Climate Change

The Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization (A/79/1) is issued in response to Article 98 of the UN Charter and highlights how the UN Secretariat translates resources into impact. The Report covers nine sections: (i) forging pathways for sustainable development; (ii) fostering peace and security; (iii) propelling African growth; (iv) upholding human rights; (v) securing humanitarian assistance; (vi) advancing justice and international law; (vii) championing disarmament; (viii) combating drugs, crime and terrorism; and (ix) enhancing our operations. The e-book for this publication has been converted into an accessible format for the visually impaired and people with print reading disabilities. It is fully compatible with leading screen-reader technologies such as JAWS and NVDA.

The WMO report on the State of the Climate in Africa 2023 is the fifth annual report on the climate in WMO Regional Association I (Africa). It provides an assessment of past and current climate trends across the African continent using the latest data and information on extreme weather and climate events and their socioeconomic impacts. Over the past 60 years, Africa has recorded a warming trend that has become more rapid than the global average. In 2023, the continent experienced heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, tropical cyclones, and prolonged droughts. While many countries in the Horn of Africa and north-western Africa continued to suffer from exceptional multi-year drought, others experienced extreme precipitation events leading to flooding with significant casualties. These extreme events had devastating impacts on communities, with serious economic implications. The report is the result of a multi-agency effort, with contributions from African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), WMO Regional Climate Centres (RCCs), specialized United Nations agencies and international organizations, the African Development Bank, the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, and numerous experts and scientists.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 presents how far we have come towards reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The report warns that with just six years remaining to the 2030 deadline, and nearly a year from reaffirmed commitments at the SDG Summit, current progress falls far short of what is required to meet the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda. The scarring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and growing climate chaos are hitting SDG progress hard. The report reveals that only 17 per cent of the SDG targets are on track, with nearly half showing minimal or moderate progress, and over one-third stalling or regressing. The report documents increasing global inequalities, with an additional 23 million people pushed into extreme poverty and over 100 million more suffering from hunger in 2022 compared to 2019. For the first time this century, per-capita GDP growth in half of the world’s most vulnerable nations is slower than that in advanced economies. Overall global health progress has decelerated alarmingly since 2015. Many countries have experienced declines in student math and reading skills. Wars are upending millions of lives. The number of forcibly displaced people has reached an unprecedented level, nearly 120 million by May 2024 and civilian casualties spiked by 72 per cent between 2022 and 2023. Environmental crises are threatening the foundations of planetary ecosystems. 2023 was the warmest year on record, with global temperatures nearing the critical 1.5°C threshold. Greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to reach new highs.

The present WMO report is the fourth in an annual series starting with the year 2020. It summarizes the observed climate trends and high-impact events, as well as associated socioeconomic impacts, in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation and flooding events, extreme heat and severe droughts led to significant human and economic losses in the region throughout 2023. The second half of 2023 was particularly influenced globally by El Niño conditions, which contributed to a record warm year and exacerbated extreme events in the region. This happened on top of well-established long-term climate change and the associated rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events. The report highlights the advances made in integrating meteorological data into health surveillance (focusing on disease), reflecting a move towards stronger public health strategies. Despite this improvement, there is still a need for substantial developments and investments in weather services infrastructure and tailored climate services.

In 2023, the impacts of climate change continued to be seen across Europe, with millions of people impacted by extreme weather events, making the development of mitigation and adaptation measurements a priority. To achieve this, understanding climate trends is vital. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), today release the 2023 European State of the Climate report (ESOTC 2023). The report provides descriptions and analysis of climate conditions and variations from across the Earth system, key events and their impacts, and a discussion of climate policy and action with a focus on human health. The ESOTC also includes updates on the long-term evolution of key Climate Indicators.

The petrochemical industry is a little studied but crucial sector that needs to rapidly ramp up its climate ambition if it is to align with the SDGs and contribute to the objectives of the Green New Deal. The implications of not doing this are significant, both in terms of the environment (petrochemicals being a major producer of carbon emissions, chemical pollutants and plastic), and in terms of potentially provoking financial and economic instability and “climate Minsky” shock. This paper builds on a previous study by the authors that analysed thousands of financial transactions to identify the respective roles played by public and private banks, bond markets and other sources of capital in this sector. This paper now digs deeper into so-called “green” finance and, in particular the market-based mechanism of green bonds. It draws on empirical evidence from global financial databases and development banks, and from case-study analysis of two development-bank financed green bond issues to the petrochemical sector. Both issuances are in Asia, the world’s manufacturing hub and driving force behind increased petrochemicals production and facilities. Lessons learned here are extremely relevant for the climate change debate, as the region is at the forefront where impact will be greatest in the near-term. This paper finds that “green finance” is at best marginal, so that significant chances are needed in the provision of finance to the petrochemical industry, if it is to influence the region’s green transition and meeting the goals of Agenda 2030. Market mechanisms still offer only the slimmest pickings, making it likely that dedicated public financial institutions such as public banks will be required for any major investment push.