2024: a year of unprecedented hurdles and limitless possibilities

Welcome to the 108th edition of the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions Newsletter. 

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, 2024 presents unparalleled potential and unprecedented challenges. It is not merely the dawn of another year but a critical juncture that demands our collective commitment to accelerating emissions reductions, fostering adaptation to protect vulnerable communities, fortifying resilience on a global scale, and safeguarding and restoring nature and biodiversity.

Infusing climate and nature in the biggest election year in history



In the mosaic of human history, 2024 emerges as a defining chapter. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has officially confirmed that 2023 is the warmest year on record, by a large margin. Crucially, 2024 will be the biggest election year in history, with countries representing more than half the world’s population - over four billion people - sending their citizens to the polls. In the midst of global elections - where the choices we make will reverberate for generations to come - we can play a crucial role in ensuring that climate and nature permeate the electoral discourse. By forging broad alliances, leveraging influence, and driving public engagement, all non-State actors - from farmers, to companies, to Indigenous Peoples - can collectively propel climate action to the forefront of electoral agendas.

The ‘existential politics of climate change’ mean that it is becoming imperative for communities to unite at the local level, fostering resilience and grassroots action. By coalescing within cities, states and regions, communities can ensure that momentum persists. In the face of inevitable setbacks, localized efforts become the bedrock for climate resilience - impactful change often begins from the ground up.

The achievements of COP 28 in Dubai stand as a beacon of hope. The final COP 28 declaration, the UAE Consensus, made it clearer than ever that we must transition away from fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries came together in Dubai with a decision on the world’s first ‘global stocktake’ to ratchet up climate action before the end of the decade – with the overarching aim to keep the global temperature limit of 1.5°C within reach.

COP 28 also underscored the importance of the global goal on adaptation and its framework in strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change. The vital importance of protecting and restoring nature, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, was also reinforced, for example, through the agreement to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 and other terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

The COP 28 decisions set out a to-do list for Parties and partners to work together to achieve deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in line with 1.5 °C pathways. The stocktake calls on Parties to take actions towards achieving, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The list also includes accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, with developed countries continuing to take the lead.

Now these signals must be translated into real economy transformation, reflected in updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and supported by legislation and effective climate action at all levels and through enhanced international cooperation. Through the stocktake, Parties further recognized that achieving this transformation requires all stakeholders and urged Parties and non-Party stakeholders alike to join forces to accelerate delivery through inclusive, multilevel, gender-responsive and cooperative action.

There’s no technical and economic reason we cannot reduce emissions down to zero by 2050, through rapidly cutting emissions and protecting and restoring nature to boost its capacity to capture carbon.

Realising the art of the possible

Taking emissions reductions, for example, The International Energy Agency (IEA) states that global annual renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% to nearly 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades. On this trajectory, global capacity should increase to 2.5 times its current level by 2030 - but falls short of the goal to triple capacity. And countries must go beyond adding renewables, by also actively showing the intent to replace fossil fuels. National net zero targets cover 88% of global GHG emissions, but only 7% of those emissions are covered by any kind of national commitment to phase-out exploration, production or use of coal, oil or gas. Contrary to popular belief, the build-out of renewable energy supply does not require a surge in capital expenditure (capex). By reallocating energy capital from fossil fuels to renewables, a new report finds that a net growth in capex of only 2 percent per year is needed, which is in line with the past seven years, and much lower than in the decade after 2000.

The art of the possible is clear within the Breakthrough Agenda, which provides an established, collaborative process — supported by 57 countries, covering over 80% of global GDP, to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible, and attractive option by the end of 2030. With this initiative channeling global cooperation in seven key sectors: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, agriculture, buildings, and cement and concrete - it’s clear that systems change is not only possible, but more affordable than maintaining our current destructive, legacy systems.

The art of the possible is also reflected within the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda (SSA). While countries are increasingly reaping the benefits of moving towards clean energy technologies, the growing momentum on adaptation is generating myriad opportunities for societies and economies to advance resilient development towards 2030 and beyond. The SSA provides a set of clear and tangible near-term solutions that enable adaptation and resilience transformations across all systems to make 4 billion vulnerable people resilient by 2030. As highlighted in the SSA Implementation Report, progress across systems is happening. In 2023, for instance, there was greater recognition of the importance and potential of nature-based solutions (NbS) in Coastal and ocean systems, with almost 100 new or updated NDCs including at least one coastal and marine NbS - and funding is starting to flow on mangrove protection and restoration projects.

The above are but a subset of why transformational change can be realized. The Summary of Global Climate Action at COP 28 and the Yearbook of Global Climate Action – the seventh edition of the annual report on global climate action – outline several other opportunities for stronger collaboration to radically enhance ambition and action to achieve our collective climate goals.

Your support is needed!



We want to thank you for being part of this movement to transform our economies. This year, we invite you to join the campaigns and action-oriented frameworks as outlined in the 2030 Climate Solutions, as the primary infrastructure for global climate action. Race to Zero is the world’s largest coalition of multi-stakeholder non-State actors, with over 13,500 members taking action to halve global emissions. You can see Race to Zero’s 2023 Progress Report here, and activities at COP28 here. While its sister campaign, Race to Resilience, has mobilised USD 40 billion for work in 164 countries through its 647 members. You can see Race to Resilience’s 2023 Progress Report here.

And if you are already a partner of the Races, we ask that you please introduce the campaigns to your networks and ecosystems to help increase their influence and impact. We also invite you to showcase your leadership in implementing net zero - by sharing your progress against our ‘5 Ps’ and the preparation of transition plans which light the way for others.

The leadership and increased ambition, action and collaboration of this community is critical to ensuring a strong, action-oriented, all-of-society response, to advance the outcomes of COP 28 and turn them into tangible progress.

Read on…

How the Breakthrough Agenda is catalysing international cooperation on climate change by Simon Sharpe, Director, Economics and Kapil Narula, Senior Analyst, Breakthrough Agenda, Climate Champions Team.

We want to hear from you - reader survey

We are approaching 30,000 subscribers to this newsletter. And our daily ‘Top of the COP’ edition was read around 75,000 times over the climate summit in Dubai. This year, we want our stories of climate recovery, adaptation and resilience to go even further. To help this endeavour, we would love to receive your feedback to make our newsletter better if you can please spare 5-10 minutes. Please find a link to our subscriber’s survey. 

• Non-State actors and observer organizations in the UNFCCC are encouraged to suggest topics to be discussed at the global dialogues under the Sharm el-Sheik mitigation ambition and implementation work programme in 2024. The call for submissions is open until 1 February. The work programme was operationalized at COP 27 and through the global dialogues (GDs) and investment-focused events (IFEs) set up a forum to facilitate an active interaction between Parties and non-Party stakeholders, with the High-Level Champions supporting the effective participation of non-Party stakeholders. Instructions on how to make a submission and background information on last year’s dialogues that focussed on accelerating the just energy transition (GD1 and IFE1, GD2 and IFE2) including the annual report, are available on the UNFCCC website.
• The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) has partnered with the Shockwave Foundation and the Munich Re Foundation on the Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge. RAIN seeks to transform resilient agricultural ideas in East Africa into sustainable businesses by identifying and supporting innovative initiatives, aligning them with funders, and advocating for agricultural system transformation. The call is open to not-for-profit organisations in East Africa until 30 January 2024.
• Following the GST outcome at COP 28, ICLEI released the Stocktake4ClimateEmergency Outcomes Report which presents the key outcomes of the local stocktake initiative while highlighting the local climate ambition and subnational alignment with national action plans.
• The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) published the Net Zero Voting Guidance. The guidance aims to assist asset owners and managers in creating net zero voting policies, emphasizing the crucial role of voting in supporting real economy decarbonization as part of climate-focused engagements, and aligning with fiduciary duties and the Net Zero Investment Framework's recommendation for achieving net zero emissions in the portfolio by 2050 or earlier.

• World Economic Forum Annual Meeting,15-19 January, Davos, Switzerland
• World Governments Summit, 12 -14 February, Dubai, UAE
• IEA 2024 Ministerial Meeting, 13-14 February, Paris, France
• World Hydrogen MENA, 26-29 February, Dubai, UAE
• United Nations Environment Assembly, 26 February - 1 March, Nairobi, Kenya
• Zero Carbon City Forum, 8-9 March, Tokyo, Japan
• Accelerating Nature-Based Solutions Conference, 11-15 March, Livingstone, Zambia
• Global Methane Forum 2024, 18-21 March, Geneva, Switzerland
• International Renewable Energy Conference 2024, 8-12 April, Adelaide, Australia
• 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, 10-12 April, Barcelona, Spain
• UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 23^rd Session, 15-26 April, New York, USA
• Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, 16-18 April, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, 19-21 April, Washington, D.C., USA
• World Energy Congress, 22-25 April, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, 14 May, Paris, France
• World Water Forum, 18-25 May, Bali, Indonesia
• International Transport Forum 2024 Summit, 22-24 May, Leipzig, Germany
• 60^th Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies, 3 -13 June, Bonn, Germany
• Daring Cities 2023, TBC, in conjunction with SB 60, Bonn, Germany
• Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum, 4-6 June Bridgetown, Barbados
• G7 Summit 2024, 13-15 June, Puglia, Italy
• London Climate Action Week,  22-30 June, London, UK
• 26th International Union of Forest Research Organizations World Congress, 23-29 June, Stockholm, Sweden
• World Water Week 2024, 25-29 August, Stockholm, Sweden
• 79th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), 24-27 September, New York, USA
• Summit of the Future, 22-23 September, New York, USA
• New York Climate Week,  22 – 27 September, New York, USA
• United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity COP 16, 21 October - 1 November, Colombia
• UNFCCC COP 29, 11-24 November, Baku, Azerbaijan
• G20 Summit 2024, 18-19 November, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification COP 16, 2-13 December, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia