John,
Last week in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Mike joined heads-of-state, business leaders, youth climate activists, and others for the latest UN Climate Conference, COP27.
After the commitments made last year at COP26 in Glasgow, the focus at COP27 was on transforming climate ambitions and goals into real progress. Mike arrived with five top priorities:
🌎 The global energy transition
🌎 Local climate solutions
🌎 Combating air pollution
🌎 Mobilizing climate finance
🌎 Protecting the ocean
Check out highlights from COP27 below and see how the announcements and initiatives delivered on Mike's priorities.
Take a moment to watch highlights from Mike and the Bloomberg Philanthropies team at COP27.
🔋 The Global Energy Transition
Standing with leaders from across Africa, Mike and Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris outlined plans for Bloomberg Philanthropies' partnership to support developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as they accelerate the phaseout of coal plants, develop pathways to net-zero, and speed the deployment of clean energy.
🏛️ Local Climate Solutions️
Going Beyond 50 with Bottom-Up Climate Action | The U.S. has pledged to reduce climate emissions 50 percent by 2030, and the historic climate investments signed into law this year are projected to get us most -- but not all -- of the way there. A new report from America is All In, announced at COP27, showed that bottom-up actions from cities, states, and other subnational actors can help us reach -- and even surpass -- those carbon goals.
Federal Leadership to Support Subnational Solutions | At the U.S. Climate Action Center, Mike and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced the creation of SCALE, the Subnational Climate Action Leaders Exchange. The initiative will provide true federal partnership, giving cities, states, and regions new opportunities to lead the world into a resilient, net-zero future.
Mike's Op-Ed: We Can't Wait for National Governments | Mike joined Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, to write about the critical need for action beyond federal governments. "If we are to stave off ever-worsening climate impact, everything points to the need for immediate and radically faster action," they wrote. "But to do this, we need to empower the groups best positioned to lead the way: cities, businesses and other local organizations -- our subnational actors."
🍃 Combating Air Pollution
The Climate Innovation and Development Fund, a collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies, Goldman Sachs, and the Asian Development Bank, announced the completion of the Fund's first investments, which will support sustainable transport in India and Vietnam.
Watch a video on the Fund's investment in sustainable transport in India
In Vietnam, the Fund's investments will help build 140 electric buses and 150,000 charging ports, and in India they will replace 255 diesel buses with electric buses in the 25 highest-traffic cities. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, creating jobs, and lowering costs for cities, these investments will also help cut unhealthy air pollution from transport systems that serve millions of people each year.
💸 Mobilizing Climate Finance
Mike's Op-Ed: Climate Data Can Unleash Massive New Green Investments | Responding to the climate crisis will require enormous amounts of new public and private capital to finance clean energy projects. The good news: "Through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, more than 550 firms in some 50 countries have committed to cutting emissions across their portfolios to net zero." The bad news: "But they often don't have the data they need to fulfill those commitments." Read Mike's full op-ed to see how accurate, accessible data can help drive critical climate investments.
Opportunities to Finance Climate Action in Africa | Mike stopped by the inaugural meeting of the Global Financial Alliance for Net Zero Africa Network Advisory Board, where African leaders in climate, development, and finance shared thoughts on ways the Network can mobilize finance across the continent.
Developing Infrastructure for Carbon Markets | Voluntary carbon markets need to grow more than 15-fold by 2030 to support the investment required to deliver a 1.5-degree pathway, but they currently lack crucial infrastructure that underpins traditional financial markets. In partnership with Three Cairns Group, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a new initiative to form the Global Carbon Trust and the Carbon Storage Governing Council -- organizations that will drive innovation and transparency needed to mobilize investment in voluntary carbon markets.
🌊 Protecting the Ocean
On the first day of COP27, presidents and ministers from Palau, Nigeria, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States affirmed their support for the 30×30 target, which commits countries to a global effort to protect at least thirty percent of the planet's land and ocean by 2030. More than 110 countries are now engaged in the effort to curb biodiversity loss and ensure that the ocean remains a valuable asset in the fight against climate change.
Check out our Bloomberg at COP27 page for more on the work happening to transform our climate ambitions into real climate actions:
https://www.bloomberg.org/cop27/
Thanks,
Bloomberg Philanthropies
