Days Until Our
2023 Conference!

Accelerating resiliency planning in communities across the Commonwealth

Search

United Nations COP23 Meeting

Home » Ecosystem Services » Land Use Planning for Mitigation » United Nations COP23 Meeting

United Nations COP23 Meeting

Home » Ecosystem Services » Land Use Planning for Mitigation » United Nations COP23 Meeting

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, the 23rd annual “Conference of Parties” (or COP23) took place in Bonn, Germany, November 6–17, 2017.

A brief summary at the closing of the meetings indicates that:

  1. The 195 countries signing the Paris Agreement remain committed to a collective framework on international climate action. Nicaragua and Syria, the only two countries that had not signed the original Paris Agreement in 2015, indicated their support, while the U.S. government indicated it might consider re-commitment at a later date.
  2. The international community has yet to send a strong signal that it is committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. However, an alliance of 19 countries, headed by the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, committed to phase-out coal production. In the UK, electricity produced by coal has fallen from 40 percent to 2 percent since 2012.
  3. Little progress was made defining specific emissions-cutting guidelines. Activists call for a “robust set of rules,” but that rulebook remains woefully thin. A U.S. government presentation about the necessity of fossil fuels sparked one of the conference’s biggest protests.

(Source: Environmental Health News, November 18, 2017)

Stateside Commitments

America’s Pledge reportOn November 11, 2017, the COP 23 Special Advisor for States and Regions California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Michael R. Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, released the America’s Pledge report at the U.S. Climate Action Pavilion, a purpose-built exhibition space sponsored by U.S. non-federal leaders at the COP23 meeting.

The report is the first communication to the international community specifically addressing the scope and scale of non-federal climate action in the United States following the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. It captures and quantifies the outpouring of public support for the agreement since the withdrawal announcement, finding that cities, states, and businesses representing more than half the U.S. economy and population have declared their support for the Paris Agreement, including more than 2,300 signatories to the “We Are Still In” declaration.

“The group of American cities, states, and businesses who remain committed to the Paris Agreement represents a bigger economy than any nation outside the U.S. and China,” said Bloomberg. “Together they are helping deliver on the promise of the agreement and ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in the fight against climate change.” In addition, the report finds that a total of 20 U.S. states, 110 U.S. cities, and over 1,400 businesses with U.S. operations representing USD $25 trillion in market capitalization and nearly 1.0 gigatons of GHG emissions per year have adopted quantified emissions reduction targets.

(Source: Press Release, America’s Pledge, 11/11/2017)

Become a Member
Become a Sponsor
Become a Volunteer

Sign Up for E-News

Get news and notifications from Resilient Virginia.

The Resilience Calendar

  • Transforming Transportation 2024: Mobilizing Finance for Climate Action
    Date: March 19, 2024
    Location:

    Join World Resources Institute, in collaboration with the World Bank, over two days of in-person events, March 19-20, to explore how stakeholders in the transport sector can mobilize resources to create greener, safer and…

  • Ecological Forestry in the Context of Climate Change Webinar Series
    Date: March 19, 2024
    Location:

    This 12-part monthly webinar series tells a story about how small- and large-scale forest disturbances, such as fire, wind, ice storms, hurricanes, sea-level rise, flooding, introduced and endemic forest pests, and others, impact forest…

  • Sustainable Infrastructure: A Duke Climate Collaboration Symposium
    Date: March 20, 2024
    Location:

    The second installment in the Duke Climate Collaboration Symposia series will include a March 20 panel discussion at Duke in DC in Washington, DC (also available via livestream) and a March 21 panel discussion and March 22…

  • Catalyzing Corporate Climate Resilience: A New Leadership Imperative
    Date: March 21, 2024
    Location:

    Join the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Resilience First, and Resilience Rising on March 21 for the launch of our new report "Climate Resilience Pathways: Catalyzing Private Sector Action." At this webinar, we’ll…

Latest News & Resources

Resilient Virginia News: Winter 2024

Spring 2024 Resiliency Academy | Program and Project Updates | Understanding the Intersection of Climate Risk, Food System Resilience, and Racial Equity | Community Change Grants Program | State of Clean Energy | Pathways to Resilient Communities: Infrastructure Designed for the Environmental Hazards in Your Region | Virginia Flood Resilience Funding Outreach Assessment | Journal of Disaster Studies | Resilient Virginia Resources | Muted: Climate Marginalization in America | Sinking Land on East Coast Threatens Critical Infrastructure | As the Number of American Farms and Farmers Declines, Agriculture Secretary Urges Climate Action to Reverse the Trend | 2023’s Billion-Dollar Disasters List Shattered the US Record with 28 Big Weather and Climate Disasters Amid Earth’s Hottest Year on Record

Read More »

2023 Listening Session Summary

Our 2023 Listening Session discussion focused on roadblocks to building community resilience and challenges in communicating about resilience and strategies to overcome these roadblocks; as well as collaboration, partnerships, and other ways to work with others on resilience.

Read More »

CFPF Funding Provides Hope for Rural Communities

CFPF funding provides communities across Virginia with the resources they need to address the impacts of increasing flooding events. Rural communities, who often face a gap in capacity and funding, can use this funding to close those gaps and address flooding impacts. Take a look at how Martinsville, Halifax, and South Boston are using the funding to build their flood resilience.

Read More »