*[Enwl-eng] Here is the latest news from the Climate High-Level Champions! (18.11.25)
ecology
ecology at iephb.nw.ru
Tue Nov 18 23:12:59 MSK 2025
UN Climate Change – Global Climate Action
18 November 2025
Top of the COP
Climate High-Level Champions'
Newsletter
COP 30 Tackles Climate Action from Coastlines
to Commerce
Today at COP 30: USD 4 billion target for
global mangrove protection, while saltmarsh restoration sets a USD 5 billion
goal; One Ocean Partnership announces USD 20 billion for regenerative
seascapes by 2030, and 250+ global companies move to help small and
medium-sized enterprises cut emissions.
Tuesday, 18th November
Welcome to Top of the COP, a daily roundup of
the Global Climate Action Agenda highlights, brought to you by the Climate
High-Level Champions
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Driving the Day:
The COP 30 host city of Belém sits near the
confluence of the Amazon River and the Atlantic Ocean – where the world's
mightiest river system pours into the planet's second-largest ocean. It's a
city between two worlds: freshwater and salt water, forest and sea.
Walk through the local Ver-o-Peso market, and
you'll find açaí berries piled high – the "superfood" that has transformed
from a local staple into a billion-dollar global industry. Most of those
berries come from small family farms on river islands around Belém, where
farmers scale palm trees in the Amazon heat to harvest clusters that must be
processed within 24 hours or lose their value. These açaí farmers, along
with millions of other small and medium-sized enterprises across the Amazon
and beyond, represent the front lines of climate action: businesses
simultaneously vulnerable to climate shocks and essential to climate
solutions.
This is where nearly 200 countries have
gathered for COP 30, and the symbolism runs deep. Just as Belém sits at the
meeting point of ecosystems, the Global Climate Action Agenda recognizes
that solving the climate crisis requires coordinated action across all
fronts – forests and oceans, energy and agriculture, adaptation and
mitigation. No single sector holds all the answers.
Today's announcements span this breadth: ocean
protection strategies deployed across tropical and temperate coastlines
worldwide, and new initiatives supporting the small and medium-sized
businesses that make up 90% of the global economy. Through the Action
Agenda, both domains are developing the tools that have proven effective
elsewhere: recognition that overlooked ecosystems matter, frameworks for
restoration that go beyond stopping damage, catalytic financing to
demonstrate economic value, and tools for accountability.
Here are today’s announcements…
USD 4 billion target announced for mangrove
restoration, while USD 5 billion target aims to restore 500,000 hectares of
saltmarshes
Two announcements from Axis 2 of the Global
Climate Action Agenda shine a spotlight on the wetland ecosystems that line
the world's coasts, buffering thousands of communities from storms, flooding
and sea-level rise. One focuses on tropical and subtropical mangroves from
Indonesia to Mexico; the other on temperate saltmarshes from the
northeastern United States to China. Together, they show the breadth and
robustness of coastal protection strategies being deployed worldwide.
At COP 30, the Mangrove Catalytic Facility
announced a USD 80 million initial fund designed to support the Mangrove
Breakthrough target of unlocking USD 4 billion in total investment by 2030.
Rather than just funding individual restoration projects, it's designed to
reshape how local financial institutions price coastal risk and value
mangrove protection. It provides technical assistance to banks, develops
investment frameworks, and creates mechanisms that make mangrove protection
financially sustainable beyond a single grant cycle.
Since the Mangrove Breakthrough launched at
COP27, it has tracked over USD 750 million across more than 40 large-scale
projects. Forty-six governments representing 40% of global mangrove coverage
have endorsed the effort. Countries like Jamaica are writing mangrove
protection into their national climate plans, with targets to safeguard
two-thirds of their mangroves by 2033 and restore 7,000 hectares by 2027.
Meanwhile, the Saltmarsh Breakthrough launched
today on Oceans Day at COP 30, by the Blue Marine Foundation, UK Center for
Ecology & Hydrology, and WWF. It announced its goal of USD 5 billion in
financing by 2030 and plans to restore 500,000 hectares. Saltmarshes are
vanishing three times faster than forests – drained and developed for
agriculture, ports, or simply paved over as humans built along coastlines.
Saltmarshes capture carbon up to 40 times
faster than forests – sucking CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in
waterlogged soil where it can't easily escape. When saltmarshes die, they
don't just stop sequestering carbon – they start releasing it. The 326
million tonnes of CO2 released from saltmarsh loss between 2000 and 2019
equals the annual emissions of roughly 70 million cars. Every hectare that
disappears is a climate solution switching sides.
Why it matters:
Together, the Mangrove and Saltmarsh
Breakthroughs recognize that coastal wetlands – whether tropical or
temperate – are among the most powerful climate allies. Both ecosystems
deliver what climate action desperately needs: solutions that work on
mitigation and adaptation simultaneously. They sequester carbon faster than
forests while protecting communities from storms and sea-level rise. They
support fisheries while filtering pollution. Lose them, and the planet loses
critical infrastructure for climate resilience. Protect them, and the gain
is natural systems that become more valuable as climate impacts intensify.
New dashboard shows who’s delivering on ocean
goals
A new Ocean Breakthroughs Dashboard will make
it much easier to track whether ocean commitments are being followed
through. For years, ocean promises have been easy to make and difficult to
track. Ambitious goals are announced. Pledges are made to go
"ocean-positive." Commitments are celebrated but who checks whether shipping
companies actually reduce emissions? Whether offshore wind projects protect
marine life? Whether sustainable fishing practices spread beyond pilot
programs?
The dashboard tracks five critical ocean
sectors – marine conservation, shipping, coastal tourism, ocean renewable
energy, and seafood systems – and makes the data public. These five sectors
together could deliver up to 35% of the emissions cuts needed by 2050 to
keep warming under 1.5°C.
Why it matters:
The dashboard's significance isn't just that
it tracks progress – it's that it identifies gaps so they can be solved.
When it’s clear to see which targets are being met and which ones are
falling behind, accountability is improved. When investors can verify which
companies are truly ocean-positive, greenwashing becomes riskier.
One Ocean Partnership announces USD 20 billion
in investment and 20 million square kilometres under regenerative management
Also at COP 30, the One Ocean Partnership
announced a global network of "Regenerative Seascapes" – large ocean areas
where the goal isn't just to stop degradation, but to actively restore ocean
health while creating economic opportunity for the people who depend on it.
The targets are ambitious: USD 20 billion in investment, 20 million square
kilometres under regenerative management (roughly 5% of the entire ocean),
20 million hectares of critical ecosystems conserved, and 20 million jobs
created – all by 2030.
The word "regenerative" is key. For decades,
ocean conservation has operated on a defensive model: marine protected areas
where human activity is restricted, fishing quotas that aim to prevent
collapse, pollution regulations that limit damage. These approaches are
necessary, but they're essentially about doing less harm.
Regenerative approaches flip the model.
Instead of cordoning off areas and hoping ecosystems recover on their own,
regenerative seascapes actively restore damaged areas while designing human
activities – fishing, tourism, renewable energy, shipping – to support
rather than undermine ocean health.
A sustainable ocean economy could create 51
million new jobs by 2050, according to recent estimates. But currently,
ocean-based solutions receive less than 2% of global climate finance,
despite the ocean covering 71% of the planet and doing most of the heavy
lifting in regulating climate. The One Ocean Partnership aims to fix that
imbalance.
Why this matters:
Imagine a coastal region where sustainable
fishing practices rebuild fish stocks while creating jobs, where seagrass
restoration improves water quality while sequestering carbon, where coastal
tourism brings income but tourism businesses invest in coral reef
protection, where offshore wind provides clean energy but turbines are sited
to avoid whale migration routes. All of this coordinated, locally led, and
financially sustainable. The One Ocean Partnership builds on proven models
like the Great Blue Wall Initiative in Africa, where regenerative seascapes
are already operating.
250+ global companies help small suppliers cut
emissions
One of the biggest pushes on climate action
landing in Belém this week came from the small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) that make up 90% of the world’s businesses. The Climate-Proofing SMEs
Campaign, now spanning 49 collaborators and reaching nearly 90 million SMEs,
used COP 30 to deliver a slate of announcements that show how the climate
transition is gaining momentum in the real economy.
More than 250 global companies – including
IKEA, Schneider Electric, Tech Mahindra, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Natura –
are helping smaller suppliers cut emissions and build resilience through
supply chain programmes. With Scope 3 emissions often reaching 70% of
corporate footprints, this is where climate ambition becomes operational.
Speaking from Belém, Nigar Arpadarai, COP 29
Climate High-Level Champion, who originally launched the Climate-Proofing
SMEs Campaign, said: “ Despite their crucial role, many SMEs have not been
given the tools, the support, or the financial incentives they need to take
bold climate action. Two-thirds of SMEs are already feeling the impacts of
climate change, and 63% of those committed to net zero say they’ve never
been asked to reduce emissions, with 84% not offered financial incentives to
do so”.
Campaign collaborators also highlighted how
multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, and
commercial banks are redesigning instruments so that climate finance reaches
small businesses in the developing countries where climate impacts hit
hardest and solutions scale fastest.
Two announcements stood out:
a.. Sebrae’s new Empreender Clima Platform,
with Organização de Estados Ibero-americanos (OEI), Ministério do
Empreendedorismo, da Microempresa e da Empresa de Pequeno Porte (MEMP) and
Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), will open
access to climate finance – including subsidized credit lines – alongside
sustainability training, environmental tools, mentorship and links to new
green markets.
b.. The launch of the South-South Collective
for Climate (S2C2), backed by climate-tech leaders in Brazil and India, aims
to support 5,000+ climate start-ups by 2030, generating solutions that could
cut or avoid 1 gigaton of emissions across Africa, Latin America, South
Asia, and beyond.
In case you missed it
And, in case you missed it, here is a roundup
of even more stories happening across COP 30.
a.. At COP 30, the Science-based Framework
for Global Peatland Targets and Guiding Principles now provides governments,
investors, and stakeholders with a shared, measurable roadmap to protect and
restore peatlands. Developed through the Peatland Breakthrough, it aligns
action with the Paris Agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The targets address halting the loss of
the remaining ~430 million hectares of natural, undrained peatlands;
restoring and rewetting at least 30 million hectares by 2030; and ensuring
all peatlands are managed under sustainable, wise-use principles. Together
with a derived climate target and two targets on finance and monitoring, the
framework provides a measurable pathway to unlock mitigation, enhance
resilience, and safeguard one of the planet’s most powerful natural climate
buffers.
b.. Restore Africa / Restore Southeast Asia
(Global Evergreening Alliance):A USD 5 billion plan aims to restore 20
million hectares and support 20 million smallholder households by 2030. Led
by the Global EverGreening Alliance with partners such as AFR100, WWF, WRI,
the Great Green Wall, the UN Decade, Accion Andina, the Riyadh Action Agenda
and the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security, it is the largest
smallholder-led restoration effort in Africa and the biggest
smallholder-driven nature-based carbon removals programme worldwide. The
initiative spans 20 countries, integrating policy reform, community-centred
implementation and unified MRV systems to make large-scale restoration
investable and directly beneficial for farming communities.
c.. Also landing this week: Coastal 500 is
mobilizing local governments to deliver real ocean impact. Its goals: 500
local leaders in nine countries by 2026, USD 5 million for community coastal
projects by 2027, and 10 million hectares of coastal waters – including
mangroves and coral reefs – protected or well-managed by 2027.
d.. The IFRC and The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) have launched the Alliance for the Amazon, a 10-year, nature-based
resilience collaboration announced at COP 30. Aiming to raise CHF 10
million, it supports communities facing wildfires, droughts, floods, extreme
heat, and displacement. Grounded in community-led work in Bolivia and
Colombia, the Alliance pilots ecosystem restoration, climate-smart
agriculture, and community health.
For media enquires please contact:
christineluby at climatechampions.team
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From: Global Climate Action
<globalclimateaction at unfccc.int>
Date: вт, 18 нояб. 2025 г. в 18:21
Subject: Vladimir, here is the latest news from the
Climate High-Level Champions!
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