a glass box with a forest and hammock inside where approximately 1 in 18,000 tired COP attendees can nap in peace (and on display). INSTITUTIONAL UPDATE: MAKING THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND MORE USER FRIENDLY The Green Climate Fund has been contending with a number of internal crises: big donors backing out, an unexpected leadership resignation, and persistent complaints of bureaucracy impeding developing countries' access to climate finance. But times may be changing. Here's what we've heard about changes under consideration in at GCF: The institution will be considering changes during its upcoming February board meeting. GCF is weighing new processes that would streamline accreditation so that different applicants could have different requirements — an effort to ease the bureaucratic burden by making processes more specific to the applicant. It's also considering a new program — called Readiness 2.0 — that would provide assistance to accredited organizations that are trying to assist national ministries as they go through application process. Reporter Andrew Green talked to representatives from African countries who have been through the GCF accreditation process. They argue the "requirements do not reflect institutional and operational realities in least-developed countries," and they say proposed changes are much needed and could speed up climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in their countries.   Read more   1 BIG REPORT: DIRTY ENERGY POWERS AID AGENCIES Humanitarian agencies are often operating in some of the most resource-constrained areas in the world — but their efforts are often hard on the environment, according to a new research paper by Chatham House analyzing aid agencies' energy consumption in the field. The report — which surveyed Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Jordan — concluded that much of their energy sources classified as "dirty." Reporter Jenny Lei Ravelo has the story. Source: Moving Energy Initiative's Cost of Fueling Humanitarian Aid report. SMART READS The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest ice — a startling sign of what's to come Chris Mooney, Washington Post Developing nations welcome potential changes to GCF accreditation process Andrew Green, Devex Priorities for climate change action after COP 24 Todd Stern, David G. Victor, and Adrianna Pita, Brookings Institution Climate change talks lead to renewed pledge to cut emissions Fiona Harvey, Ben Doherty, and Jonathan Watts, The Guardian Africa on the front line of climate change: Q&A with Akinwumi Adesina Eva Donelli, Devex Dirty energy powers aid agencies, report finds Jenny Lei Ravelo, Devex Thank you for reading! Have thoughts, ideas, story pitches or feedback? Reach out to us at editor@devex.com.   ©Devex is the media platform for the global development community. 1341 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA +1.202.249.9222 info@devex.com | www.devex.com Manage my Devex newsletter subscriptions. Not interested? 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