COP 28 kicks off in Dubai: “Bringing the world together”

COP 28 will provide the first global appraisal of the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions pledged by governments in the 2015 Paris Agreement at COP 21. The Conference will also discuss adaptation to present and future impacts, financial flows and investments, the energy transition, solidarity between countries from the Global North and South and progress with the introduction of the Loss and Damage Fund obtained by the most underprivileged countries at last year’s COP 27 in Egypt.

With its funding replenished to the tune of €132M for the period 2023-2026, the FFEM supports the global environment using an integrated approach to the different components of the environmental crisis. The convergence between CLIMATE, BIODIVERSITY and POLLUTION is therefore central the FFEM’s strategy.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH for simultaneous action on CLIMATE and BIODIVERSITY issues

As stated by the FFEM’s Secretary-General, Stéphanie Bouziges-Eschmann: “The convergence between Climate, Biodiversity and Pollution is essential in choosing which projects the FFEM will support. It is materialised by an integrated approach to the different components of the environmental crisis because climate change, pollution, degradation of land and sea and biodiversity loss all have the same roots – unsustainable anthropic activities – and feed each other in a vicious spiral.”

LOW-CARBON SOLUTIONS THAT MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS

The adaptation and low-carbon transition of cities and regions involve drawing up transition plans and innovative solutions to decarbonise energy mixes and reduce energy consumption by changing human societies’ practices.

Given that nearly one person in seven in the world has no access to electricity; the FFEM is, for example, supporting the NANOE project in Madagascar which aims to use nano-networks to develop access to the electricity network in rural areas. In Senegal it is supporting environmentally-friendly construction of low-cost, low-carbon, innovative housing thanks to the PHARD project. It is also supporting the Office for Climate Education to help educate primary and secondary pupils on these issues in Mexico and Colombia, with the long-term objective of rolling the project out globally.

ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS

Nature-based solutions (NbS) and the combination of innovative green and blue solutions are the type of initiatives supported by the FFEM, providing opportunities to conserve and restore ecosystem function and reduce people’s vulnerability to natural and climate-based risks:

The Green Belt project around Guatemala City – which aims to make people less vulnerable and protect natural areas – and the Urban Nature Reserve project in Santa Fé (Argentina) are the subject of a capitalisation guide which evaluates their impact and makes six recommendations for future Urban Nature projects.

The FFEM is also supporting the adaptation of agriculture to climate change by structuring sustainable agro-ecological industries and regions, for example in arid areas in five African countries, India and  Brazil thanks to the AVACLIM project, and in Lebanon and Egypt thanks to the SUP MED project, which aims to conserve water resources and improve rural agricultural household revenues.

Mangroves play a vital role in increasing coastal resilience by reducing and regulating the effects of climate change. Through its Mangroves Initiative, the FFEM aims to develop experience-sharing between projects involved in protecting and regenerating mangrove coasts, and to leverage and promote their outcomes.

FIGHTING DEFORESTATION OF THE EARTH’S “GREEN LUNGS”

The VITAL RESERVES project, launched during COP 28 in partnership with Conservation International, aims to help conserve the Amazon forest while ensuring greater human welfare through the sustainable creation, protection, management and financing of a new generation of protected areas, as Vital Reserves, zones rich in irrecoverable carbon and biodiversity.

In terms of sustainable forest management, the FFEM and its partners have compiled a capitalisation guide, which outlines six concrete recommendations for central African forests.

CONSERVATION OF THE OCEANS’ CLIMATE REGULATION CAPABILITES

Coastal erosion, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, biodiversity loss and reduction in the quantity of coral reefs... The impacts of Climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems know no bounds. To combat this, the FFEM supports the establishment of projects involving the management and restoration of aquatic ecosystems.

The PLANKT'ECO project, in partnership with the Tara Ocean Foundation, and the SARGADOM project pay particular attention to carbon storage areas in the high seas.

The FFEM has also published a guide to the establishment and management of protected marine areas based on experience from more than 200 protected marine areas supported in 50 countries all over the world.

INNOVATION at the heart of the FFEM’s strategy for a fair, low-carbon transition

Since its establishment in 1994, the FFEM has placed innovation, be it technological, social, organisational or economic, at the heart of its work. The SKYSAILS POWER project is a perfect example, using airborne wind turbines to decarbonise electricity in Mauritius, the RODESOL project has developed an innovative solar technology to desalinate seawater on Rodrigues and the CRYOSOLAR project is pioneering a solar-powered cold storage solution in Senegal.

The FFEM at COP 28:

Wednesday 6th December:

• France pavilion / 09h30 -11h00 am: “Sustainable construction in the Mediterranean and West Africa” (broadcast live on YouTube)
• Ecological Education pavilion / 12h15 -1h15 pm: “Contextualisation and upscaling of climate change education: from Latin America to the whole world”
• French-speaking world pavilion / 5h00 - 6h00 pm: “Challenges and opportunities of eco-construction in West Africa: projects feedback”

Friday 8th December:

• Trade House pavilion / 10h30-11h30 am (GST): “How sustainable trade and waste management can help reduce climate change by combatting plastic pollution”
• France pavilion / 4h30 - 6h00 pm (GST):  “Forests, vital reserves for humanity: ensuring their protection and inclusive management as well as access to innovative financing”

Saturday 9th December:

• France pavilion / 09h30 -1lh00 am: Nature-based solutions
• IUCN pavilion / 5h30 pm: Nature-based solutions through the Small-scale Initiatives Program (“Programme Petites Initiatives”)

Sunday 10th December:

• France pavilion / 4h30-6h00 pm:  “High Ambition Coalition  for nature and people”
• To follow events live in the France Pavilion click here