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VIDEO: COP27 so far – The Week in Sustainability

Updated: 
March 14, 2023
Article

November 7–11, 2022

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COP27 kicked off this week, and after just a few days, we’re already seeing strong signs and significant shifts in the global climate change conversation.

The highlights so far:


The changing face of climate finance 

Loss and damage” is again high on the discussion list at COP27. Developing countries continue to push for a fund from more wealthy nations to help front the costs of climate change. For example, to help ease the burden in Pakistan from flooding this year, which resulted in a $40 billion economic loss (11% of their GDP), not to mention thousands of lives lost and millions left homeless. 

Along those lines, John Kerry announced a plan to incentivize American corporations to fund renewable energy projects in developing countries as offsets. It’s a move that has received criticism from climate groups. 

Climate tech used for the public good 

The UN unveiled a plan to create an early warning system against extreme and dangerous weather. “Countries with limited early warning coverage have disaster mortality [rates] eight times higher than countries with high coverage,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

Coincidentally, Google announced that its AI-powered flood prediction tool could issue forecasts seven days in advance, up from 48 hours. The tech and search giant expects this service to remain free forever.

New net-zero guidelines from the UN 

The UN released practical recommendations for companies setting net-zero targets. They state, for example, that companies cannot claim to have net-zero commitments if they still invest in fossil fuels or deforestation and prohibit the use of offsets to reach climate targets. 

Key announcements from the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) about making emissions reporting easier

The ISSB announced a new framework that addresses capacity gaps in developing and emerging economies to unify global climate disclosures and drive adoption. Practically speaking, this consolidates the reporting requirements for companies and eases the reporting burden. 

In a strong signal of early and widespread adoption of IFRS disclosures, CDP will incorporate the ISRS S2 Climate-Related Disclosures into its global environmental disclosure platform, meaning its 17,000+ voluntary users will disclose data structured to IFRS S2 in the 2024 cycle.

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About The Week in Sustainability

Each week, Sustain.Life’s sustainability team offers commentary about the week’s most pressing issues and stories in sustainability and ESG. Watch every episode here.

Editorial statement
At Sustain.Life, our goal is to provide the most up-to-date, objective, and research-based information to help readers make informed decisions. Written by practitioners and experts, articles are grounded in research and experience-based practices. All information has been fact-checked and reviewed by our team of sustainability professionals to ensure content is accurate and aligns with current industry standards. Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.
Author
Sustain.Life Team
Sustain.Life’s teams of sustainability practitioners and experts often collaborate on articles, videos, and other content.
Reviewer
Alyssa Rade
Alyssa Rade is the chief sustainability officer at Sustain.Life. She has over ten years of corporate sustainability experience and guides Sustain.Life’s platform features.
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The takeaway

This week: All about COP27
• The creation of a loss and damage fund
• UN’s plan for early warning system for extreme weather events
• 10 practical net-zero guidelines for corporations
• The ISSB’s goal to unify climate disclosures globally