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A Circular Economy could prevent climate breakdown but needs speeding up

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 21:57:26 +0000

A Circular Economy could prevent climate breakdown but needs speeding up

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The Circularity Gap Report 2021 offers not only a sober warning of the danger of climate inaction but a clear map forward

The Circularity Gap Report 2021, based on a global scoring system, was released on the 26th of January, highlighting the urgent need to transition to a circular economy in order to tackle climate change related risks.

It aims to empower key decision-makers in both business and government to coordinate actions to accelerate necessary changes.

The research revealed that Circular Economy strategies could cut global emissions by 39%.

Still, the global economy was just 8.6% circular in 2020, meaning the world is consuming over 100 billion tonnes of materials per year and only 8.6% of that is reused in any form.

Two years prior, it was 9.1%, which makes it clear that things have effectively gotten worse.

The Circularity Gap Report 2021, image: Circular Economy

The report is launched annually during The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, published by the Circle Economy impact organisation dedicated to accelerating the circular economy transition.

“The Circularity Gap Report offers not only a sober warning of the danger of climate inaction but a clear map forward.

A collaborative effort is necessary among government, business and civil society to scale the circular economy and drive down emissions.

Only through collective investment in and commitment to circular practices can we shape a more sustainable, resilient future,” said Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, at the launch.

The report finds that 22.8 billion tonnes (Gt) of annual emissions associated with creating new products from virgin materials can be eliminated by applying circular strategies.

That would drastically reduce the amount of minerals, fossil fuels, metals and biomass consumed globally.

It calculates that approximately 70% of all emissions are generated by the extraction, processing and manufacturing of goods to meet society’s needs – the meals we eat, the clothes we wear and so on.

Martijn Lopes Cardozo, Circle Economy CEO, said: “Governments are making huge decisions that will shape our climate future.

They are spending billions to stimulate their economies after the Covid pandemic, and they are committed to strengthening their climate commitments ahead of the Glasgow Climate Summit.

Circular economy strategies hold the key to a resource-efficient, low-carbon and inclusive future.”

Circularity Gap Report 2021

The strategies identified in the publication would cut annual material consumption down to 79Gt, by reducing the number of materials used to make products and services, using resources for longer, and replacing finite resources such as fossil fuels with regenerative resources such as renewable energy.

Additionally, they would increase the proportion of reused materials to 17%, nearly doubling the global economy's circularity.

Laxmi Haigh, science writer at Circle Economy and one of the lead authors of the Circularity Gap 2021 report shares more insights:

“I think it is important to be optimistic.

In the last ten years, the circular economy has moved from being more of a ‘fringe’ topic to a mainstream one.

The solution for restoring balance is right in front of us, but it will take the energetic collaboration of people across governments and industries to make it a reality.”

Mobility, housing and nutrition are also named the three fundamental societal needs responsible for nearly 70% of global emissions. These are the areas where circular strategies can have the most significant impact.

“The tagline of our report is: 'Solutions for a world that consumes 1 billion tonnes of materials and has warmed by 1-degree'.

And that is what we have done: provide solutions.

We have identified which circular actions can be most beneficial in reducing virgin resource extraction and limiting greenhouse house emissions across the six most prevalent 'needs and wants'.

Based on the findings, we present a circular roadmap of 21 interventions that countries can adopt into their climate plans moving forward.

From adopting healthier diets to assessing how multifunctional the buildings we construct are, the roadmap is wide.

Laxmi Haigh, science writer at Circle Economy, lead authors of the Circularity Gap 2021 report

In this way, any country interested in integrating the circular economy into its climate plans and pledges can use our report as a handbook, or look for more tailored insights,” adds Haigh about how to make the best use of this report and take action.

Different strategies are appropriate for different countries at various stages of economic development.

The report presents blueprints for governments to take actions in three broad categories - low-income, middle-income and higher-income countries - with different priorities for each.

At this stage, the world is on course for a climate breakdown, but the report suggests that we can bridge the gap to achieve climate neutrality through leadership and action.

Suppose the coming decade is the decisive one for humanity’s future on this planet.

In that case, 2021 is the year to ramp up our efforts to bring our goals into realistic reach and prevent the worst potential impact of climate change from becoming our reality.

Martin Frick, Senior Director Policy and Programme Coordination at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change says,

“For billions of years, our home planet was in a perfect cycle: New life constantly emerged out of the same carbon that existed as life before.

We need to restore this balance and achieve carbon neutrality without delay.

For that, we need to eliminate waste and create products that last, can be repaired and ultimately can be transformed into new products.”

In adopting a roadmap packed with circular strategies, society can pave the way for the systemic transformations required to course-correct the global economy – going far beyond the limitations of current policy and national climate pledges.

Headline image: Pexels

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January 2021

Green pandemic recovery requires better finance of adaptation plans

Bronagh Loughlin — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:41:15 +0000

Green pandemic recovery requires better finance of adaptation plans

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The Adaptation Gap Report urges all nations to pursue the efforts for green pandemic recovery

As climate change impacts intensify and temperatures continue to rise, nations need to urgently act to adapt to the new climate reality.

Otherwise, they will face severe costs, damages and losses, the new Adaptation Gap 2020 report by UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) finds.

The recently published report discovers that whilst nations have advanced in planning, huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and delivering adaptation projects to the stage whereby they get real protection against climate impacts such as floods, droughts and sea-level rise.

Findings suggest that private and public finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently, along with faster implementation.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director at UNEP said:

“The hard truth is that climate change is upon us.

Its impacts will intensify and hit vulnerable countries and communities the hardest – even if we meet the Paris Agreement goals of holding global warming this century to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director at UNEP, image: UNEP

As the UN Secretary-General has said, we need a global commitment to put half of all global climate finance towards adaptation in the next year.

This will allow a huge step in adaptation – in everything from early warning systems to resilient water resources to nature-based solutions.”

The report states that nature-based solutions - locally appropriate actions that address societal challenges, such as climate change, and provide biodiversity and human-wellbeing benefits by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring modified or natural ecosystems - must become a priority.

Nature-based solutions for adaptation can be low-cost options that are potentially effective in reducing climate risks, while simultaneously bringing important additional benefits for the environment, economy, livelihoods and other values to a wide range of stakeholders, including the poor, women and other marginalised groups.

The recognition that nature-based solutions can make crucial contributions to climate change adaptation is both nationally and internationally. However, there are few concrete plans.

Adaptation Gap 2020 report by UN Environmental Programme, image: UNEP

The most encouraging finding of the report is that 72 per cent of countries have adopted a minimum of one national-level adaptation planning instrument.

Although, the drawback is the finance needed to implement these plans, is not growing fast enough.

While the pace of adaptation funding is rising, it continues to be outpaced by the rapidly increasing adaptation costs.

Annual adaptation costs in developing countries are estimated at around $70 billion, and this figure is expected to reach 140-300 billion in 2030 and 280-500 billion in 2050.

The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 emphasises that cutting greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the impacts and the costs associated with climate change.

An analysis of four major climate and development funds – the Global Environmental Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the International Climate Initiative – suggested that support for green initiatives with some element of nature-based solutions has increased over the last two decades.

Cumulative investment for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects under the four funds remained at $94 billion.

However, just $12 billion was spent on nature-based solutions – a rather small fraction of total adaptation and conservation finance.

In most cases, this necessitates planning and coordination across national or jurisdictional boundaries, creating both a challenge and an opportunity for environmental policy frameworks and transboundary negotiations.

Of over 1,700 adaptation initiatives surveyed, just 3 per cent had already reported real reductions to climate risks posed to the communities where the projects were being carried out.

New tools such as sustainability investment criteria, climate-related disclosure principles and mainstreaming of climate risks into investment decisions can stimulate investments in climate resilience.

The report urges all nations to pursue the efforts outlined, which call for green pandemic recovery and updated Nationally Determined Contributions that include new net-zero commitments.

Adaption – reducing communities’ and countries’ vulnerability to climate change by improving their ability to absorb impacts – is a key pillar of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The agreement requires its signatories to implement adaption measures through national plans, climate information systems, early warning, protective measures and investments in a green future.

The world must plan for, finance and implement climate change adaptation to support those nations least responsible for climate change but most at risk.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to hit countries' ability to adapt to climate change, investing in adaptation is still a sound economic decision.

Headline photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

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January 2021

Degradation of nature is linked to economic damage and increased risk of pandemics

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 13:10:49 +0000

Degradation of nature is linked to economic damage and increased risk of pandemics

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Escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention

Future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world economy and kill more people than COVID-19 unless there is a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases, warns a major new report on biodiversity and pandemics by 22 leading experts from around the world.

IPBES virtual workshop report about the links between degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks

Convened by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for an urgent virtual workshop about the links between degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks, the experts agree that escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but that this will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention.

COVID-19 is at least the sixth global health pandemic since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, and although it has its origins in microbes carried by animals, like all pandemics its emergence has been entirely driven by human activities, says the recently released report.

It is estimated that another 1.7 million currently ‘undiscovered’ viruses exist in mammals and birds – of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people.

“There is no great mystery about the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic – or of any modern pandemic”, said Dr. Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance and Chair of the IPBES workshop.

“The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment.

Changes in the way we use land; the expansion and intensification of agriculture; and unsustainable trade, production and consumption disrupt nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people. This is the path to pandemics.”

Pandemic risk can be significantly lowered by reducing the human activities that drive the loss of biodiversity, by more significant conservation of protected areas, and through measures that reduce unsustainable exploitation of high biodiversity regions.

This will reduce wildlife-livestock-human contact and help prevent the spillover of new diseases, says the report.

IPBES Pandemic Report results

“The overwhelming scientific evidence points to a very positive conclusion.

We have the increasing ability to prevent pandemics – but the way we are tackling them right now largely ignores that ability. Our approach has effectively stagnated – we still rely on attempts to contain and control diseases after they emerge, through vaccines and therapeutics.

We can escape the era of pandemics, but this requires a much greater focus on prevention in addition to reaction.”

said Dr. Daszak.

Pointing to the likely cost of COVID-19 of $8-16 trillion globally by July 2020, it is further estimated that costs in the United States alone may reach as high as $16 trillion by the 4th quarter of 2021.

The experts estimate the cost of reducing risks to prevent pandemics to be 100 times less than the cost of responding to such pandemics, “providing strong economic incentives for transformative change.”

Some of the recommendations suggested in the report:

Enabling changes to reduce the types of consumption, globalized agricultural expansion and trade that have led to pandemics – this could include taxes or levies on meat consumption, livestock production and other forms of high pandemic-risk activities.

Reducing zoonotic disease risks in the international wildlife trade through a new intergovernmental ‘health and trade’ partnership; reducing or removing high disease-risk species in the wildlife trade; enhancing law enforcement in all aspects of the illegal wildlife trade and improving community education in disease hotspots about the health risks of wildlife trade.

IPBES Pandemic Report result

Valuing Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ engagement and knowledge in pandemic prevention programs, achieving greater food security and reducing consumption of wildlife.
Closing critical knowledge gaps such as those about key risk behaviours, the relative importance of illegal, unregulated, and the legal and regulated wildlife trade in disease risk, and improving understanding of the relationship between ecosystem degradation and restoration, landscape structure and the risk of disease emergence.

The IPBES workshop report is one of the most scientifically robust examinations of the evidence and knowledge about links between pandemic risk and nature since the COVID pandemic began – with contributions from leading experts in fields as diverse as epidemiology, zoology, public health, disease ecology, comparative pathology, veterinary medicine, pharmacology, wildlife health, mathematical modelling, economics, law and public policy.

The report is also strongly scientifically substantiated, with almost than 700 cited sources – more than 200 of which are from 2020 and 2019 – which offers decision-makers a valuable analytical snap-shot of the most up-to-date data currently available.

IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body comprising more than 130 member Governments. Established by Governments in 2012, it provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as the tools and methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets.

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December 2020

First extensive study on Social Investment in Africa reveals financial trends and gaps

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 11:50:05 +0000

First extensive study on Social Investment in Africa reveals financial trends and gaps

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The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance launched a high-level report on the state of social investment financing in Africa

The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) launched ‘The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa’ high-level inaugural report on the state of social investment financing in Africa.

The report is the first of several concerted efforts aimed at addressing information gaps on social investments in areas such as Philanthropy, Impact Investing, Private Capital deployment and Corporate Sustainability Programmes across sub-Saharan Africa.

AVPA is a unique Pan-African network established in 2018 for social investors, headquartered in Nairobi with offices in Johannesburg and Lagos, with a mission to drive a transformative social investing agenda and build vibrant, influential community across Africa.

Their work is aligned with thriving sister networks in Europe (EVPA), South America (Latimpacto), and Asia (AVPN) to form a dynamic global force for social impact.

AVPA facilitates the flow of human, intellectual and financial capital, not only within Africa but also across countries involved with its partner organisations globally.

The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa report

“Africa needs an estimated $500 billion - $1.2 trillion annually between now and 2030 to meet its financing gap for delivering on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals targets.

With traditional sources of social investment like aid and government funding unlikely to fill this gap. Therefore, we need to turn to the global financial and capital markets for the requisite investments, “ says Dr. Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA.

“This demands a good understanding of the social investment landscape on the continent and increasing collaboration amongst social investors by breaking down existing silos between providers of grants, debt and equity.

We are taking the first step in this direction with this study. It provides a baseline against which we can track future progress and key trends that will influence the increased flow of capital into social investments in Africa while working collaboratively to identify programmatic interventions for creating increased social impact.” adds Aswani in regards of carrying out this broad research.

Dr. Frank Aswani, CEO of The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance

The report presents findings of an eight-month study across 18 African countries - six each in West, East, and Southern Africa.

The study was commissioned by AVPA with support from the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), Social Capital Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

"The US African Development Foundation (USADF) supported AVPA to carry out a landscape study to understand better social investment across East, West and Southern Africa.

The findings will help drive strategies and plans for future investors, donors, foundations, and public sector financiers.

We are constantly looking for ways to partner with corporations and governments that are interested in the business growth of Africa." C.D. Glin, President and CEO, US African Development Foundation

AVPA conducted the study in partnership with Intellecap, the advisory arm of The Aavishkaar Group, which works to build businesses that can benefit the underserved segments across Asia and Africa. It mapped providers of social capital - financial, human and intellectual, their investment strategies, and opportunities for collaboration amongst the various investors.

The findings highlight, among other things, what is currently happening, who are the key players, what are their current approaches to investing, what challenges they are facing, and the opportunities they are seeing. It also identifies additional areas of future research while making recommendations of opportunities to create a more vital ecosystem for increased capital flow and social impact on the continent.

Many social investors in sub-Saharan Africa operate in silos, necessitating strategic interventions to bridge gaps across the different types of capital and investment strategies.

Key findings of the report:

Over 820 social investors are operating in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region; 39% in East Africa, 31% in West Africa and 30% in Southern Africa.
The majority of social investment capital deployed across the regions continues to come from international sources with a growing number of active regionally-based social investors.

Overview of Key Social Investors in SSA

Donors, development finance institutions, and sustainability aligned fund managers are the largest providers of social capital across the SSA regions, deploying billions of dollars annually, mainly through long term projects.
Corporates and corporate foundations are emerging as strong drivers of regional social investment ecosystems.
While Southern Africa has the highest number of regional-based family foundations, a high level of activity was also recorded for regional family foundations in West Africa who are relatively public with information on their giving and the causes they support.
Regional Corporate Social Investors (CSIs) across sub-Saharan Africa largely support basic services (health and education) provision, while North American CSIs mostly focus on economic empowerment and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Development finance institutions and sustainability aligned fund managers investments across the regions are highly concentrated by geography and sector, following similar trends in sector preference with financial services, agriculture and energy.
Across the regions, tech-based enterprises focused on solving challenges in the financial services, agriculture, energy and healthcare challenges have received the highest focus from social investors.
Large pools of social investment capital deployed by African diaspora communities, faith-based organisations and other local capital providers represent a significant opportunity for collaboration with other social investors to make progress in key social sectors such as health care, education and affordable housing.
The supply of social investment capital in the SSA region remains significantly mismatched with demand from social enterprises and impact businesses.
With declining funding from donors and international foundations, non-profits are exploring alternative and more sustainable funding models.

The study includes an in-depth report for each of the three regions - East, West, and Southern Africa to provide detailed regional analyses.

Nancy Kairo, AVPA Executive Director for the East Africa region

“The East Africa section of this report shows there is an urgent need to diversify both the sources and the recipients of impact funds.

Development finance institutions are still among the largest providers of such capital, and most of these funds are invested in mature stage sustainable businesses that can absorb large amounts of capital.

Yet, to realise real change we need to see large capital flows from other sources such as the capital markets, high-net-worth individuals and grantors amalgamate in support of SMEs—the backbone of our economies.” says Nancy Kairo, AVPA Executive Director for the East Africa region.

AVPA plans to repeat this study every 2-3 years to track trends and improve the knowledge base within the ecosystem.

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November 2020