Press Release

From over $100 billion annually from the world’s largest utilities companies for grid upgrades, to reports that net zero commitments among major companies have increased 20% in 18 months, and Race to Zero Partner members are leading the way on robustness, Climate Week New York City 2024 showed that businesses, investors, cities, regions and civil society continue to mobilize credible climate action.

The third annual progress report, ‘Progress Towards Shipping’s 2030 Breakthrough’, warns that the majority of actors across the maritime ecosystem are moving too slowly to meet the internationally-agreed target, with the next 12 months being critical to avoid shipping falling irreparably behind its climate goals.

The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions dispatch today the support of CEOs, mayors, governors, and civil society and Indigenous Peoples leaders for ambitious, investable and implementable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs),  Real economy actors and civil society leaders emphasise the importance of these plans to signal a clear direction of travel, attract investment, and spark faster […]

The COP29 Champion’s campaign, Impact Makers, will spotlight and scale innovative climate action from diverse leaders and innovators from across the world.

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) is proud to announce its appointment as an official Accelerator in the Philippines for the Race to Zero.

Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) announces its acceptance into the Race to Zero campaign, establishing itself as one of the pioneering African organizations to receive this prestigious recognition.

Jit Bhattacharya, co-founder of Kenya-based electric vehicle technology company, BasiGo BasiGo is an electric vehicle technology and financing company dedicated to introducing electric bus services in sub-Saharan Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, the company provides state-of-the-art, electric buses, along with charging and maintenance services for city bus operators. We spoke to BasiGo’s co-founder, Silicon-Valley innovator, […]

Dr. Johan Rockström and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, two important figures in the fight against climate change, are doubling up to spearhead two crucial campaigns, Race to Zero and Race to Resilience.

The Climate Champions are collaborating with the Edges of Earth expedition team, spotlighting local environmental champions around the planet to amplify the Ocean Breakthroughs via exclusively published content.

ELATIA (Indigenous Peoples’ Global Partnership on Climate Change, Forests and Sustainable Development) has been selected to conduct a comprehensive Global Data Study on Indigenous Peoples’ Climate Contributions by Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZF), under the leadership of H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28. This study aims to bolster long-term access to climate finance […]

London Climate Action Week (LCAW), held from 22-30 June, brought together diverse sustainability experts, policymakers and real economy leaders to explore and accelerate scalable climate solutions. As one of the world’s leading financial centres, London provided a fitting backdrop for discussions aimed at leveraging private sector innovation and finance to address escalating climate impacts. At […]

Razan Al Mubarak to help lead efforts to embed the Taskforce’s recommendations on global corporate reporting Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (27 June 2024) – Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has joined the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) as Co-Chair. Ms. Al Mubarak, […]

The High-Level Champions and Marrakech Partnership demonstrate the power of whole-of-society collaboration at the Bonn Climate Change Conference. During a packed programme of events at the Bonn Climate Change Conference, the High-Level Champions for the COP28 and COP29 Presidencies Razan Al Mubarak and Nigar Arpadarai showcased how significant climate action is already underway across all […]

The Climate Champions Team is proud to introduce its fourth cohort of ambitious and stubbornly optimistic Youth Fellows. These seven dynamic young professionals — aged 20 to 29 and hailing from seven countries across four continents — will work within the team supporting the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP28 and COP29, H.E Razan […]

In the six months since a global pledge to transition away from fossil fuels was made in the UAE, the devastating reality of climate change has continued to hit hard across the globe.  From ferocious heat across Asia to fatal floods in Kenya, Brazil and Afghanistan, people  around the world are paying with their lives, […]

The importance of climate action by cities, states and regions will be high on the agenda at the  60th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB 60), beginning today in Bonn. UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP28 and COP29, HE Razan Al Mubarak, and Nigar Arpadarai, have expressed their support for engaging all levels […]

Since its announcement at COP27, the Mangrove Breakthrough has gained significant momentum and brought much-needed attention to mangroves, critical coastal forests that provide essential benefits to society, biodiversity, and climate.

  The Kadin Net Zero Hub, an initiative by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia), has taken a significant step towards supporting Indonesian businesses in their transition to net zero emissions by joining the Race to Zero campaign as an Accelerator.  Race to Zero is the largest  campaign, rallying non-State actors to […]

Today at the the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), SUCCA Africa announced that they have taken a significant step towards supporting West African businesses in their transition to net zero emissions by joining the Race to Zero campaign as an Accelerator.  Race to Zero is the world’s largest campaign rallying non-State actors to […]

The UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29, Nigar Arpadarai attended the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on 21 and 22 March to inform how the real economy is driving significant global climate action and can support national governments in developing enhanced national climate action plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – ahead of COP30.

H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, welcomes the new Champion for COP29, H.E. Ms. Nigar Arpadarai, from Azerbaijan. COP29, the UN Climate Change Summit in 2024, will take place in Baku this November.

Dubai, UAE, 10th, December, 2023: COP28 made significant progress towards securing the Mangrove Breakthrough’s goal of 15 million hectares of mangroves underpinned by USD 4 billion of new investments by 2030. Global mangrove protection and restoration has secured significant support of over 40 new governments via the Mangrove Breakthrough leading to and at the UNFCCC […]

A new report launched today at COP28 examines shipping’s short and long-term impact on ocean health, productivity, and biodiversity, highlighting the importance of a coordinated approach and links between actions to decarbonize and protect ocean health anchored in shipping practices.

New data from the Race to Zero campaign shows that – through the leadership of 26 Partners and 31 Accelerators – more than 13,500 organizations are taking action to transition to net zero and halve global emissions by 2030.

Shipping sector leaders have commited to scaling up zero-emissions fuel derived from renewables-based hydrogen to nearly 11 million tonnes by 2030, sending a clear signal to the nascent industry.

Transitioning to zero and near-zero emission economies is at the core of addressing the three planetary crises outlined by the UN: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution currently underway. However, decarbonization cannot be treated in isolation. As recognized in the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, “ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies […]

H2LAC, The Green Hydrogen Organisation, and The Green Hydrogen Catapult, convened by the Climate Champions Team, have developed a Joint-Agreement on streamlining the emerging production and use of clean hydrogen.

Energy & Industry Day at COP28 sees the launch of a new wave of breakthrough country and industry partnerships to grow global markets for low-carbon industrial products.

A  report which offers a practical roadmap to scale up capital flow into mangrove protection and restoration has been launched at COP28 today.

World’s top multilateral development banks and other international organizations have signed a joint declaration and launched a global “task force” to boost sustainability-linked sovereign financing for nature and climate at COP28.

As a testament to the world’s collective effort to address the stark reality of climate change, the second progress report of the Race to Resilience campaign was launched today at COP28.

As world leaders assemble at COP28, a broad coalition of farmers and other frontline food systems actors, businesses, cities, consumers, civil society, philanthropies and others have issued a compelling and ambitious Non-State Actors Call to Action. 

A significant push is still required to meaningfully improve the scale, quality and pace of investment and finance for projects supporting the climate change agenda, particularly in developing countries, according to the latest Assets to Flows report, launched today at COP28.

Global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C are failing across the board, with recent progress made on every indicator — except electric passenger car sales — lagging significantly behind the pace and scale that is necessary to address the climate crisis, according to the State of Climate Action 2023 report. Published under Systems Change Lab, the report […]

With COP28 just three weeks away, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, together with the COP27 and COP28 Presidencies and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) hosted the Second Arab Regional Forum on Climate Finance at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

En una semana marcada por la agitación sociopolítica y los impactos del clima, la Semana del Clima de América Latina y el Caribe presentó un llamado enfático para una acción climática, inclusiva y adaptativa, que coloque a la naturaleza en el centro.

La Semana del Clima de América Latina y el Caribe abre hoy en la Ciudad de Panamá con el objetivo de movilizar a la comunidad de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) en torno a una visión común de lo que se necesita para transitar hacia un mundo de emisiones netas cero, positivo para la naturaleza y resiliente.

As we enter the final month of preparations for the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, 70 ministers, negotiators and climate leaders gathered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 30-31 October to mobilize progress on key issues including adaptation, mitigation, nature and climate finance.

In a week marked by socio-political unrest and climate impacts, Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week brought forward an emphatic call for inclusive and adaptive climate action that puts nature at its core.

New regional network will support engagement with financial institutions and policymakers across Latin America and the Caribbean to capitalize on the net-zero transition opportunity for the region

Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW) opens in Panama City today aiming to galvanize the LAC community around a common vision of what it takes to transition to a net zero emissions, nature-positive and resilient world.

As part of the final phase of the stocktake, governments and real economy actors were invited to share their views on how countries could best come together at COP28 to respond.

The Ocean Breakthroughs are transformative pathways covering five key ocean sectors, where accelerated action and investments could deliver up to 35 percent GHG emissions reduction and contribute to a resilient, nature-positive and net zero future by 2050.

Razan Al Mubarak, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, announces support to advance women’s representation and gender parity at the upcoming climate summit.

This week, the Building Bridges conference in Geneva brought together over 2000 delegates to discuss the importance of shaping a global economic model aligned with the needs of  sustainable and just societies already confronting the negative impacts  of climate change.

Climate Week New York City has come to a close, with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions calling for private finance to be unlocked for nature-based solutions and spotlighting the ‘Regional Platforms for Climate Projects’ – evidence that just, affordable and accessible climate finance is paramount to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Banking sector must play bigger role in transitioning towards green economy and achieving climate change adaptation, says UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27.

Delhi announces the decision at Climate Week NYC with a comprehensive set of commitments aimed at enhancing climate resilience while fostering sustainable development.

The UN Climate Change High-level Champions, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) have launched the “2030 Coral Reef Breakthrough” in a bid to secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of these precious ecosystems.

Amid rising voluntary climate commitments, Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin and H.E Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP27 and COP28 call on governments to implement clear net zero rules, regulations, and incentives.

At Climate Week NYC, Salesforce, in partnership with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), launched a Corporate Climate Finance Playbook to help companies unlock multiple forms of capital to accelerate climate action.

The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions today launch two important papers that specify recommendations to break financing barriers for just climate transition and restore nature in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).

The major annual event hosted by the Climate Group and New York City, in conjunction with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) opens this Sunday 17 September, with some 400 sessions taking place across the city.

This second report in the series assesses progress over the past 12 months against the recommendations made in the inaugural Breakthrough Agenda Report across five key sectors – power, hydrogen, road transport, steel and agriculture.

There is still an urgent need to implement and scale up “a rigorous ‘all of economy, all of society approach’” this decade, according to the first-of-its-kind global stocktake technical report released today.

‘It is time to break out of the shackles of low ambition.“ Those were the words of Kenya’s President William Ruto, galvanising action at the beginning of the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week. The Summit concluded with billions pledged and a Declaration signed by 19 Heads of State which included calls to reform […]

Africa Climate Week is the first of four Regional Climate Weeks coordinated by the UN Climate Change. It is taking place from 4-8 September 2023 in Nairobi, Africa, hosted by the Government of Kenya. The climate weeks, which will also take place in the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and […]

The Climate Champions are hosting two events at London Climate Action Week on Monday 26 June 2023. 

A UN Global Compact event today emphasized the need for collaboration and ambitious goals to achieve decarbonization in the maritime sector.

Race to Resilience partner, Resurgence, today announced the launch of Africa’s most ambitious and inclusive urban early warning initiative, spanning cities in the East and Greater Horn of Africa.

With five months until COP28, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP28 Presidency, H.E Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak has told stakeholders at an event in Dubai on Monday they must promote collective climate action.

Discover how the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center are helping mobilize concrete actions and contributions by the private financial sector to unlock climate adaptation and resilience finance.

It was a busy, but exciting, month for Race to Zero in April, starting with the release of the updated ‘Who’s in’ section. The campaign now has over 11,000 members committed to net zero by 2050.

“Three of the most powerful things we can do is to embrace nature positive action, mobilise finance at scale, and be truly inclusive,” said H.E Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for the COP28 at the 14th Petersberg Climate Dialogue.

Forum calls for development finance institutions and their shareholders to support the African green hydrogen economy.

Former UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP25 and COP26, Gonzalo Munoz and Nigel Topping will join a group of renowned global leaders charged with supporting the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience.

Tackling gender inequalities in agrifood systems and empowering women reduces hunger, boosts the economy, and reinforces resilience to shocks like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Race to Zero today released its Data Explorer, a new tool showcasing climate data from the largest 500 companies in the campaign

Funding for climate action and policies at subnational level is essential to keep the world on track for 1.5 degrees of warming, according to new research published today by Race to Zero partner, Climate Group.

UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP27 and COP28, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin and Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al Mubarak utilized Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) to build on progress made at COP27 within the non-state actor (NSA) community. 

Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) announces new programs to help accelerate Africa’s participation in the global carbon market.

The first major global sustainability event to take place since COP27, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, will open this week with the aim of consolidating climate action in the run up to COP28.

Her Excellency Ms. Razan Al Mubarak, President of the IUCN, has been announced as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP28 Presidency.

Five new retail and business associations announced today during the closing day of the fifteenth United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15  pledges to become Accelerators for the Race to Zero. 

At COP15, 85 organisations call on world leaders to right the ship for the ocean and its biodiversity.

With dozens of carbon removal events throughout COP27, pathways for removal working in tandem with mitigation and resiliency was on display for the two weeks of COP27 in Sharm El Sheik.

Clean cooking remains the most underfunded health and environmental challenge in the world. The Clean Cooking Breakthrough will be a critical mechanism to scale ambition and action globally.

The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions have taken stock of the contribution of non-State actors at COP27 with their closing event – COP27 Action Agenda: Progress & Priorities – wrapping-up a two week programme of over 50 events.

By signing the ZEV Declaration at COP27, BEEAH Group has become the first organisation in the UAE that has pledged to transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and contribute to net-zero emissions targets nationally and globally.

A new set of principles to build investable, high-quality blue carbon projects to ensure positive outcomes for people, nature and climate, has been launched at COP27 by Conservation International, along with Salesforce and a global coalition of ocean leaders.

A new report assesses the green hydrogen opportunity across the six countries in the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance (AGHA), concluding that by 2030 AGHA can grab up to 17% of the green hydrogen deployment needed to align with 1.5C and create up to 4 million new jobs by 2050.

Ten organizations signed the Joint Statement on Green Hydrogen and Green Shipping, committing to rapid adoption of green hydrogen-based fuels this decade to get on track for full decarbonization of the shipping sector by 2050, and calling on policymakers to help achieve the ambitious targets.

Throughout COP27, the Resilience Hub has been delivering on its mandate to elevate the knowledge of front line leaders and demonstrate locally-informed resilience solutions which can be implemented at scale. Resilience Day is no different.

Global biopharma company GSK joins the Race to Resilience campaign and pledges to support at least 15 million people in vulnerable communities to become more resilient to the health impacts of climate change by 2030.

Adaptation and resilience can be found at the core agenda of COP27. Read on for more about what’s coming up on Resilience Day.

 The COP26 and COP27 Presidents, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP26 & COP27, Nigel Topping and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, will open the Global Climate Action Agenda at COP27 with their event “Making Good On Promises”

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.

The Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda – a comprehensive, shared agenda to rally global action around 30 adaptation outcomes that are needed to address the adaptation gap and achieve a resilient world by 2030 – is launched at COP27.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 opened today with the key aim of ensuring full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Research commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy found that full implementation of key ocean-based solutions in five sub-sectors (marine conservation, energy, transport, food and CCS) could reduce the emissions gap needed to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C by 21% annually by 2050.