Climate change main focus in 2020
Coming hot on the heels of 2019, issues that will shape narratives in the New Year include pledges to reduce impact of climate change and the quest to involve communities much more…
Climate change
In 2015, different governments worked together to develop the Paris Climate Agreement, an unprecedented step to reduce worldwide emissions. Nearly 200 countries pledged to reduce emissions and keep temperature rise well below 2° C (3.6° F).
Although countries created the first truly global plan to tackle climate change in the coming years, the work is far from over.
There is still a gap between what countries pledged to do and what scientists say is needed to avert climate catastrophe.
Since 2020 is the deadline, national governments will be going back to the negotiating table to assess how much they’ve been able to do and how much more they can do, making climate change one of the hottest topics of the year.
“2020 is a year for urgency, ambition, and action to address the crisis facing nature; it is also an opportunity to more fully incorporate nature-based solutions into global climate action,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP.
Plastic pollution
The world has a plastic pollution problem and it’s snowballing. Since 1950, approximately 8.3 billion metric tonnes of virgin plastics have been produced worldwide.
Less than 20 per cent of that plastic has been recycled or incinerated, leaving nearly 80 per cent to accumulate in landfills or as litter in natural environment. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
Because of this, we have seen governments committing and more set to commit to the reduction of plastic pollution. However, the big question is how will they do it? Will it be through a public-private partnership or will it be a government initiative?
How much money will be put for such initiatives and the source of the money? All this is expected to be discussed in 2020, especially now that we are starting a decade of action for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainable agriculture
As the world population continues to grow, much more effort and innovation will be urgently needed to sustainably increase agricultural production, improve global supply chain, decrease food losses and waste, and ensure all who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition have access to nutritious food.
Organisations are running events around globe to support sustainable agriculture.
The events will bring together farmers, suppliers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, academics, conservation groups, and public sector representatives together with leading experts to learn and discuss opportunities to advance a coordinated and comprehensive approach to drive continuous improvement in agricultural sustainability
Food insecurity
Population growth, urbanisation, and the limited potential for increasing production through the expansion of cultivated areas imply that for food needs to be met in the future, yields will have to increase.
Agricultural research continues to develop new varieties with higher yields and increased tolerance to unfavourable environmental conditions.
In 2020, we expect to see more new drought-tolerant seed varieties and talks around Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) especially now that final GMO labeling regulations have been rolled out.
Biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss is projected to continue globally. Despite the commitments made by governments in 2010 to take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure resilient ecosystems by 2020, much remains to be done.
With 12 months to go until the adoption of the follow-up to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, in addition to the regular intercessional meetings and negotiating sessions, many more events will take place, which will help in development and implementation of the post-2020 framework including IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in June 2020.
Stricter laws
Environmental regulation is changing at an exponential rate. Around the world there has been a significant strengthening of regulation, consisting not only of tighter new rules but also more rigorous, consistent enforcement.
Environmental activists are urging the governments to strengthen regulations protecting the environment and vulnerable groups if this is not adhered to we expect to see more demonstrations along the streets.
Funding
More funding is needed for nations that will suffer the worst impact of global heating. The Sh1 trillion pledge a year from rich countries is not enough to help reduce carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis.
We expect to see more donors funding environment initiatives and compensate for the loss and damage caused by global warming.
Community initiatives
In 2019, there were many communities coming up with initiatives to tackle climate change on their own capacity rather than waiting for NGOs, a trend that thrived before.
Against this backdrop, we anticipate more community initiatives to come up in the New Year.
We also expect to see organisations empowering communities to use their own knowledge and decision-making processes to take action.
