Climate action is imperative. Faced with a global energy crisis, recurrent
weather shocks, and increasing food insecurity worldwide, it is time to
mobilize governments, businesses, and capital to help communities address
climate change and unleash solutions for people and the planet.
اضافة اعلان
The current climate reality is terrifying and must
propel us to act. Solutions are already here, it is a matter of galvanizing the
will to implement; we need to understand that acting to address climate change
is inevitable, and in the best interest of all global economies.
Climate Action 2.0 is straightforward and timely:
action, rather than words; actions that are commensurate with the problem and
that remove barriers to empowerment and prosperity for people.
Climate Action 2.0 must address climate change, and
in doing so, also tackle the immediate challenges that we face today.
Time has run out for solving problems in isolation.
At the global level, leaders need to move beyond sectoral approaches, and seek
cross-sectoral, integrated solutions. It is something most governments — let
alone industries — are not very good at, and that will take new and unusual
partnerships to happen.
The lack of urgency concerning financing climate
action today, and the failure of previous climate summits to agree on the
promised investment for climate mitigation and adaptation spurred us to call
for Climate Action 2.0.
There are examples of Climate Action 2.0. Norges
Bank Investment Management NBIM announced in September its climate plans for a
Climate Action 2.0 strategy. Acting with urgency, and with its $1.3 trillion in
assets, the fund announced its comprehensive 2025 climate action plan for all
companies in its portfolio.
… innovative climate solutions create real opportunities for people affected by climate change.
Another example of Climate Action 2.0 flourishes in
the Jordanian desert near Aqaba. Under the desert sun, the Sahara Forest
Project harnesses abundant solar energy and desalinates the waters of the Red
Sea to grow vegetables in the desert. Recognized in the latest IPCC report on
the mitigation of climate change, this regenerative agriculture concept holds
the promise of turning the Jordanian desert green and the Sinai Peninsula and
North African deserts into major food producers.
The Sahara Forest Project empowers Jordanian women
engineers, giving them training opportunities in a country where women
university graduates struggle to find relevant work in their field despite high
academic achievement. The project also works with UNHCR to train people fleeing
the conflict in Syria.
In both cases, this Climate Action 2.0 demonstrates
how innovative climate solutions create real opportunities for people affected
by climate change.
The Bellona Foundation and Pathfinder are currently
working together on Climate Action 2.0 to take work like the Sahara Forest
Project to scale. Action at scale integrating climate resiliency, food security
and women’s economic empowerment can occur at COP27. In fact, it must.
It would be
unconscionable for the global community to meet in Egypt — where the
encroaching desert presents a climate danger to the people who live on the
margin — and leave without taking decisive action.
Pathfinder’s
decades in Egypt tell us that if the global community does not act, women are
left to give birth, raise children, and try to provide for their families in
the harshest of circumstances.
The Bellona Foundation and Pathfinder are in Egypt
for the UN Climate Summit COP27, and will share how their unique partnerships
will harness the power of women in Africa to meet the dramatic climate
challenges they face every single day.
Frederic Hauge is the founder of Sahara Forest Project in
Jordan and president of The Bellona Foundation. Lois Quam is the CEO of
Pathfinder.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
Jordan News