Clean Cooking Climate Action

Improving access to clean cooking is one of the most effective ways to improve public health, reduce carbon emissions, promote gender equity, and address longstanding environmental injustices – yet it remains chronically underinvested as a solution to these problems.

The?High-Level?Champions?have partnered with the?Clean Cooking Alliance?(CCA) to galvanize breakthroughs in this sector ahead of COP27 and help the entire African continent reap the benefits of access to clean cooking.

The use of greenhouse gas-emitting fuels in cooking, such as wood, charcoal, coal,?and kerosene, is responsible for the same share of global emissions as the shipping and aviation sectors, the CCA calculates.

That’s massive, and so are the impacts of these polluting cooking fuels, especially on the most vulnerable communities: over US$2.4 trillion of damage to the climate and local economies, and 3.2 million premature deaths per year linked to household air pollution, according to the?World Health Organization.

This pollution is linked to childhood pneumonia, chronic obstructive?pulmonary disorder, ischemic heart disease, stroke and lung cancer, low birthweight and stillbirths. Women and children bear the brunt of these impacts, as they spend more time cooking and in the house. Shifting to clean cooking can also cut potent manmade black carbon emissions worldwide, up to half of which come from household energy use.

So far, clean cooking solutions only draw tens of millions of US dollars in investment, a paltry amount considering that the?World Bank?estimates US$10 billion a year is needed by 2030 to achieve universal access.?

However, change is underway. More than 400 million people have gained access to clean cooking fuels and technologies since 2010, saving over 4.6 million lives from the health impacts of air pollution, according to the?CCA. The capital raised in the first half of this year is more than double what was reported in 2020, and clean cooking businesses such as?Circle Gas?and?KOKO Networks?are seeing strong customer growth in their African markets.?

The launch of?Spark+ Africa,?the?world’s first impact fund for clean cooking solutions, was also promising. As of March, it had drawn US$40 million from development finance institutions, foundations, family offices, and pension funds. The fund aims to raise US$70 million to finance companies providing clean cooking alternatives.?

Nearly 70 countries have already targeted clean cooking as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, according to the CCA. Kenya is aiming for universal access to clean cooking by 2028, two years ahead of schedule. Rwanda wants to ensure access to modern, efficient cookstoves for 80% of its rural population and half its urban population by 2030. Nepal is installing 500,000 clean cookstoves in rural areas by 2025 and transitioning a quarter of households to electric cooking by 2030.

At least another 30 countries with over 1 million people relying on intensive greenhouse gas emission fuels for cooking still need to prioritize clean cooking and partner with financial institutions to establish broader access to clean cooking, the CCA says.

By reducing the demand for firewood and encouraging new forest growth, clean cooking can address both nature loss and emissions reductions, while also improving health and women’s empowerment. It's imperative that countries and institutions align with nature-based finance to realize these vast potential gains.

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Catalyzing Adaptation Finance

We know we need a significant scale-up of public and private finance for adaptation to respond to changes already underway. That calls first of all for a concerted injection of public finance in countries, communities and projects that will otherwise struggle to attract private financiers looking for strong rates of return.

Public adaptation finance can help to de-risk and leverage private investments that are vital to protecting global business and economic security, and can form a foundation from which to build resilience. Early warning systems, for example, could better prepare smallholder farmers in Africa for extreme weather, thereby protecting coffee and cocoa crops exported by major food companies.

As of 2021, the gap in current and needed spending on adaptation to climate impacts was widening. Adaptation costs are estimated to reach US$280-500 billion per year by 2050 in developing countries, according to the?UN Environment Programme. As of 2020, public and private adaptation finance was around US$28 billion, according to the?OECD.

COP26 saw an encouraging show of support for public adaptation funding from developed countries. The UN’s Adaptation Fund received a?record-breaking US$356 million?in pledged contributions from 16 national and regional governments. Nine months after COP26, however, just over US$230 million of that remains outstanding – from Canada, the EU, Spain, the UK and the US, according to the Adaptation Fund.

There is no more time to lose. Countries need to deliver their pledged finance in time for Sharm El-Sheikh’s COP27 in November. In so doing, they will send a signal to private investors that adaptation is as necessary – and as attractive – an investment as mitigation and resilience, and support the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The?High-Level?Champions?are working to unlock climate finance by organizing a series of regional forums, Climate Initiatives to Finance Climate Action and the SDGs, in partnership with the Egyptian incoming-COP27 Presidency and UN Regional Commissions. The?first forum took place in Ethiopia?earlier this month; the second was held in?Thailand?this week.

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Africa Climate Week

The UNFCCC’s next Regional Climate Week – Africa – takes place in Libreville, Gabon from?29 August to 2 September. It aims to enhance regional collaboration in advancing climate action, addressing social inequalities and investing in sustainable and nature-positive development.

Africa Climate Week (ACW) 2022 will focus on issues including resilience to climate risks, the transition to a low-carbon economy, and partnerships on pressing challenges. The event is an opportunity to help advance a just, managed and financed transition, to address social inequalities, and to enhance livelihoods. The aim is to unlock, channel and scale finance for energy, infrastructure and nature.

The?High-Level?Champions?and Marrakech Partnership’s lineup of events will cover areas including unlocking climate finance for trade and industrialization in Africa, gender considerations in climate investment, and advancing climate-smart, nature-positive and nutritious food systems in Africa. They will also hold an Implementation Lab on sustainable waste management and a robust transition to inclusive circular economies and climate-resilient communities across Africa, plus a Marrakech Partnership Regionalization Workshop with a particular focus on the Global Stocktake.

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Welcome to the UNFCCC, Simon Stiell

The?High-Level?Champions?extend a warm welcome to Simon Stiell, who was?appointed?this month to be the new Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change secretariat.

Simon Stiell joins from the government of Grenada, where he served as a senior minister between 2013 and June, including serving as Minister for Climate Resilience and the Environment for five years.

The?High-Level?Champions?look forward to working with him to advance the global climate action agenda and accelerate the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.

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Keeping Up With The?Champions

• Mahmoud Mohieldin said at an?African Risk Capacity Group?event that Egypt’s COP27 Presidency is unique for integrating the regional and international dimensions of climate action and adoption of a more holistic approach.?
• Nigel Topping attended the Caribbean Regional Heads of Government Meeting in the Bahamas in preparation for COP27 and went out to?admire the wildlife.?
• Mahmoud Mohieldin spoke at the opening of the?National Initiative for Smart Green Projects?training programme in Egypt, for which winning projects will be showcased at COP27.?
• Nigel Topping spoke to LSEG’s Jane Goodland about the financial services sector’s role in the race to net zero.?Watch it?here.
• Egypt has named Mahmoud Mohieldin the jury chairman of the country’s?National Initiative for Smart Green Projects. The jury will select mega projects that support Egypt’s 2030 Vision and structural reform plan.?
• Nigel Topping spoke to Justin Keeble of Google Cloud about the formation of the Race to Zero, the role of technology, and how industries are collaborating to drive sustainable transformation.?Watch it?here.?
• “The whole world has not done enough to cope with climate change,” Nigel Topping?told Sky?News. The good?news?is that the path to a resilient zero-carbon future is the path to greater economic security, jobs, health and other benefits, he added.
• Mahmoud Mohieldin met the COP27 President’s youth envoy to discuss the?role of youth at COP27?in the lead up to the summit.?
• The?High-Level?Champions?have made the?second submission of inputs?to the Global Stocktake, to inform the second meeting of the technical dialogue taking place during COP27. With inputs from the?Marrakech Partnership?stakeholders and others, this submission provides a more granular look into how non-Party stakeholders are implementing the Paris Agreement. It highlights the emerging trends, progress and impact of their action and collaboration with national governments in the first half of 2022, with a particular focus on forward-looking opportunities that can help countries enhance their pledges, implement existing commitments and strengthen international cooperation.

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In Case You Missed It

• The second of the ‘Regional Finance Forums’ – convened in Bangkok by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Egypt and the?Champions?— discussed financing for 10 core climate projects across Asian and the Pacific totalling US $41.1 billion in investment. Listen to COP27 Designate President Sameh Shoukry address the event?here.
• Africa has so far drawn only 2% of global investments in renewables over two decades, and less than 3% of jobs, according to the?International Renewable Energy Agency. However, the continent has vast resource potential for wind, solar, hydro and geothermal, and abundant minerals to produce batteries, wind turbines and other clean technologies.
• Africa is estimated to need an average US$250 billion per year in public and private climate finance from 2020 to 2030 – far higher than the US$29.5 billion mobilized in 2020, according to the?Climate Policy Initiative.?
• Barbados is home to a new?humanitarian logistics hub?designed to enhance emergency preparedness and response across the Caribbean, set up by the UN World Food Programme, Barbadian government and Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.?
• McKinsey has created a hypothetical timeline of the road to net zero emissions across eight sectors, exploring the uneven changes in spending, output and job creation.?Check it out.
• Average temperatures in Europe in July were close to 0.4C above the average over the previous two decades, while temperatures from the Horn of Africa to southern India, central Asia and Australia were below average, according to the?World Meteorological Organization. Antarctic sea ice hit its lowest?level?on record, 7% below average.?
• Even relatively modest climate warming and associated precipitation shifts could dramatically alter the world’s northernmost forests – one of its biggest carbon sinks and intact forest ecosystems, according to a?University of Michigan study.?
• Climate change has already aggravated 58% of infectious diseases, made worse by impacts such as heat, drought, wildfires and rain, according to a study in?Nature Climate Change.?

For more?news?from across the Race to Resilience and Race to Zero communities, check out?climatechampions.unfccc.int?and?Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action | UNFCCC.

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Mark Your Calendars

• World Water Week: 23 August-1 September
• Regional Finance Forum in Bangkok, Thailand: 25 August
• Asia-Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok: 26 August?
• Africa Climate Week in Libreville, Gabon: 29 August-2 September
• Regional Finance Forum in Santiago, Chile: 1-2 September
• International Day of Clean Air for blue skies: 7 September
• Tipping Points: From Climate Crisis to Positive Transformation in Exeter, UK: 12-14 September
• UN General Assembly in New York, US: 13-27 September
• Regional Finance Forum in Beirut, Lebanon: 15 September
• Under2 Coalition General Assembly in New York: 19 September
• Uniting Business LIVE: 19-21 September
• Climate Week NYC: 19-25 September
• Towards COP27: UNECE Forum on Climate Initiatives in Geneva, Switzerland: 20 September
• Regional Finance Forum in Geneva, Switzerland: 20 September
• United Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and Resilience Forum: 21 September