Sharing country experiences (parallel sessions) - Scaling up momentum
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
UN City Copenhagen
Official meeting
Interactive discussions around country cases showcasing integration of climate objectives and a range of SDGs through national policies, strategies and programmes.
Moderator:
Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan
Panel
- Mr. Mattias Frumerie, Deputy Director-General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
- Honorable Mr. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, CoM SSA Mayor, Accra, Ghana
- Ms. Rana Adib, Executive Secretary, REN21
- Mr. Martin Krause, Director, Division of Programme Support and Coordination, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA (TBC)
- Ms. Marianne Toftgaard, Programme Manager, Climate Action and Ambition, Climate Action Network International
- Ms. Helena Molin Valdes, Head of Climate & Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, CCAC Secretariat, UNEP
- Mr. Justin Perrettson, Head of Global Engagements, Novozymes
Context
With the approval of the Paris Agreement rule book at COP24, there is now an urgent opportunity to focus on closing the ‘ambition gap’ towards reaching the global objective of limiting global warming to 1.50C above pre-industrial levels, including through new/updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by 2020, and by scaling up climate action towards both adaptation and mitigation. Simultaneously, the global review process for the SDGs completes its first quadrennial cycle in 2019, with SDG 13 (‘Taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’) itself set for in-depth review at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in in July.
Scaling up ambitions is urgently needed. The IPCC’s 2018 Special Report on the impacts of global warming at 1.5 0C above pre-industrial levels identifies the critical consequences of such a temperature rise, including widespread impacts on human well-being and the degradation of critical ecosystems. The report emphasizes that urgent action is needed within the next twelve years to stay within this limit3. Limiting global warming to the greatest extent possible is in itself a human right imperative critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
The next round of new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to be communicated by 2020, will be crucial to reflect the increased level of ambition towards this end. The period to 2030 is also the window within which the SDGs are to be achieved: hence maximizing synergies between NDCs and National Development Plans/SDG Action Plans, as well as other instruments such as National Adaptation Plans and National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies, will be critical in this regard.
Proposed guiding questions
- How can we better link the review and update process of the NDCs with accelerated implementation of the SDGs?
- How can the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit and the heads of state and government level HLPF in September best co-leveraged to raise ambition levels?
Mr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi
President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan
Kazuhiko Takeuchi graduated from the Department of Geography, the University of Tokyo in 1974. He obtained M.Agr. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Agriculture, the University of Tokyo. He has served as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University; an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, a Professor in the Asian Natural Environmental Science Center, and a Professor in the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Science at the University of Tokyo; and as Director and Professor, Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) at the University of Tokyo. He also served as a Vice-Rector and Senior Vice-Rector at United Nations University from 2008 to 2016 and as an Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations from 2013 to 2016. Since 2016, he has served as a Senior Visiting Professor at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). He has been Director and a Project Professor of IR3S at the University of Tokyo since 2017. He took up the position of Chair of the Board of Directors, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in July 2017.
Prof. Takeuchi specializes in landscape ecology, landscape planning, and sustainability science. He engages in research and outreach activities on creating eco-friendly environments for a harmonious coexistence of people and nature, especially focusing on Asia and Africa. Recently, he has been working toward establishing a global foundation for developing the field of sustainability science aiming to build a sustainable society. He is deeply involved in the SATOYAMA initiative, aiming at the restoration and revitalization of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes around the world, and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) initiated by FAO.
Mr. Martin Krause
Director, IAEA, Division of Programme Support and Coordination
Since June 2015 Mr. Martin Krause, a German national, is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Currently he is the Director of the Division of Programme Support and Coordination in the Technical Cooperation Department, responsible for quality assurance, partnerships, resource mobilization, communication and finance. Mr. Krause is leading a team of project managers and technical experts who provide project management services to clients and partners.
Previously Mr. Krause was leading UNDP’s environment, climate and energy portfolio in Europe, Asia, and Africa. His main areas of expertise include energy policy and planning, climate policy and finance, energy access and renewable energy, and programme cycle management.
Mr. Krause has over 20 years of experience as an expert and advisor on energy and climate change. He has worked and lived in Asia, Africa, Latin America and in New York.
He received a post-graduate degree in Development Policy from the German Development Institute (1994) and his Master Degree from the Free University of Berlin majoring in Social and Economic Geography (1993). Prior to that he received his honors degree in Political Sciences.
Ms. Rana Adib
Executive Secretary REN21
Rana Adib is the Executive Secretary of REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century. REN21 is a global public-private multi-stakeholder network on renewable energy headquartered at the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris/France. Previously, Rana was REN21’s Research Coordinator developing the international expert community and leading the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report series to become an international reference. Prior to REN21, Rana worked in private industry and applied research in the areas of renewable energy, energy access, and waste management. She was also responsible for coordinating the biogas-to-energy research programme of Veolia Environment. Rana holds a Master Degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wedel in Germany. She has over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector.
