No-reprieve-November
Zero-point Partners
An advisory and project management firm focused on enabling the transition to a sustainable economy.
Welcome to the ninth edition of The Green Guild, Zero-Point Partners’ newsletter, where you get a quick rundown of how the earth is doing.
November Round-up: How’s the Earth doing?
The Local Edit
Azad Kashmir school named Best Global School in South Asia, wins prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize. A Pakistani school won the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize of USD 100,000 against finalists from Bangladesh and India at COP 28 in the UAE. The prize was secured by KORT Education, a project of the Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust, for its innovative take on organic farming and water conservation. The Zayed Sustainability Prize is awarded to non-profit organizations, small & medium enterprises and high schools that address climate-related food, water, energy and health challenges.
PM labels Pakistan’s water woes key component of country’s climate challenge. The interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, highlighted Pakistan’s water challenge at COP 28 at an event organized by the Living Indus Initiative which works to restore the Indus river’s ecological health. The minister noted that this undertaking requires investment ranging from USD 11-17 billion over the next 15 years. He remarked that funds?would be mobilized through a combination of the public and private sector sources.
Government of Pakistan reveals National Climate Finance Strategy to scale climate finance. The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has rolled out a National Climate Finance Strategy (NCFS) under the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP).? The strategy has been developed to identify sectoral priorities, increase flow of climate-dedicated funds within the country, and leverage private sector engagement and carbon markets. A Sustainable Finance Bureau (SFB) has also been established to ‘revolutionize’ climate finance within the country. The bureau will play a key role in reorienting the project portfolio of the Public Sector Development Program towards sustainable finance.
Pakistani ride hailing company becomes first to introduce electric vehicles in the industry. Indrive, a popular ride hailing company in Pakistan, made history this month through incorporation of electric vehicles in its fleet. The company has collaborated with electric vehicle manufacturer Vlektra, marking a notable development in the country’s transportation sector. This sustainable mobility initiative aims to mitigate emissions and promote environment-friendly transportation options.
World Bank report highlights eight out of 10 of Pakistan’s population concerned about impacts of climate change. A recent World Bank report, titled Climate Silence in Pakistan, shed light on the growing concern for climate change among Pakistanis. The study discusses gender disparities in climate-related unease by noting that females are more concerned in comparison to men, especially about climate-related impacts on children. The report also stated that relatively educated individuals were more worried about climate change, and that less educated people were distrustful of climate-related information. However, less than a quarter of the surveyed individuals ranked climate change among top 3 pressing issues for the country.
Water and tech fair in connection to Pakistan Water Week commences. A two-day water and technology fair was inaugurated on 7 December by Ahmad Irfan Aslam, the interim Minister for Water Resources. The event, organized by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), in collaboration with IWMI Pakistan, UNICEF and other organizations, is being held in Islamabad. The fair will address critical issues and obstacles relating to Pakistan's water resources.?
Efforts for Last Mile Polio Eradication and development of Climate Resilient Health Systems in the country. The Agence Fran?aise de Développement (AFD)? along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced?funding commitments for implementation of the Paris Pact principles. Funding instruments will include a EUR 55 million concessional loan and a EUR 20 million principal buy-down from the Gates Foundation. The partnership will assist Pakistani health institutions and the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative in eradicating polio across the country by 2026. Furthermore, this project will? contribute to achieving sustainable health within the country and?will enhance the nation’s efforts in developing a climate resilient health system.?
The Global Edit
UAE Launches $30 Billion Climate Fund. The government of the UAE announced the launch of ALTéRRA at COP28. ALTéRRA is a new investment platform aimed at driving private capital towards climate investments as well as improving access to climate finance in emerging markets, especially in the Global South. The fund has committed USD 30 billion to climate action and?its launch partners include BlackRock, Brookfield and TPG. It will employ a two-pronged structure, including ALTéRRA ACCELERATION,?a USD 25 billion component that will serve as an anchor investor and co-investor in climate strategies to help steer institutional capital towards climate investments, and ALTéRRA TRANSFORMATION, a USD 5 billion component providing risk capital to incentivize capital flows into the Global South and to leverage concessional finance to attract climate investments to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
HSBC, Standard Chartered, other Major Banks Exit SBTi. Several major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Societe Generale and ABN AMRO have chosen to exit the process of seeking Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation of their climate targets. Their departure came ahead of the SBTi's launch of a new standard to assess financial institutions’ net zero goals, with criteria including strict limitations on fossil fuel financing. While a report from Reuters stated that the banks’ decisions were based on “concerns (that such limitations) could hinder their ability to continue financing fossil fuels,” some banks indicated that the SBTi requirements would prevent them from interacting with clients in less developed markets that are currently dependent on fossil fuels for their energy needs.?
Over 4% of Global GDP at Risk from Climate Change by 2050, S&P Warns. A report on?“Lost GDP: Potential Impacts Of Physical Climate Risks” by S&P Global noted that, under a “slow transition” scenario in which temperature increase is anticipated to reach 2.1°C by 2050, up to 4.4% of the world’s GDP could be lost annually. In the absence of adaptation measures, approximately 60% of this loss will be caused by water stress and extreme heat. According to the report,? South Asia has the greatest exposure to climate change, with approximately 12% of GDP at risk annually by 2050, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA), each with 8% of GDP at risk, while GDP at risk in North America and Europe is under 2%. Since most adaptation finance is provided in the form of debt instruments, as interest rates rise, access to fund adaptation measures may also become increasingly difficult.
Events to Enhance the Environment – EEE
Local Calendar
Global Calendar
Our Efforts
We've been busy this month! Our team members participated in the following events in November:
Green your socials!
We recommend following these local environmental experts this month:
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