Compliance and implementation under the Paris Agreement. Global perspective to reducing the impacts of extreme heat. Incentive schemes for energy efficient buildings in the EU and Korea. Fuel cell technology for sustainable mobility. Advancing climate and water resilience for cotton and textile industry. Water diplomacy, a tool for climate action? Find out about these and more online events of the week!
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24 – 28 August
“Week on Water for Development Conferece” (by German development cooperation – GIZ)
How does climate change impact the quantity and quality of water? What are innovative finance mechanisms in the urban sanitation sector? And what is the role of Water Operator’s Partnerships in providing technical assistance in developing countries? The Week on Water for Development offers a platform for thematic exchange on water-related topics with more than 25 diverse sessions of multi-faceted stakeholders in international cooperation. The conference is divided into five thematic days: water and climate change (Monday); finance and governance (Tuesday); integrated water resources management, Nexus and biodiversity (Wednesday); water, sanitation, hygiene and utilities (Thursday), water integrity and gender (Friday). Register here (event code: Water4All).
24 August, 1:00 – 1:45 PM CEST
“Water diplomacy, a tool for climate action?” (by Adelphi and IHE Delft)
In this SIWI World Water Week workshop, experts from the diplomacy, development, security, climate change and water communities will discuss the conditions under which specific diplomatic tools can be used by riparian and non-riparian countries to shape regional cooperation to address climate, ad other security and development challenges, such as migration. Register here.
24 August, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST
“The battle for e-mobility: FCEV vs. BEV. Fuel cell technology for sustainable mobility” (by Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative – TUMI and GIZ)
Which technology will drive the mobility of the future? Will it be run by Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) or will future mobility mainly rely on Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV)? The webinar will look at the potential of fuel cell technology for sustainable mobility applications.
25 August, 9:00 – 10:00 AM CEST (3:00 PM Singapore)
“Data and Ambition Loops in the Southeast Asian Region: Opportunities and Challenges” (by World Resources Institute – WRI and Yusof Ishak Institute – ISEAS)
Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change with two-thirds of its population living in low-lying coastal areas. The region is also recording an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the awareness of the scale and urgency of the climate emergency, current government initiatives to mitigate climate impacts are insufficient. The webinar will discuss the role of the private sector as a wing of support to governments in fostering more ambitious climate actions through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). It will discuss the opportunities of SBTi in providing companies in Southeast Asia a pathway to future-proof growth. The webinar also aims to share knowledge and experience in enhancing data transparency, scope out opportunities for ambitious climate actions, and to build up a network for experts and participants from international and regional institutions and the private sectors. Register here.
25 August, 9:30 – 11:00 AM CEST (2:30 – 4:00 IST)
“Climate smart cooling solutions for sustainable buildings in Asia and the Pacific” (by UNFCCC)
Cooling is essential to human health and quality of life, and became more important with rapid urbanization and economies growth, and the effects of climate change. Needs of access to cooling vary from those of big companies to those of poor rural populations; from large buildings in cities to small huts in remote villages. The meeting will discuss new sustainable solutions for cooling that take into consideration climate impacts and new societal needs, policies that should be developed and put in place so as to optimize the use of energy and resources, challenges that prevent the private sector from investing on clean and sustainable building and contribute to transformational changes.
25 August, 10:00 – 11:00 AM CEST
“Innovations for a decentralised, renewable-powered system: Peer-to-peer electricity trading” (by International Renewable Energy Agency – IRENA and Sustainable Energy Development Authority – SEDA)
The webinar discusses the transition from electricity consumers to prosumers. In the view of an increasing decentralised power system, innovative technologies, regulations and business models lead to higher share of renewables in power systems. IRENA’s presentation will focus on the role of increased demand side flexibility and innovative solutions that the decentralisation brings for the integration of high shares of renewable energy resources in the power system. SEDA will share the experiences and lessons learnt from Malaysia’s 1st pilot run of peer-to-peer (p2p) energy trading, built on Power Ledger platform. Power Ledger will focus on the underlying blockchain technology that supports p2p trading projects, which also runs trials in Australia, Japan, Thailand and United States. Register here.
25 August, 10:00 – 11:00 AM CEST (5:00 PM JST)
“Energy transition in Japan: French-Japanese innovative partnerships” (by French Embassy in Japan, Energy Tech Meetup, French Tech Tokyo and Business France Japan)
France and Japan share common challenges regarding climate action and the transition towards clean and sustainable energy. Both countries aim at reducing their greenhouse gases emissions, at reducing the share of nuclear energy in the national mix (in the case of Japan, in comparison with the situation before the Fukushima accident), and at accelerating the deployment of renewable energy sources (with currently a focus on offshore wind) while reinforcing energy efficiency. In this regard, French and Japanese companies are developing more and more successful partnerships for a cleaner and smarter energy system. This webinar will highlight and discuss successful French-Japanese partnerships in the energy efficiency and offshore wind sectors.
25 August, 2:00 – 3:00 PM CEST
“Effective communication: Lessons for responding to climate change and health pandemics” (by ICLEI Africa and Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa)
Meeting the diverse needs of decision-makers as they seek to understand and address climate change is a formidable challenge. This is even more pressing in times of crisis, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic.
In this webinar, experts in the field of communication, as well as leading decision-makers from national, provincial and local governments in African cities come together to unpack important questions that many in the urban sustainability industry are currently contemplating. The webinar will deep-dive into pioneering African cases to pull out tangible lessons, reflect on local challenges and opportunities and learn about success and failures for replicability. Register here.
25 August, 4:00 – 4:45 PM CEST
“Pan-African Groundwater Program of the African Ministers’ Council on Water – A Roadmap to Resilience” (by International Water Management Institute and Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice)
Groundwater forms the backbone of water security and climate resilience across the world. With climate change intensifying water-related weather extremes, and further stress on limited water resources from population growth, groundwater is set to become more important for adaptation while also coming under increasing pressure. The aim of this webinar is to discuss the role of groundwater in a resilient development pathway under climate change and other slow- or fast-onset global disrupters. Register here.
25 August, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST (10:00 AM EST)
“Protected Area Tourism Beyond 2020” (by Center for Protected Area Management at Colorado State University and U.S. Forest Service International Programs)
This webinar explores perspectives on tourism in and around protected areas as we move through crises and reimagine new ways to create more resilient protected area public use programs. Register here.
25 August, 5:00 – 5:45 PM CEST
“Global Groundwater Sustainability Statement – Call to Action for Resilience” (by International Water Management Institute and Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice)
The aim of the webinar is to discuss the role of groundwater in a resilient development pathway under climate change and other slow- or fast-onset global disrupters. Initiatives underway to identify groundwater-smart solutions, management strategies and partnerships to enhance resilience of the resource as well as the populations and ecosystems depending on it will be showcased and discussed. The webinar is targeted towards policy makers, practitioners, researchers, development partners and the private sector. Register here.
25 August, 7:00 – 8:00 PM CEST (1:00 PM EST)
“Cities Leading on Green Infrastructure for Water and Social Equity” (by World Resources Institute – WRI)
A powerful network of city leaders — convened through Cities4Forests and the Global Commission on Adaptation — are using natural infrastructure to enhance water security and mitigate floods while addressing climate change and promoting social equity. At this event, municipal leaders representing cities across three continents will demonstrate how implementing nature-based solutions at the city level can simultaneously contribute to cities’ adaptive capacity to climate change and advance social equity goals. Register here.
26 August, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CEST
“8th Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment: Asia and the Pacific” (by UNFCCC)
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) denotes work under Article 6 of the Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement. The objective of the Dialogue is to provide a forum for Parties and other non-Party stakeholders to advance the discussions on recommendations and views on future work to enhance implementation of ACE. Virtual regional dialogues aim at providing background to and sharing knowledge among Parties and non-Party stakeholders of each region, bringing all onto the same page regarding the current status of ACE implementation. Register here.
26 August, 10:00 – 11:00 AM CEST
“Bilateral Business Opportunities in Offshore Wind” (by AHK Norwegen)
This webinar discusses how Norway and Germany can cooperate on accelerating the deployment of offshore wind. The webinar shall target areas of mutual interest and aims to contribute to establishing bilateral partnerships on innovation projects. Register here.
26 August, 11:00 – 11:45 AM CEST
“Groundwater to the Rescue! Climate Adaptation from the Underground” (by International Water Management Institute and Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice)
The aim of the webinar is to discuss the role of groundwater in a resilient development pathway under climate change and other slow- or fast-onset global disrupters. Initiatives underway to identify groundwater-smart solutions, management strategies and partnerships to enhance resilience of the resource as well as the populations and ecosystems depending on it will be showcased and discussed. The webinar is targeted towards policy makers, practitioners, researchers, development partners and the private sector. Register here.
26 August, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM CEST (3:00 PM IST)
“Powering Livelihoods: Transforming India’s rural economy with clean energy solutions” (by Council on Energy, Environment and Water – CEEW and Villgro Innovations Foundation)
India has at least a USD 50 billion market opportunity for clean energy innovations to power rural livelihoods. The USD 3 million Powering Livelihoods initiative aims to catalyse this market by providing capital and technical support to social enterprises deploying clean energy-powered livelihood appliances to enable large-scale commercial deployments. The launch will also introduce the six cohort enterprises under Powering Livelihoods. These enterprises are deploying a wide variety of clean energy-powered livelihood solutions including water pumps, multipurpose food processors, commercial refrigerators and textile machinery (reeling, spinning and weaving). Register here.
26 August, 12:30 – 2:00 PM CEST (6:30 AM EST)
“International Perspectives to Build Back Better Towards a Low Carbon Resilient Future” (by World Resources Institute – WRI and New Climate Economy)
This webinar will bring together international stakeholders, including Ministers from Indonesia and the UK, as well as representatives from the World Bank, the OECD, and the COP26 Advisory Council to discuss the global response to COVID-19, and the ways in which countries, organizations, and the private sector can build back better towards a low-carbon future following the pandemic. Register here.
26 August, 2:00 – 3:30 PM CEST
“Application of UNFC to to Minerals and Anthropogenic Resources: Sustainable management of raw material resources” (by UNECE)
This webinar will present the status of and outlook on the application of United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to raw materials, including minerals and anthropogenic resources. UNFC is a system to compare resource projects across all resource types, including raw materials such as minerals and anthropogenic resources. Projects are assessed according to their environmental-social-economic viability, technical feasibility and risks. The resulting transparency allows decision-makers and other stakeholders in governments, finance, industry and the public at large to understand how resources could promote good social and environmental outcomes and progress towards a circular economy, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Register here.
26 August, 3:00 – 4:30 PM CEST
“Lessons learned and good practices from the implementation of CBIT project in Uganda” (by Capacity-Building Initiative for Transparency – CBIT)
The implementation of CBIT project in Uganda began in 2018 and is now almost ending. The project has three components geared towards strengthening the capacity of Ugandan institutions to comply with the transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement, namely:
– strengthening institutional arrangements for robust MRV (measuring, reporting and verification) system;
– building capacity to collect, process, and feed data into the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory system;
– testing and piloting the GHG emission inventory system and the MRV system.
The talks of this webinar will focus on the lessons learned from the implementation of CBIT Uganda project, including the results, challenges, recommendations, and sustainability strategy. Register here.
26 August, 5:00 – 6:00 PM CEST
“Thirty Innovations for a Renewable-Powered Future” (by International Renewable Energy Agency – IRENA, Enlit Europe, and Initiate)
The webinar will discuss how the 30 innovations identified by IRENA in its ‘Innovation landscape for a renewable-powered future’ project are accelerating the energy transition. The webinar will stress the importance of a systemic innovation approach, meaning fostering innovation in four dimensions: enabling technologies, business models, market design and system operation. The role of those innovations will be discussed in the context of the ongoing disruptive trends in the power sector: 1) Digitalisation 2) Decentralisation 3) Electrification. These trends are changing paradigms, unlocking system flexibility for a high share of VRE penetration. They are changing the roles and responsibilities of actors and opening doors to new entrants in the sector. Register here.
26 August, 5:00 – 6:00 PM CEST
“Pipelines to nowhere? Quantifying the potential for stranded fossil fuel infrastructure in North America” (by Responsible Investor and Carbon Tracker Initiative)
This webinar will provide updated risk analysis for investors in Canada’s crude oil pipeline network and debate larger stranded assets implications for investors in North American fossil fuel infrastructure. The Canadian government’s decision to double up on carbon risk with stakes in Keystone XL and Trans Mountain adds to the importance of stranded assets risk analysis in the upstream segment. As global investors and insurers begin to divest from the highest carbon assets in line with Paris Agreement targets, will Canada and other G20 economies get serious about the transition to net zero emissions and their commitment to phase out subsidies for the sector?
26 August, 6:00 – 6:45 PM CEST
“Advancing Climate and Water Resilience for Cotton and Textile Industry” (by World Resources Institute – WRI)
A panel of international experts will discuss the importance of sustainable cotton cultivation to the textile industry’s growth. Focusing on cotton growing communities in India, they will analyze climate change impacts and share actionable approaches to advance water and climate resilience in cotton cultivation, emphasizing challenges and opportunities for women. Register here.
26 August, 6:00 – 7:00 PM CEST (12:00 PM EST)
“Clean Electricity: the Linchpin for a Net-Zero Economy” (by Dartmouth College)
This event is a part of online conversations with early-career energy researchers. The webinar includes a presentation by Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University, a macro-scale energy systems engineer with a focus on the rapidly evolving electricity sector, including the transition to zero-carbon resources, the proliferation of distributed energy resources, and the role of electricity in economy-wide decarbonization. Register here.
27 August, 8:30 – 10:30 AM CEST (3:30 PM South Korea)
“Zero-Energy Buildings Insight : Incentive Schemes for Energy-Efficient Buildings in the EU and Korea” (by EU-Korea Climate Action, BPIE and Korea Energy Agency)
Did you know that buildings are the largest energy consumer by sector in the EU economy? Buildings are responsible for 40% of the EU energy consumption and 36% of the greenhouse gas emissions, as about 35% of the EU’s buildings are over 50 years old. In Korea where 37% of the building stocks are over 30 years old, buildings claimed 17% of the total national energy consumption in 2018. Improving building energy performance is crucial for both the EU and Korea in achieving their climate goals. Join the webinar to discover more. Register here.
27 August, 10:00 – 11:30 AM CEST
“Climate smart cooling solutions for sustainable buildings in Eastern Europe and west Asia” (by UNFCCC)
Cooling is essential to human health and quality of life, and became more important with rapid urbanization and economies growth, and the effects of climate change. Needs of access to cooling vary from those of big companies to those of poor rural populations; from large buildings in cities to small huts in remote villages. The meeting will discuss new sustainable solutions for cooling that take into consideration climate impacts and new societal needs, policies that should be developed and put in place so as to optimize the use of energy and resources, challenges that prevent the private sector from investing on clean and sustainable building and contribute to transformational changes.
27 August, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CEST
“Urban flood risk and adaptation challenges” (by CLARA, Clarity and Climateurope)
Climate change has particularly extreme effects in urban areas with flooding as an important threat to human health, activities, and assets. In view of an increasing frequency and intensity of extreme hydro-meteorological events, enhanced work to reduce exposure and vulnerability, and thus reducing disaster risk is needed at many levels. Advanced methods and tools are needed to better understand urban flood hazard and risk, and to inform decision making about flood risk reduction and adaptation planning. This webinar introduces new developments and novel tools from ongoing research and innovation projects funded under EU H2020 and EIT Climate KIC programmes.
27 August, 2:00 – 3:00 PM CEST
“Introduction to the governance of Solar Radiation Modification” (by C2G)
This topic aims to offer the audience basic information about Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) approaches and the need for their governance. It seeks to answer the following questions: What is SRM and why do we need to talk about its governance now? What are important SRM approaches, how might they work, what are potential benefits and risks? What are the governance challenges around SRM? How might some of the governance challenges be considered or addressed in the context of current governance processes and mechanisms? Register here.
27 August, 3:00 – 4:00 PM CEST
“Compliance and implementation under the Paris Agreement” (by UNFCCC and Centre for International Sustainable Development Law)
With an expert panel of representatives from all organizing organizations, the webinar will involve the sharing of best practices and current legislation to illustrate how Parties are creating law and governance structures to best implement the provisions of the Paris Agreement. This discussion offers the important possibility of examining how domestic legislative and executive organs can coordinate to operationalize international legal obligations, while benefitting from mutual experiences. Key questions it will address include: How can parliamentarians and legislators support international efforts to promote compliance and facilitate implementation of the Paris Agreement? What are the interlinkages between the Enhanced Transparency Framework and domestic policy interventions to ensure compliance of the Paris Agreement? Register here.
27 August, 3:00 – 4:30 PM CEST
“Blended Finance for water and climate: When theory meets practice” (by French Water Partnership)
Vast additional public and private funds will be required to deliver the Paris Agreement and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Blended finance is emerging as an important financing solution to accelerate action, but it must be scaled-up. The webinar will bring together a diverse cross-section of public and private actors applying blended finance solutions to address water and climate change-related challenges. Experts and practitioners will discuss the potential of blended finance and lessons learned through three current case studies.
27 August, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST
“Redirecting Global Agriculture Subsidies for a Sustainable Food Future” (by World Resources Institute – WRI)
To both feed the world and solve climate change, the world needs to produce 50% more food in 2050 compared to 2010 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds. How should global agriculture subsidies be redirected to advance a sustainable food future by 2050? This webinar will walk through a new paper showing vast agricultural subsidies are currently doing little to feed the world and solve climate change, but have great potential for reform.
27 August, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST
“Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring Corporate Biodiversity Performance” (by IUCN)
Speakers will present the Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring Corporate Biodiversity Performance. The aim of the Guidelines is to support businesses taking action on biodiversity (to mitigate risks or attain net positive gains) and their increasingly need for information on the state of biodiversity, the pressures on species and ecosystems linked to their operations, and the effectiveness of their responses, in order to plan and monitor their operations. The Guidelines are currently available in DRAFT for comments.
27 August, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST (3:00 PM WAT)
“Developing Minigrid Projects in Nigeria” (by ATA Insights)
Nigeria has long been considered the Giant of Africa, having the biggest economy and more than 200 million people. However, more than 40% of its inhabitants currently live without electricity and this problem only gets worse in rural communities. In this webinar, you will learn more about Nigeria’s plans to deploy minigrids as part of its plan to increase access to electricity to 90% by 2030 and at least 10% of renewable energy mix by 2025. Learn about the Rural Electrification Agency’s Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) (currently underway), dedicated exclusively to enhance mini grid and off-grid access in Nigeria. Find out more about the social and economic benefits of minigrids while ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. Get access to real case-studies of mini-grid projects in Nigeria.
27 August, 5:00 – 6:00 PM CEST
“Fuelling Low-Carbon; What next for clean-tech?” (by Reuters)
The past twenty years of ‘phase one’ renewables development has been widely regarded a resounding success, with renewable’s now accounting for third of global power capacity. But what next for clean-tech and what innovations hold the greatest potential to drive towards net-zero? Join to explore which technologies may hold the key to delivering a low-carbon and sustainable future.
27 August, 11:00 PM – 28 August, 12:30 AM CEST (5:00 PM EST)
“Reducing the Impacts of Extreme Heat: A Global Perspective” (by Security and Sustainability Forum and Arizona State University School of Sustainability)
Extreme heat has wide-ranging impacts on health, occupations, energy use, and the economy. Current and future conditions of extreme heat affect the livelihoods of communities and people globally, yet the impacts are unevenly distributed and novel strategies are needed to push beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to protect the most vulnerable in a sustainable way. In this webinar, international experts will explore the understanding of urban and personal heat mitigation strategies to lessen impacts, providing global viewpoints and best-practices, with an emphasis on the use of new knowledge and preparations to reduce future life and economic losses.
28 August, 12:30 – 2:00 PM CEST (4:00 PM IST)
“Making India’s Solar PV Manufacturing Self-reliant” (by CEEW Centre for Energy Finance)
India is expected to install nearly 65 GW of solar projects in the next 30 months and another 150 GW between 2022 and 2030. Currently, India imports most of the solar modules and the raw materials required for solar module manufacturing. With a focus on manufacturing, certification, and R&D, domestic companies will be able to grab the opportunity and service not only domestic demand but become export competitive too. The discussion will focus on the short term and long term interventions required to create a conducive ecosystem for deployment and manufacturing of next-generation modules. The panel would debate the merits and demerits of tariff barriers, fiscal support and guaranteed offtake to scale up the sector. Challenges on certification, vertical and horizontal integration and limited R&D in the sector will also be discussed and debated.
28 August, 1:30 – 3:00 PM CEST (5:00 PM IST)
“How Cities Can Build Back Better with Nature Based Solutions” (by WRI India and Cities4Forests)
Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are the way forward to build resilient cities and this is evident now to policy makers, politicians, private sector companies and other community-based organizations. What is an effective NBS financing model, key instruments that we need to look for? Where and how is assistance required in financing an NBS model? Who needs to be involved in making NBS functional in cities? What are some good examples of effective use of Nature Based Solutions in India that can be replicated? Speakers will share highlights on ongoing work and some key approaches for NBS in cities. This will be followed by experience sharing by the different experts on financing NBS in cities. Register here.
29 August, 1:00 – 2:00 PM CEST (7:00 PM EST)
“SDSN Youth Live! with Professor Howard Bamsey” (by SDSN Youth – Sustainable Development Solutions Network)
How can youth participate in high-level diplomacy on climate action? Ask 40-year climate diplomacy expert Howard Bamsey. He is a former Executive Director of the UN Green Climate Fund, current chair of the Global Water Partnership, and former Special Envoy on Climate Change for Australia. Join the webinar to discuss youth engagement with sustainable finance and global governance.