The High Level Champions are honoured to convene these global leaders with a range of expertise and knowledge of different regions to join forces in support of the flagship campaigns Race to Zero and Race to Resilience. The Global Ambassadors will help the Champions accelerate the implementation of zero carbon targets and build resilience in urban, rural and coastal areas.
Each Ambassador has been carefully chosen as an individual deeply committed to transformative change and addressing the climate crisis. They have been appointed to help amplify the campaigns, anchor their narratives locally and translate ambition to action across mitigation and adaptation.
So far, the group comprises:
After a momentous week for climate action, the US-hosted Leaders’ Summit on Climate last Thursday underlined the need for international collaboration and an all-of-society approach to tackling the climate crisis and setting the world on a trajectory to halve emissions by 2030. This wealth of diverse, global perspectives will help activate widespread systems change, across actor types, regions and sectors.
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Gonzalo Munoz, Chilean High Level Climate Champion for COP25, said: “It is an absolute privilege to welcome these global leaders as Global Ambassadors to Race to Zero and Race to Resilience. We look forward to sharing with them our missions to halve emissions by 2030 and to build the resilience of 4 billion people from groups and communities who are vulnerable to climate risk, and to seeing them play a pivotal role in driving the growth of both campaigns. These Ambassadors will be central to anchoring the campaigns regionally, which will be central to their success.”
Nigel Topping, UK High Level Climate Champion for COP26, said: “I’m honoured to welcome this carefully selected group of Global Ambassadors who will help us unlock the efforts of non-state actors in support of a zero carbon, resilient world. I’m particularly excited to work with such a range of influencers who span regions and expertise, from whom we can continue learning, and I also look forward to soon welcoming our Youth Ambassadors to this group. We only win these races if we work together.”
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the UK Environment Agency, said: “The shocks of the climate emergency, like heatwaves and floods, are now apparent everywhere we look. Global industry needs to reduce carbon emissions and develop resilience in infrastructure and communities. This work will provide the new skills and jobs needed for the economic recovery, but it still needs to be financed. So while I advocate for the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience, I will be clear that this also means a Race to Trillions of dollars with nature’s recovery at its heart.”
Sheela Patel, Founding Director of SPARC, said “I am excited to join the Climate Champions as a Global Ambassador, advancing their work to put people and communities at the heart of their campaigns. We have the opportunity to make this a monumental year for climate action and I look forward to using my role as Ambassador to bring front line voices and non-state actors to the table too”.
Paul Polman, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Imagine, said: “It’s an absolute honour to become a Global Ambassador for Race to Zero and Race to Resilience. Runaway climate change is the most urgent challenge facing humanity and we have no time to lose in rapidly transitioning to a zero carbon future. These ambitious campaigns will help public and private sector actors work together in unprecedented collaboration, so that we can move at speed and scale in this crucial ‘decade of action'”.
The G7 Summit in Hiroshima, 19-21 May, represents a pivotal moment for global cooperation and a commitment to building a resilient, equitable, and sustainable world for future generations.
Across the two weeks, non-State actors offered a wide range of actions, announcements, and events across thematic areas. This included the launch of the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund, an African-led insurance commitment to provide cover for up to USD 14 billion in climate losses, and the Sharm-El-Sheik Adaptation Agenda in partnership with the COP27 Presidency.
The new Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), which was inaugurated today at CO27, aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa.
This Yearbook of Global Climate Action, the sixth of the series, reviews the state and scope of global climate action in 2022.
