Climate action is vital to survival of humankind. If we don’t do it now then when? During day 3 of the World Bank Group- IMF Spring Meeting hosted by Salina Abraham, different panelists explored how we can turn our ambition to tackle climate change into real results.

Just because the economy slowed down in 2020, climate change did not slow down. What you would pick up from all panelists is,

Looking at records, 2020 tied with the warmest year ever, broke the record for the most wildfires and the most hurricanes in the Atlantic and linked to the desert locust outbreak that hit Africa, Middle East and parts of South Asia with severe implications for food security and livelihood. 

Climate change is a key priority and very critical to be able to deliver on our goals to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity. If we don’t do it now then when? Solutions to address climate change are needed everywhere but most urgently in developing countries where the investment gap is greatest and where people are worst affected by the climate crisis.

WBG have been at the forefront of helping these countries as in 2020, they delivered their biggest investment in climate change in history of 21.4 billion and are in the process of finalizing a new climate change action plan. Through this plan the WBG aims to increase its impact on greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation outcomes by increasing climate  thereby improving and expanding diagnostics to prioritize climate related actions and focusing on climate results to deliver impact. Furthermore, the bank prioritizes transitions in key systems and uses its convening power to support a just transition out of coal. 

Climate change is a critical fight for all of us. All of us have the responsibility to adopt Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce our emissions at a level that will allow us to hold onto the hope for the vast majority of nations in the world that are not contributing to this massive emissions and who are going to be the greatest victims of it.

It is very important to summon the creativity more so from the young people and the personal energy of our countries to commit to the climate change fight as quality of life will improve, we shall have a cleaner air, water, more people employed, a greater energy independence, greater security between nations hence a huge kick start to the post covid world. 2021 is a big year for climate and nature.

Supporting communities to protect their natural environment for future generations has been a priority for Prince Williams. He shares his thoughts on why nature should be a priority for all of us.

He further states that,” A billion people depend on declining fish stocks as their main source of proteins and the livelihoods of another billion people depend on the forests that we are cutting down. Helping those people should be reason enough to act. We all depend on the natural resources that we are depleting and nature is part of the solution. Finding ways to protect and restore nature and fix our climate are integral to the Earthshot Prize that I launched last year.”

We need to invest in nature through reforestation, sustainable agriculture and supporting healthy oceans. Doing so is one of the most cost effective and impactful ways of tackling climate change. It removes carbon from the atmosphere, helps build more resilient communities, tackles biodiversity loss and protects people’s livelihoods.

This is crucial if our children and grandchildren are to live sustainably on our precious planet. We need to value nature and put it at the heart of our work and increase investment in a future where the natural world can thrive. This will further support a green, inclusive and resilient recovery from the pandemic. The key economic systems of energy, cities, transportation, food and land use hold the key to limiting the worst impacts of climate change. These are the sectors where countries can reduce emissions enough to limit the worst impact of climate change.

What could these transformations mean? Imagine a world where sustainable managed farms provide nourishing produce and are home to healthy animals. Where every village and town is powered by clean energy. Where clean, green cities have safe, affordable and non polluting transit systems. In most countries, solar and onshore wind are now the cheapest ways of generating new electricity.

Climate smart farming is breathing life back into degraded lands. Post pandemic, there is a unique opportunity to put people at the heart of the green transition in food and land use, cities and urban infrastructure, transport, energy and manufacturing. This will enable us to build lower- carbon systems for electricity and transport, improve the way we heat and cool buildings, and reduce our carbon footprint bringing balance to ecosystems and restoring nature. Green transitions unlock opportunities for sustainable growth creating millions of new jobs and building a vibrant economy for the 21st century. 

Energy is essential for development but today nearly 800 million people live without electricity and hundreds of millions more live with insufficient or unreliable access to it. Nearly 3 billion people cook or heat their homes with polluting fuels which harm our health. Energy accounts for around three quarters of gross global greenhouse gas emissions, so we have to get this transition right.

To paint a picture of the global energy landscape, Raj Shah, CEO of Rockefeller Foundation shared his thoughts on how to secure affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services for all. He says, “Advances in technologies, batteries, solar, Artificial Intelligence now make it possible to end energy poverty within the next decade. This will allow a billion of people to be part of an inclusive and just recovery. New policies have led to less fossil fuel reliance and increased renewable energy.”

For transitioning, funding is needed and a clear transition pathway set in terms of technologies that focuses on the whole value chain and not just wind and solar generation. We have to adopt, adapt and mitigate to be able to tackle climate change problems. Investments in resilient sanitation systems provide both a really high economic and social ROI. 

The question to ponder over, ”By 2050, do you think Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development will have been?” Improving agriculture and food systems could generate better incomes and help lift many out of poverty. Farming practices today are unsustainable contributing to high emissions and the loss of our forests, soil, water and biodiversity.

Agriculture is deeply vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures or changing weather patterns are going to have huge impacts on food security. We need to press hard for systemic changes in energy, water management, land use and agriculture.

It is important to recognize that access to sufficient, healthy and nutritious food is a right to everyone no matter where they live or their income level. Working towards achieving a systemic change to make sure that food and food production becomes a solution is the way to go with the involvement of all stakeholders.

Transforming agriculture can tackle both mitigation and adaptation. Young people are facing unprecedented levels of unemployment and worsening climate impacts. Now is the time to invest in young people because well placed investments in their solutions in education, skills building and green job creation can transform communities and rebuild economies to a more just and net zero future.

If we don’t do it now, then when?

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