Last night saw the UN Global Climate Action Awards winners celebrated at the Action Hub at COP26. It was the tenth edition of the awards and showcased the fact – despite the doom and gloom from some quarters – there is real climate action taking place around the world. So what did we learn from last night’s event?
Climate Investment is Increasing
The Finance for Climate Friendly Investment section of the awards showed just how important finance is in ensuring a net zero future. The good news is that more finance is available for climate action projects than ever before. Based in Nairobi, SunFunder provides debt financing for distributed solar across Africa and has closed more than $150 million in loans to 57 solar companies. In the West Bank and Gaza, International Finance Corporation supported the first two private sector investments in domestic power supply. The Global Innovation Lab For Climate Finance brings more than 70 expert institutions and investors from governments, the private sector, philanthropy and development finance. It then crowdsources and develops innovative finance instruments and business models in the climate finance sector.
This is a truly global effort
The climate crisis is a global one and the solutions we choose will need to be global as well. It is inspiring then to see the geographically diverse spread of this year’s winners. From Seattle to Paris, Mexico to Kenya, it’s clear that there are no borders to taking effective climate action.
Companies big and small are taking action
At first glance, there may not seem much in common between Taylors of Harrogate and Microsoft. One is an independent, family-run tea and coffee business, while the other is the second biggest company in the world by market capitalisation (worth around $2 trillion). Yet both companies are taking climate action seriously. Taylors of Harrogate became a carbon neutral business last year, and its carbon neutral product certification takes into account the entire supply chain, from ‘field to supermarket shelf.’ While Microsoft has been carbon neutral since 2012, it is now committed to removing (by 2050) all the carbon the company has generated (either directly or by electrical consumption), since it was founded in 1975.
Technology is making a difference
You can now support home solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa from anywhere in the world, thanks to Energise Africa, a UK-based crowdfunding platform. While technology has long been a great way to generate awareness of climate change, it is now being used to take action. So far, the platform has raised more than £25 million in investments from ordinary people who want to put their money into worthy, result-orientated projects.
We don’t have to wait for government action
The winners under the Climate Leaders category showed just what is possible from cities and regions. The City of Paris, the Danish island of Samsø, and The Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara all showcase how cities and regions can take the lead when it comes to real action. Paris adopted an ambitious climate plan in 2007, and as a result, reduced its emissions by 20 per cent between 2004 and 2018. It also aims to achieve zero emissions by 2050. The island of Samsø, has totally transformed its energy system, making a full transition from fossil fuels to renewables, and is now ‘energy positive,’ as it produces more renewable energy than it consumes. The Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara’s Climate Action Plan was launched last year and aims to create a carbon neutral, inclusive and climate resilient metropolis.
