2022 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27)

The time for waiting is over. Practical Action was at COP27 to deliver now.

For the seventh consecutive year Practical Action was an official observer to the UN Climate Change Conference. Our team was at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh to ensure that the people we work with on the frontlines of climate change are central to the negotiations, to demonstrate the solutions that are available and bring together the right mix of stakeholders to take these to scale.

For decades we have worked together with communities, governments, civil society, and the private sector to take change from a local level to a national scale and to the world stage. You can learn more about some of these solutions in our programmes and publications below or in the recordings from a range of events we contributed to over the two weeks in Egypt.

Our asks

More and Better Climate Finance
Wealthy countries have repeatedly failed to deliver on their commitment to provide $100 billion per year in climate finance. More finance is needed in the shape of grants – not loans – from the countries who can afford it and who have done the most to cause climate change. At least half of global climate finance should be invested in helping people on the frontlines of climate change to adapt.

Promote Locally Led Adaptation
People living on the frontlines of climate change often know best what they need and how they could adapt but lack the resources to take action. More support is needed for these communities, and they need to be leading on what this support should look like. Achieving this needs to be central to the shaping of the Global Goal on Adaptation and its expected outcomes.

Address Loss and Damage
Currently it’s the poorest, most vulnerable people who have done the least to cause global warming who are left paying the bill when their homes are destroyed in floods, or their fields left dry for years. We need a global agreement, and functioning mechanisms that ensure that those responsible for climate change help pay for the losses and damages it is causing to the world’s poorest.
Read more: Who should foot the bill?

A Comprehensive and Inclusive Stocktake
The first global stocktake on the implementation of the Paris Agreement is underway and due at COP28 in 2023. It’s vital that a wide range of voices are heard in the process. To comprehensively measure progress and identify where more work is needed, the stocktake must focus on a wide range of climate actions including mitigation, adaptation, Loss and Damage and finance, as well as technology transfer, capacity building and localised delivery.

Take Action To Limit Global Warming
We are currently seeing the effects of 1.1 degrees of global warming, and the world is on track for 3 degrees by the end of the century. To avoid even more catastrophic consequences, climate action must be radically scaled up and deep decarbonisation of the global economy is needed to cut emissions in line with the 1.5 degree target agreed in Paris in 2015.

Invest in People and the Planet
Nature-based approaches like protecting ecosystems, restoring degraded lands and mainstreaming sustainable land management can be key to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is provided their development, implementation and ownership are grounded in local context and inclusive of marginalised groups, like women and indigenous people.

Events at COP27

To Many the Climate Negotiations Appear To Be Stuck, How Do We Unlock Progress on Loss and Damage?

17th November, 18:30-20:00

Practical Action joined forces with CLX, Germanwatch and Union of Concerned Scientists to host this official UNFCCC side event, chaired by our Head of Climate and Resilience Colin McQuistan. With negotiations at COP so far failing to deliver we brought together representatives from climate impacted communities, experts and climate lawyers to explore whether climate litigation provides an alternative avenue to achieve progress on Loss and Damage.

Catch up on the official UNFCCC YouTube channel
Blending people’s participation and nature-based approaches for enhancing community resilience

16th November, 16:30 – 17:30

Akinyi Walender, Africa Director, and Colin McQuistan, Head of Climate and Resilience joined this event to explore how local community participation is crucial for implementing nature based solutions and strengthening socio-ecological resilience to climate related hazards.
Showcasing sustainability success stories: Lessons from Africa

15th November, 15:00-15:45

Our Sudan Director Muna Eltahir contributed to a discussion on opportunities for organisations and businesses to accelerate sustainable development in Africa, sharing examples from our programmes in the region.
Solutions Workshop on Waste Management in Africa

15th November, 10:30-12:30

Practical Action was invited to this workshop hosted by United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) to identify solutions for challenges of waste management in Africa where much waste is still openly dumped or burned. Our Africa Director Akinyi Walender shared the findings from our report Managing our Waste 2021 and calling for a people-centred approach to the waste crisis.

Practical Action has signed up to the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership for Eliminating Open Waste Burning from Africa which launched at this event. We are joining as a champion for action, and with an aim to ensure inclusion of community groups and informal waste workers as central to making progress.
Exhibition

14th – 15th November

Our stand in the Adaptation, Resilience and Loss and Damage area of the exhibition space gave COP attendees an opportunity to learn more about Practical Action, what we were calling for from decision makers at COP27, and to discuss innovative opportunities for climate action together with some of the world’s most climate change impacted communities.
African Cities Water Adaptation Launch

14th November, 10:00-12:00
Building Urban Water Resilience in Africa: Accelerating Investment and Catalyzing Action

We joined the launch of the African Cities Water Adaptation Platform (ACWA Platform), a pan-African initiative to catalyse water-resilient African cities. Practical Action are proud to endorse the platform and committed to address the water challenges facing urban communities across Africa, particularly from the perspective of community resilience and locally-led adaptation.

14th November, 15:00-16:30
Catalyzing Innovative Finance for Strengthened Water Resilience in African Cities

This 2030 Implementation Lab elevated many innovative financing solutions that are being developed by state and non-state actors and launched the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund.
Accelerating gender-just climate leadership Part 2: Gender responsive implementation

14th November, 10:40-11:30

Men and women experience climate impacts in different ways. Women’s many roles in society and families make them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. But women also hold many of the solutions. In this session our Climate and Resilience Officer Demet Intepe was invited alongside other practitioners and policy makers to share examples of how gender can and should be integrated in climate policy. Demet’s contribution built on Practical Action’s submission to the UNFCCC report; Dimensions and examples of the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change, the role of women as agents of change and opportunities for women.

Watch the recording here
Highlighting Loss and Damage to Water and Sanitation Infrastructure due to various hazards in Bangladesh

11th November, 15:30

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries, increasingly intense and unpredictable weather events are causing losses and damages to people’s homes, livelihoods and infrastructure. Our Head of Climate and Resilience, Colin McQuistan joined this session to share the experiences of people in the flood prone communities we work with and highlight some of the solutions we’re working on to build community flood resilience.
The Role and Limits of Humanitarian Action in the Face of Rising Losses and Damages

10th November, 18:30-20:00

Efforts to address climate-related losses and damages to date have been highly insufficient, and national and international humanitarian response systems are already overstretched and underfunded. This United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change side event organised by the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance and built on experiences and research carried out by Practical Action and other Alliance partners.

Watch recording on the official UNFCCC YouTube channel
The Power of Inclusion: Designing Equitable Energy Systems Across Social Divisions

10th November, 16:00-17:20

This session hosted as part of the Climate Compatible Growth Programme at COP27 focused on how inclusion is key to equitable energy transition. Our West Africa Director Edwin Obiero had a wealth of examples to draw from based on Practical Action’s long standing work enabling inclusive energy access, including for refugees and their host communities and supporting women entrepreneurs and last mile distributors.
How can we scale youth enterprise solutions for climate justice?

10th November 14:30-16:00

Business Fights Poverty Climate Justice 2022 was a hybrid, inclusive and interactive event bringing together business, civil society, and government actors who are passionate about climate justice. This session was hosted with the Corporate Responsibility Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Change by Degrees, and Injaaz Egypt. It explored the practical solutions being developed by inspiring young entrepreneurs that help vulnerable people adapt to and mitigate the risks of climate change. Our West Africa Director Edwin Obiero lead a discussion on promising solutions and ways to overcome challenges for implementation.
Science for adaptation action: building climate resilience through weather and climate services

10th November, 13:30-14:30

This panel discussion hosted by the UK Government brought together leading experts to discuss how weather and climate services can inform climate adaptation action. Dharam Uprety, Thematic Lead for Climate and Resilience at Practical Action Nepal brought his expertise on local adaptation, disaster risk reduction and early warning system. He shared examples of impact and learning from Practical Action’s decades long work in Nepal to develop community centred early warning systems.

Catch up here
Where are the gaps in business leadership for climate justice?

9th November 14:30-16:00

Business Fights Poverty Climate Justice 2022 was a hybrid, inclusive and interactive event bringing together business, civil society, and government actors who are passionate about climate justice. This session focused on what more businesses can do to support climate justice. It was hosted by Meta and our Africa Director Akinyi Walender was in Sharm El-Sheikh to facilitate discussions on current gaps and possible solutions.
Why Is Locally Led Adaptation Fundamental to Achieving the Global Goal on Adaptation?: A Practitioners’ Perspective With Examples From Africa

9th November, 11:00-12:30

Moderator: Demet Intepe (Practical Action UK)

Speakers: Emilie Beauchamp (IISD), Sandeep Chamling Rai (WWF), Nisha Krishnan (WRI), Edwin Obiero (Practical Action West Africa)

Practical Action brought together practitioners and adaptation experts to explore opportunities and gaps around Locally Led Adaptation in the Global Goal for Adaptation process. We used examples of locally led adaptation actions across Africa to discuss how communities can effectively adapt to climate change and what additional financial and technical support is needed to achieve this.
Blended Finance Solutions and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships To Scale Urban Water Resilience

8th November, 12:00-13:30

Colin McQuistan joined the World Resource Institute hosted session to share insights from Practical Action’s work as a member of the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance. Colin’s contribution focussed on how we are using the Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities to facilitate community leadership in our disaster risk reduction and climate change resilience work.