Reflections on climate action 2021

So it’s 2021. Happy New Year! I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, but a new year provides as good as opportunity as any to take stock and look ahead – if not only as a result of time for reflection provided by a couple of days off. Without going deeper into the tragedy and havoc of the pandemic, I’d highlight three developments. First, how quickly the concept of green recovery took hold in 2020. I hesitated to use the hashtag in my first tweet back in March, thinking it inappropriate to highlight opportunity when the world was facing such challenges. But soon enough, green recovery and building back better was a key theme of many webinars and events. We must now continue our efforts to make best use of the USD 12 000 billion or so the IMF estimates that governments have allocated in fiscal measures to overcome the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. These massive investments provide an opportunity to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. If we take that opportunity, we could exit this crisis in an even better shape to take on the climate crisis.

Second, the increasing commitment to net-zero. In addition to the EU and countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, individual companies and groups of companies are committing to net-zero. In 2021, we will need to see those commitments being turned into action. Countries can manifest their measures in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but those in turn need to be implemented through legislative action and national budget processes to make a real difference in emission reductions and resilience. In the same vein, companies are developing their business models – not only because it’s the right thing to do, it’s what needed to stay competitive. The Fossilfree Sweden initiative continues to be an inspiration in that regard, having elaborated more than 20 roadmaps for sectors to become climate neutral by 2045 at the latest.

Third, the ever-increasing engagement for global climate action. From youth and civil society, to business and government administrations – including in the Swedish Government offices. The EU put the green and digital transformations at the heart of the multi-annual financial framework. The incoming US administration highlights climate action as one of its four priorities. The Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December, celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, brought together some 70 heads of state and government as well as business leaders to showcase efforts to cut emissions and build resilience. 2021 will continue to provide opportunities to showcase action, culminating at COP26 in Glasgow in November. With the UK chairing the G7 and Italy chairing the G20, expectations are high on the major emitters in particular to push ahead with emission reductions. At COP26, we can take stock of net-zero commitments and NDCs, the results of the five campaigns the incoming COP presidency is running to support climate action, as well as the efforts of non-state actors and the vast number of initiatives already established – including the Leadership group for industry transition. I’ll be keeping an eye out in particular for the initiatives in the financial sector, which are key to supporting efforts to cut emissions and build resilience. Parties to the Paris Agreement have committed to making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. Finally, we aim for an ambitious negotiated outcome at COP26 on issues on the formal agendas - such as article 6 and transparency.

As ever, it's time for climate action!