Climate Week in a Climate Crisis
This is Climate Week NYC 2021. Ever heard of it? No me neither. But we shoud have.
Our First Minister Nicola Sturgeon mentioned it today (Monday) on a video on Twitter.
In this video our First Minister mentions she is proud to serve as European Co-chair of the Under2 Coalition.
The Under2 Coalition is a global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement.
It brings together 260 governments representing 1.75 billion people and 50% of the global economy.
Members of the coalition commit to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2°C with efforts to reach 1.5°C. 35 states and regions in the Coalition have committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
The Climate Group is the Secretariat to the Under2 Coalition and works with governments to accelerate climate action through three workstreams:
- Pathways
- Policy action
- Transparency
Climate Group is an international non-profit organisation founded in 2003, with offices in London, New York and New Delhi. Its mission is ‘to drive climate action. Fast.‘ With a goal for a world of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with greater prosperity for all.
Climate Group works ‘with leaders and decision makers from business and government because they shape the market frameworks that can help the world achieve net zero emissions by 2050. They have the tools and influence to make it possible in the time we have left.’
As well as being Secretariat to the Under2 Coalition, the largest network of states and regions globally committed to climate action, Climate Group also hosts the event referred to by Nicola Sturgeon, Climate Week NYC, ‘which annually brings together voices from across business, government and civil society to discuss and implement climate action now.’
Scotland’s First Minister is one of Under2’s five co-chairs who guide the direction of its policies. The five co-chairs are:
Co-chairs
Europe
Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister, Government of Scotland
Africa
Sihle Zikalala, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal
Asia-Pacific
Governor Yang Seung-jo, Governor of Chungnam Province
Latin America
Governor Francisco Domínguez Servién, Government of Querétaro
North America
Governor Gavin Newsom, Government of California
Innovation is a journey of discovery, bringing people, ideas and networks together to make things happen. You might not end where you intended to, but you will end somewhere, and most importantly, you will have moved. The lessons learnt are key to developing a sector as novel as hydrogen is, creating a knowledge economy that benefits future projects.
A case study on Orkney’s hydrogen economy, developed as part of the Under2 Coalition’s Industry Transition Platform, a project that has worked with governments from highly-industrialised regions to develop strategies to cut industry emissions while supporting growth, job creation and prosperity, can be downloaded here.
