Latest news with #climateaction
Sky News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Prince William has had a lot to say this week - but is anyone listening?
Prince William has had a lot to say this week, attending three events about the environment as part of London Climate Action Week and giving three speeches. But I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't really heard what he had to say. The eyes of the world have, understandably, been elsewhere. Conflict, not the climate crisis, has been the primary focus of world leaders and continues to be - a problem you could say for William and all those trying to whip up momentum ahead of COP30 in Brazil, with only four months to go until the UN's climate conference in November. It was William and his team who specifically convened a meeting at St James's Palace on Thursday with the Brazilian ministers in charge of the summit and indigenous leaders from other parts of the world. With Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, just a few seats away, William made a call to action, saying: "We've made bold commitments: to halt deforestation, restore ecosystems, and protect 30% of land, sea, and water by 2030. "But these goals will remain out of reach unless we move from promises to action - grounded in respect, equity, and shared responsibility. "Looking ahead to COP30 in Belem and beyond, we must act with greater ambition and deeper collaboration. This is a moment for courage." When I put it to a palace source that maybe it all feels a bit futile in the current climate, with attentions firmly elsewhere, I was told there is "no change in course" - the prince always has and will continue "to use his platform to spotlight the need to restore the planet". 1:16 In the past, we've been more used to his father being more vocal. The King's involvement in London Climate Week was more fleeting, albeit involving a handshake with a giant gorilla puppet, and a discussion with the Brazil delegation in which he hinted that he would love to attend the summit in November, saying: "It's fitting it all in." Attendance by either the King or the Prince of Wales hasn't been confirmed yet, although it's looking likely William will go. He told one person this week: "I'll be in the area", with his Earthshot Prize being held in Rio in the days running up to the climate conference. But in the coming months, we do now know that father and son will be meeting with one key player, who has certainly voiced very different views on the severity of the climate crisis. 0:56 This week, it was confirmed that Donald Trump's full state visit to the UK will go ahead later this year, likely in September. His potentially disruptive presence when it came to the climate debate was hinted at on Tuesday, in front of Prince William, during a speech by former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. Mr Bloomberg, a global adviser to Earthshot Prize, said: "There's a good reason to be optimistic, lots of problems around the world, America has not been doing its share lately to make things better, I don't think. Nevertheless, I'm very optimistic about the future." The King and Prince William have worked in this environmental sphere long enough to weather the frustrations of other distractions, a lack of interest or momentum. I'll never forget in 2015 ahead of COP21, when Islamic State and Syria were dominating the news agenda, Prince Charles told me very firmly that of course there was a link between the civil war in Syria and climate change. He said there was "very good evidence indeed that one of the major reasons for this horror in Syria was a drought that lasted for about five or six years, which meant that huge numbers of people in the end had to leave the land". "It's only in the last few years that the Pentagon have actually started to pay attention to this," he added at the time. "I mean, it has a huge impact on what is happening." But as a family, they know how much their global profile and ability to get people in the room can help attract attention that others simply can't. It's easy to be sniffy about that convening power, but as one delegate at an Earthshot event put it, they have an ability to "bring people together not around politics but purpose". And in a currently noisy, fractured world, it feels like that is needed more than ever.
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
London climate week receives boost as Trump policies weigh on New York event
LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - London's climate week attracted record attendance, bolstered by the cloud hanging over its sister event in New York in September as the U.S. government turns its back on efforts to stop global warming and tightens entry requirements. The annual London Climate Action Week (LCAW), which ends on Sunday, more than doubled in size compared to the 2024 edition, hosting 700-plus events and more than 45,000 attendees. That was helped by the UK's more robust stance on climate action and support for visitors from developing countries, two dozen business, political and civil society sources told Reuters. "We have gone much bigger on LCAW this year - we are hosting several events and putting considerably more effort (in) than in the past. If we do send someone to New York, it will almost certainly just be an American citizen member of our team," said Alexis McGivern, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Oxford Net Zero. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has left a global deal to lower climate-damaging carbon emissions, cut development aid, rowed back on environmental standards and moved to slash support for green technologies. By contrast, the British government was present across multiple events during LCAW, with energy secretary Ed Miliband saying he wanted Britain to be a "clean energy superpower" and to "get off the roller coaster of fossil fuel markets". Given the U.S. pushback, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a U.N. Indigenous Peoples representative and climate change expert, said London offered more freedom to discuss climate change, diversity and human rights. "You can talk frankly with the government of the UK or any government here in London without being afraid of how you get treated, or targeted," she said. Philanthropists and private investors, too, are able to speak more openly without being targeted politically, or risking damaging business interests, she said. "This year the New York Climate Week is going to be very challenging," she said. "Not only to indigenous peoples, but even to governments. There are so many barriers that are making people say, let's act now in London." Among steps taken in London was a push by governments for indigenous peoples' land rights to be better protected and a plan to encourage companies to buy more carbon credits. Chief among the concerns about New York, particularly for civil society representatives, was whether they could even get in. This month, the U.S. banned travellers from countries including Afghanistan, Congo Republic and Somalia - many exposed to rising extreme weather events and in need of the most help - and may yet add more. Ibrahim, whose home country Chad is also on the list, said she would travel using her diplomatic passport but was uncertain if she would be allowed in - a concern flagged by half a dozen other LCAW attendees. Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group, which runs New York Climate Week, said she understood it would be harder for participants from certain countries to attend but that many businesses, governments and civil society were planning to come and were "super up for New York." "NYCW is shaping up similar to other years," she said. "This is a critical moment before COP." COP30 will take place in Brazil in November.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Climate Events Fight for Attention Amid Global Conflicts
This week major climate events in Bonn and London were held as military conflicts escalated across the Middle East. Today's newsletter looks at how delegates maintained focus on the continuing threat of global warming amid wars and other geopolitical distractions. For unlimited access to climate and energy news, please subscribe. By John Ainger
News24
a day ago
- Business
- News24
Armageddon or beacon of hope: What would South Africa look like in 2100?
Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank's Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs There is no doubt that South Africa faces serious environmental and climate risks, but often the severity or urgency of the problem doesn't quite hit home. The poorest communities, many of whom are already faced with dire circumstances such as no access to clean water, will suffer the brunt of inaction. And so, to bring home just how pressing the situation is, Nedbank asked an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to imagine what South Africa would look like in 2100 if we do not meet the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The outcome is, frankly, terrifying. Severe water shortages, economic instability, a deeply unbalanced ecosystem, and ruin. However, there is a method to the madness of invoking such a bleak future. The activity, part of Nedbank's Purpose Storytelling initiative, is an explicit call to action. We haven't yet missed the UN SDGs. We may not be tracking exceedingly well, but if we take urgent, collective action and meet these goals, the future imagined is vastly different: A vibrant country with water and food security, abundant renewable energy, and economic inclusion that fosters educational excellence and innovation. We are at the point in history where action, or inaction, puts us on a path to 1 of these 2 future states. Sustainability has been part of Nedbank's DNA for decades. It is fundamental to what we do, how we innovate, how we envisage financing, and how we partner because of 1 simple truth: A sustainable bank needs a sustainable Africa, and a sustainable economy needs a sustainable country. Our futures are intricately intertwined with the myriad of ecological systems that breathe life into our existence. At this juncture, it is important to reframe the UN SDGs not just as targets, but as a survival, and ultimately, a prosperity framework. While the future may well see water become akin to currency, in many ways it already is in South Africa. Our water infrastructure is crippling, and a history of skewed development means many communities are already experiencing systemic collapse. At the bank, we understand that the challenge ahead is no small task. As such, we are passionate that systemic transformation requires local innovation. This is simply not possible without genuine, purpose-driven partnerships that enable community-driven solutions, which are far more effective than top-down approaches. Experience has shown that a deep understanding of local context and tapping into local expertise and knowledge are critical to sustainable innovation. We passionately believe that partnerships between financial institutions, communities, and environmental organisations are essential in the giant wheel of achieving the UN SDGs and realising a bright, hopeful future. This all sounds great. But it is important that commitment to sustainability extends beyond rhetoric. At Nedbank, we hold ourselves accountable to action with significant investments in transformative initiatives that address critical environmental and social challenges. There are 2 key projects – Kusini Water and the uMzimvubu Catchment Partnership (UCP) – that are a direct result of a deliberate decision to take a hands-on approach to building the future we want to see. Water scarcity threatens not only the lives of millions of people currently, but also presents a nightmarish future as envisioned by AI's 2100 model. This is precisely why Nedbank has supported Kusini Water, which is revolutionising water access through cutting-edge technology and community-driven solutions. Founded by Murendeni Mafumo, Kusini Water provides sustainable, safe water to underserved communities. Through support from the bank, the organisation has been able to expand its reach, deploying solar-powered filtration systems that harness nanotechnology to purify water efficiently and sustainably. And one of the most exciting spinoffs of clean, running water is the economic activity that follows. The project has already produced 1 508 kilolitres of water, supported over 80 enterprises, and upskilled 200 individuals, creating employment opportunities. This is precisely how localised interventions build long-term sustainability. Securing water access is critical, but protecting natural water sources is equally important. Another initiative is the UCP, which is in collaboration with WWF and local stakeholders. The UCP is working to restore one of South Africa's most vital river systems. The degradation of water catchment areas threatens both biodiversity and community livelihoods. By restoring ecosystems and promoting sustainable land management, we can safeguard water security for local communities and downstream economies. With Nedbank's investment in this initiative, degraded landscapes in the Eastern Cape are being restored, improving water quality, enhancing biodiversity, and securing livelihoods for local communities. The programme has successfully protected 45 natural springs, supplying clean and reliable water to over 42 000 people, while integrating sustainable farming and rangeland management practices to create economic opportunities. As important as these initiatives are, they are but a drop in the ocean. This is a clarion call to other corporates, stakeholders, and individuals to join in the efforts of achieving the UN SDGs. The task at hand may seem gargantuan. It certainly won't be easy or quick, but there is no way around it. We have to act now. We can start imperfectly, but it is important that everyone who hasn't yet started join us now. Nedbank's YouthX Top 10 winner, Ngangelizwe Mathunjwa, founder of Aero Greens, an agritech startup using sustainable and soil-less vertical farming to reduce water use, encouraged delegates at the launch to find people who share the same vision. His call is for us to focus on solving real problems for real people. As a bank, we appreciate the importance of developing financial literacy in all the communities we serve, and to continue partnering with purpose-driven organisations to create collaborative and innovative funding models that can drive real change. Sustainability is not a distant goal but an urgent, collaborative redesign of how we interact with our environment and each other. We have not missed the goals – but we must act now to ensure that the South Africa of 2100 is a place we want our children and grandchildren to live in.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Reframing Climate Action: From Managing Risk To Building Resilience
TOPSHOT - Waves break over a sea wall at Cape Town harbour on June 7, 2017, as an intense storm hits ... More South Africa's west coast. - The ferocious storm killed eight people as it pummelled South Africa's west coast on Wednesday, forcing the closure of Cape Town harbour, triggering flash floods and causing extensive damage, authorities said. The weather system which struck on June 6 has damaged buildings, felled trees, left 46,000 homes without electricity and caused travel chaos as flights and rail services were hit by gale-force winds and flooding. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images) For decades, efforts across the climate, conservation and development spheres have shared a common aim: to protect people and ecosystems from harm. Over time, as environmental understanding advanced and financial markets became more engaged, risk management has emerged as a dominant framework shaping decisions. Risk proved appealing because it could be measured. Financial actors could quantify, price, hedge, insure, or "de-risk" it to attract private capital. From microinsurance pilots to sovereign catastrophe bonds, risk became the operative language of climate action. Policymakers and institutions built models, systems, and instruments, like early warning networks and climate bonds, around the logic of reducing or transferring risk. But this framing is increasingly inadequate. As the world faces cascading climate, geopolitical, health, and economic shocks, managing risk alone is no longer enough. Nowhere is this more evident than in adaptation, where the gap between needs and funding is starkest. The shift required is clear: resilience, not risk avoidance, must become the organizing principle. From Morality to Markets to Resilience More recently, the dominant framing has shifted toward financial risk and market efficiency, turning climate risk into something to price and disclose, fueling ESG based indices and green bonds. While these tools mobilized capital, they have largely prioritized large-scale mitigation over local adaptation. Resilience now offers a necessary correction to a system overly focused on the avoidance of risk rather than regeneration. It's not a soft add-on but a central strategy for stability and prosperity. Community-driven, locally led adaptation has proven more effective and durable, rooted in lived experience and local knowledge. Yet these initiatives remain sidelined and underfunded by conventional finance models. 'We fundamentally need to change the narrative from aid to empowering people, families, communities and small firms everywhere… to make the decisions for themselves and to get access to the funding they need to make those decisions,' said Sophie Sirtaine, CEO of CGAP, at the launch of Unlocking Critical Finance for Climate and Economic Resilience, a report by The Earthshot Prize with contributions from CGAP and supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and CGAP. Today's climate finance system focuses heavily on minimizing downside risk, especially for investors. This often results in shifting risk from the private sector to public actors, rather than addressing underlying vulnerabilities. In adaptation finance, this contradiction is sharp: while mitigation absorbs the majority of global climate capital, adaptation receives just 10%, and less than 17% of that reaches the local level. 'Communities most vulnerable to climate impacts are often the least economically secure, and yet remain largely overlooked by private and commercial capital,' said Mehmaz Ghojeh, head of strategic partnerships at Earthshot. Financial norms that emphasize scalability, formal structures, and returns filter out many high-impact, locally led solutions. Even when these efforts are funded, they are often forced to fit into mitigation-style models that overlook their broader public benefits. Despite their impact, investments in resilience, from disaster preparedness to ecosystem restoration, receive no credit in financial ratings or capital markets. As Guido Schmidt-Traub, partner at Systemiq and advisor to Brazil's COP30 presidency, asked at a London Climate Week event on the triple dividend of resilience: 'Why does climate risk lower a country's credit rating, but resilience investment doesn't improve it?' The Unlocking Critical Finance report draws on more than 2,200 innovations nominated to The Earthshot Prize, distilling lessons from a diverse range of locally led, commercially viable, and socially inclusive solutions. One example is Coast 4C in the Philippines, which helps seaweed farmers increase yields while restoring degraded marine ecosystems. The program protects over 5,800 hectares of coastline, cuts 11,200 tonnes of CO₂e annually, and supports nearly 9,000 people—82% of them women—with increased income and access to finance. These are not edge cases but viable models. What unites them is not scale or profitability but local agency, ownership, design, and delivery by the communities who understand the challenges best. As Ghojeh makes clear: 'This is just one of many examples showing that locally-led and commercially viable models are already transforming climate-vulnerable economies.' 'Many of these solutions are led by micro and small enterprises in climate-vulnerable economies, who understand the challenges deeply,' added Payal Dalal, Executive Vice President at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Perhaps the greatest flaw in the risk narrative is its portrayal of vulnerable communities as passive recipients of aid. A resilience approach instead sees them as active protagonists, designing, implementing, and scaling solutions that suit their context. It is increasingly clear that effective adaptation won't scale through traditional government programs or risk-averse financial systems. 'We are still asking how to survive the next crisis. But the real question is, how do we thrive despite it?' said Schmidt-Traub. To truly reframe climate action, we must ask not only 'What could go wrong?' but 'What must go right for people to flourish?' Building a Resilience-Centered Future As Ghojeh points out the solutions already exist, from Coast 4C and Frontier Markets in India to RISCO's digital climate risk tools. What's missing is a system that can identify, fund, and scale them. That requires moving beyond ESG checklists and adopting tools that value long-term resilience outcomes. It means supporting intermediaries that bridge global capital and local innovators. We need financing tools fit for vulnerable contexts, ones that work where traditional systems fail. As Ghojeh puts it: 'The innovations exist. The capital exists. Now is the time to connect the two and scale the solutions that are already building a better future.' The economic rationale is compelling. According to recent research from the World Resources Institue, every $1 invested in resilience could generate 10x return, from avoided losses to increased productivity and social stability. Locally led adaptation delivers what experts call 'triple dividends': reduced climate risk, economic returns, and broader development gains. Achieving that future demands more than new metrics, it requires a mindset shift. One that puts resilience, not risk, at the heart of how we act, invest, and govern.
