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Articles by Nigel Topping
How carbon budgets are key to the UK’s climate strategy
September 24 - When the Climate Change Act was passed in 2008, it set a standard internationally. For the first time, a country had a legal framework for tackling climate change. The act also established the Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent body tasked with tracking progress and offering evidence-based advice. Since then, the UK has made huge progress.
Why a science-based climate policy helps business leaders
Because of climate change, leading businesses are pivoting to greener models – but policy incentives are needed to support these shifts. A science-based approach is essential for countering widespread misinformation and delivering effective policies. Corporates should speak up and build positive alliances with government and civil society for progressive climate decisions. Around the world, climate change is disrupting business, compelling companies to rethink how they operate.
Columna de Gonzalo Muñoz, Nigel Topping y Daniel Vercelli: La necesidad de acelerar en acción medioambiental, y la importancia de los “loops” de ambición - La Tercera
Cuando hablamos de acción climática, más de alguna vez hemos percibido una brecha entre las grandes decisiones que toman los gobiernos en encuentros y negociaciones multilaterales versus lo que ocurre en la economía real. Al no existir naturalmente esa conexión, se hace difícil llevar a la práctica medidas de mitigación o adaptación que involucren a las empresas, al sector financiero, a las municipalidades y a la sociedad civil.
Low Emission Hydrogen: creating markets to get buyers to make firm commitments
Low emission hydrogen is expected to play an important role in global decarbonisation, though costs today are very high and must come down. Economies of scale will help, but production is yet to pick up pace as there are inadequate ‘demand signals’ which result in financial risks for project developers.
Beware the merchants of doom
By Nigel Topping With a bit more confidence and self-belief, we can move forward swiftly and effectively towards net zero Given conflict, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, the environment for investment in the race to net zero emissions would seem to be much worse than during the heady, collaborative, cheap-money era of the ... To continue reading Request Free Trial Unlimited access to all content. Email alerts highlighting key industry insight.
Antarctica is melting faster than ever. Here’s what we can do about it
The sea ice that surrounds the continent has been shrinking since 2016. This winter’s maximum sea ice extent was 1.75 million km2 below the 1981-2010 average, which means that an area the size of Libya was effectively missing. The air above Antarctica is also heating up, causing surface melting that can trigger the collapse of ice shelves. In March 2022, East Antarctica was hit by the most extreme heatwave ever recorded on Earth, with temperatures soaring 38℃ above normal.
Student Roundtable and Lunch with Nigel Topping
This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student-only lunch and roundtable with CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Nigel Topping, Founder of Ambition Loop and UN Climate Change High-Level Action Champion COP26. The discussion will be moderated by Gautam Jain, Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy, at Columbia SIPA.
Antarctica is losing 150 billion tons of glacier ice a year – but there's still time to act
Antarctica … one of the fastest warming parts of the planet. Image: Helen Millman WEF Hoffmann Fellow for the Poles, University of Exeter High-Level Climate Action Champion, Climate Champions The Big Picture Crowdsource Innovation Discover What’s the World Economic Forum doing about climate change? Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
Cut the climate doom - exponential green change is possible
Change happens gradually at first – then faster than you ever thought possible. When it comes to climate change, we find ourselves sandwiched between an escalating threat and an exponential opportunity. In July alone, record temperatures were set and broken daily across the world, making it almost certain to become the hottest month on record.
Cut the climate doom - exponential green change is possible
From solar and wind, to electric cars and batteries, clean economic growth is happening faster than we thought possible Nigel Topping, former U.N. Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP26 Change happens gradually at first - then faster than you ever thought possible. When it comes to climate change, we find ourselves sandwiched between an escalating threat and an exponential opportunity.
Become a Sponsor
“This expedition is marvellously imaginative and adventurous. Peter Scott did similar in his day and inspired the world.” Sir David Attenborough Broadcaster "Conservation without Borders has found a new way to shift the narrative on climate and biodiversity issues, and their campaigns are the perfect hybrid of high profile communication platform leading to real, on the ground action.
Protect nature before targetting net-zero emissions
Nature functions as a kind of global capital, and protecting it should be a no-brainer for businesses, investors, and governments By Nigel Topping and Mahmoud Mohieldin Published: Wed 27 Jul 2022, 7:18 PM Businesses, investors, and governments that are serious about fulfilling net-zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve, and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health, and climate.
Businesses need to protect nature to reach net zero goal
By Nigel Topping and Mahmoud Mohieldin Businesses, investors and governments that are serious about fulfilling net zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health and climate. Yet there appear to be worryingly few trailblazers out there. Worse, we are quickly running out of time.
Net zero impossible without investment in nature
Net zero impossible without investment in nature Short Url https://arab.news/n44r4 Businesses, investors and governments that are serious about fulfilling net-zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health and climate. Yet there appear to be worryingly few trailblazers out there. Worse, we are quickly running out of time.
No net zero without nature-positive approach
ESG Investing / Viewpoint No net zero without nature-positive approach Preserving nature is a key element in the world’s effort both to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and it also happens to be good for business. But new findings show that much of the private sector continues to lag far behind in tackling deforestation and protecting biodiversity Nigel Topping and Mahmoud Mohieldin 19 Jul 2022
Es imposible reducir a cero las emisiones netas sin la naturaleza
Aquellas empresas, inversores y gobiernos que se toman en serio las promesas de reducir a cero las emisiones netas antes de 2050 debieran apurarse a proteger, conservar y regenerar los recursos naturales y ecosistemas que favorecen el crecimiento económico, la seguridad alimentaria, la salud y el clima. Sin embargo, parece que solo hay unos pocos pioneros, y eso es preocupante. Lo peor es que rápidamente nos estamos quedando sin tiempo.
No net zero without nature
Businesses, investors, and governments that are serious about fulfilling net-zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve, and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health, and climate. Yet there appear to be worryingly few trailblazers out there. Worse, we are quickly running out of time.
No net zero without nature
July 16 2022 12:32 AM An aerial view shows a river and a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, in August 2020. Text Size: A A A By Nigel Topping and Mahmoud Mohieldin/ London Businesses, investors, and governments that are serious about fulfilling net-zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve, and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health, and climate.
No Net Zero Without Nature | by Nigel Topping, Mahmoud Mohieldin and Nigel Topping - Project Syndicate
LONDON – Businesses, investors, and governments that are serious about fulfilling net-zero emissions pledges before 2050 should be rushing to protect, conserve, and regenerate the natural resources and ecosystems that support our economic growth, food security, health, and climate. Yet there appear to be worryingly few trailblazers out there. Worse, we are quickly running out of time.
Why we need to globalize local efforts on climate resilience
Communities across the world are coming up with locally-led solutions to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. The challenge of the decade is how to support and finance climate resilience initiatives at a global scale, urgently. Economy-wide collaboration will enable us to globalize locally-led climate adaptation, without losing the local focus.
The power and freedom of net zero
By Nigel Topping, UN High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26 | March 14, 2022 A world driven by hydrocarbons is a more conflict driven world. The adoption of the Versailles Declaration – where EU Member States asked the Commission to prepare a detailed plan by the end of May to cut gas dependency – is a signal that this crisis can and must accelerate, rather than derail, the march towards cheaper, more secure, clean energy.
A COP26 message from the Champions on a Glasgow Pact for 1.5
By Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, UN High Level Climate Action Champions for Chile’s COP25 and the UK’s COP26 climate summits | November 14, 2021 Dear Friends, We came to Glasgow with the goal of bringing the leadership of non-state actors to support enhanced ambition from governments and accelerate action toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Climate Action Innovation Zone at COP26
Official Supporting Platform of: The Climate Action Innovation Zone at Cessnock Quay, Glasgow The Innovation Zone is open from Monday 8 to Thursday 11 November 2021. The Innovation Zone is preparing to welcome an in-person audience of attendees, from cleantech startups, scaleups, corporates, impact investors, national governments, local governments, UN policymakers, NGO’s, press and media.
Today’s Top of the COP: Cut Carbon, Restore Nature & Build Resilience
Regions, cities, investors, businesses and governments are stepping up to build resilience in the most at-risk communities and reverse biodiversity loss within the 2020s. In brief 33 financial institutions, with around US$8.7 trillion in assets, commit to tackling deforestationdriven by agricultural commodities in their portfolios by 2025, with a focus on palm oil, soy, beef, and pulp and paper.
In the face of partisan politics, Biden's climate goals need corporate leadership to become a reality
When the Trump administration stepped away from climate action, it was the country’s cities, states, businesses and investors who maintained and ramped up efforts to put the United States on the path to a zero-emissions transformation. Now the White House is back in the fight and galvanizing other countries to follow suit.
Following the science means slashing emissions 7% per year - starting now
Comment: Governments and businesses have set laudable net zero targets, but few have committed to the annual CO2 cuts this decade the planet needs It’s a refrain we hear year after year: This is a make-or-break moment, last-best-chance to stem the looming climate crisis. Yet, while climate action today is stronger than ever, we are still far off course from the healthy, resilient zero-emissions future within our grasp.
We need to start transforming - now
By Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Munoz, UN High Level Climate Champions | August 9, 2021 We are in a race. A race to a healthier, fairer, more resilient, zero carbon world. A race against the dangerous idea that we can’t do this, that there is no way. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report is a clear and sober reflection of our current pace. The global climate is changing faster than we had previously thought, and this report puts into words what we can already see today from our own windows.
3 rules for a zero-carbon world
Every human and natural system -- from oil extraction to the flight of a flock of starlings -- can be seen as a set of repeating patterns. These patterns can be disrupted for good or for bad, says Nigel Topping, the High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, the UN's climate change conference set to take place in November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.
3 rules for a zero carbon world
Skip to Content Every human and natural system – from oil extraction to the flight of a flock of starlings – can be seen as a set of repeating patterns. These patterns can be disrupted for good or for bad, says Nigel Topping, the High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26. In his latest TED talk he shares three rules of radical collaboration that he says could positively disrupt the patterns of the global economy and help humanity tackle the world's greatest threat: climate change.
These are the breakthroughs we need to achieve a net-zero world
Most net-zero commitments are due by the 2040s but the only way to meet them is if sector leaders work together to achieve transformational breakthroughs in the early 2020s. The emissions reductions achieved so far have been the easy wins; massive investment will now be needed to move from incremental to structural emissions cuts. The Mission Possible Partnership is working to build net-zero industry platforms across the hard-to-abate sectors that account for 30% of global emissions.
Global Ambassadors
U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg has long been a global leader in the fight against climate change. As three-term mayor of New York City, he implemented a groundbreaking strategic sustainability plan and reduced carbon emissions by 13 percent, positioning the city as a model for climate action around the world.
How governments can drive a bigger, better energy transition
The energy transition must be backed by a strong and holistic approach to policy-making by governments. The key to this lies in more specific nationally determined contributions - and the year of COP26 is the year to do it. The very first automobiles, introduced in the 1880s, were expensive, niche, and used only by the rich. Within 30 years, Ford’s Model T entered mass production.
4 ways for companies to take effective climate action
Companies have the scale, flexibility, resources and expertise to achieve ambitious climate goals. Leaders can start by mapping out the net-zero future of their company. Businesses can be climate leaders, become resilient, drive innovation and create growth at the same time. Taking climate action is good for the planet, society and the corporate bottom-line. Plain and simple. That’s a simple statement with a complex history and background.
Exponential Climate Action Summit
To beat climate change, we need decisive and exponential action. In the Exponential Climate Action Summits, we bring together the foremost thinkers and doers in climate action to discuss what innovations and policies exist that can bring the change required in order to halve emissions by 2030 in the Race To Zero. We have explored how digitalization can enable sufficient action in businesses and governments.
Nigel Topping: We need to green the economy while restarting it
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Paris promised us a healthier world, and now it’s time to deliver
By Nigel Topping, UN High Level Climate Champion of the COP26 Published:08 June 2020 Nigel Topping, UN High Level Champion of the COP26. Image: WeMeanBusiness/Flickr. Half of global GDP, a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions and 2.6 billion people are now covered by commitments to create a healthier, more resilient, emissions-free economy in the 2040s. That is enormous, especially as it comes in the midst of the human and economic tragedy brought on by Covid-19.
Is Your Company Ready for a Zero-Carbon Future?
Daniel Grizelj/Getty Images There is growing public demand for a rapid transition to a zero-carbon economy. But global protests and youth climate strikes are not enough to create change alone. Companies need to take action. Beyond the very serious threats the current crisis poses to our planet, organizations are increasingly seeing the material risks it poses to their business.
Daimler’s 2030s EV commitment challenges sector to rev up
A Daimler electric vehicle charging. Daimler, one of the world’s leading producers of premium cars and commercial vehicles, recently announced a bold new climate commitment to make its entire passenger car fleet carbon-neutral by the end of 2039. The commitment is the most aggressive goal that any global automaker has made to date, and it sends a powerful signal to the rest of the industry that the race to win valuable market share in the burgeoning EV market is heating up.
What Daimler’s move on carbon-neutral cars says about the industry
Daimler, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium vehicles, has announced new commitments to make its entire passenger car fleet carbon neutral by the close of 2039. This is the most ambitious timeline among any of the leading automakers and signals a rapid acceleration in the shift towards zero-carbon transport, writes Nigel Topping. Nigel Topping is CEO of the We Mean Business coalition.
Time for Germany to seize the opportunities of the EV transition
Home Opinions Transport Electric vehicles Time for Germany to seize the opportunities of the EV transition DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this column reflect the views of the author(s), not of EURACTIV.COM Ltd.
These companies are embracing the disruptive innovation of climate action
The need to act on climate change is the greatest potential cause of disruption faced by new and established businesses alike, and is also the greatest catalyst for innovation for those willing to harness it. More companies are finding innovative ways not only to rapidly cut their own emissions footprints, but to harness the emerging tools of decarbonization to find new ways of unlocking value. And it’s proving a big market opportunity.
Germany’s coal phase out plans must accelerate to meet Paris goals
Germany needs to phase out coal-fired power by 2030 in order to maximise the economic and social benefits of the zero-carbon transition, and deliver its commitment as part of the Paris Agreement, writes Nigel Topping. Nigel Topping is CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, a global nonprofit organisation working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change.
Germany can end coal power much earlier than 2038
Comment: The market can deliver much faster end to coal power than proposed last week, but it needs a confident signal from the German government A hard-won compromise has been agreed in Germany over the future of its power system. The government welcomed an official proposal to phase out coal-fired power from the country’s energy mix no later than 2035-2038. Setting an end date is a welcome first step, and this recommendation should quickly be approved and translated into law.
Exxon knows renewables are cheaper, even if Trump doesn't
At Cop24, the Trump administration is touting coal and gas as the energy of the future, but leading US energy companies are doubling down on renewable energy. More and more large corporate customers are demanding access to clean power. That’s not just because of the climate credentials of renewables. But because solar and wind are proving to be among the cheapest power sources available, providing secure access to energy that is affordable, and generating good and long-term jobs.
The Key to Faster, Zero-Carbon Growth? Harness the Ambition Loop
When it comes to combating climate change, neither governments nor businesses can do it alone. To have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), we need bold climate action from both business leaders and governments, each of which can push the other forward toward a more prosperous, zero-carbon economy.
Zero-carbon grids are set to power the #FutureFaster
By Nigel Topping, CEO of the We Mean Business coalition “There is no technical or economic barrier to transitioning the entire world to 100 percent clean, renewable energy with a stable electric grid at low cost”. That’s the conclusion of Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, who led a recent study in the rollout of renewable energy.
Unilever's Thomas Lingard: What we can learn from James Bond
Thomas Lingard, global climate advocacy and sustainability strategy director at Unilever, shared his passion for James Bond films and the parallels with business action on climate change, as part of the Talanoa Dialogue at the U.N. Climate Conference in Bonn this May.While many aspects of the "business and climate change" story are about business cases, or technical issues, I was determined to tell it as an action-adventure story.I thought for a while.
How circular innovation is creating business opportunities
We Mean Business CEO Nigel Topping spoke with Thijs Maartens, who heads up the Built Environment program at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, to discuss the growing opportunities in the circular economy. Nigel Topping: The term "cradle to cradle" gets bandied around a lot.
Automakers form Audi to Volvo are driving the electric transition
Certain policymakers are backing the rapid transition to electric vehicles, despite some high-profile moves in the opposite direction.
Enel, Google and other businesses power past coal
Business stands ready to partner with governments to help deliver the vision of the Paris Agreement.
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