FIVE MAJOR SHIFTS SINCE THE PARIS AGREEMENT THAT GIVE HOPE IN A JUST, PARIS COMPATIBLE TRANSITION......Nearly ten years have gone by since the groundbreaking Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. At the international level, the Agreement was hailed as a turning point of collective global action to combat climate change after many rounds of negotiations under the UNFCCC umbrella. For the first time, all countries agreed to keep the global average temperature increase to “well below 2°C aiming for 1.5°C” with each contributing their part at a self-determined speed and scale. The so-called ambition mechanism with the Nationally Determined Contributions at the centre was born, embedded in a framework of processes and milestones to enable assessment of progress towards the collective goal. Since then, the implementation of the ambition mechanism has proven slower than what is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the scientific community’s warnings have grown in urgency and alarm. Indeed, in many parts of the world the impacts of climate change can already be felt, in numerous natural disasters, heat waves, droughts, floods, which threaten the livelihoods of millions. Against a backdrop of multiple global crises, rising geopolitical tensions and increasing disinformation campaigns, it is important to not only reflect on the gaps of what hasn’t happened but also what has been achieved over the last decade. A closer look at progress will provide important insights into the dynamics of change that we can build on as well as nurture a sense of purpose for the climate community to prepare itself for the next crucial – and undoubtedly difficult – decade. This paper gives an overview of what has been achieved in the last years of international climate policy at the global level along different dimensions of the transition towards a zero emissions world. The focus is deliberately on the positive shifts that can be observed, recognising that these are insufficient to move us to where we need to be but remind us that not all is lost yet. The paper is structured along five thematic areas, covering awareness and civil action, policy and governance, investors and business, as well as the energy and industry sectors. In all of these areas positive shifts are under way. In some cases the shifts are only small and need significant acceleration and scaling. Some have positively surprised us and are already past positive tipping points and “simply” need continuation. All show that change is possible and is happening, sometimes faster than was previously expected or thought even possible.......Under each theme we highlight the main positive trends that have been observed in the last decade. It is not meant as a comprehensive compendium but rather a collection of evidence underpinned by data where possible, sometimes anecdotal. The intention is to provide a perspective of change at the global level and not to zoom into specific geographies. However, there are of course significant regional and local differences in many of the observed trends which cannot be considered in depth within the scope of this exercise.                                                                                                                                                                                          SHIFT 1 Awareness & civil action Climate change discourse has become mainstream. Civil and legal action pushes governments and companies.                                                                                                                                                          SHIFT 2 Vision, goals & policies Widely recognised that emissions have to be reduced to zero by every country across the economy.                                                                                                                                                                      SHIFT 3 Investors & business Every investor and every business feels pressure to act on climate.                                  SHIFT 4 Energy supply Renewables reached cost parity with fossils and power systems are shifting to decentralised, flexible models.                                                                                                                                                                              SHIFT 5 Electrification & industry Electrification in transport and buildings has progressed significantly and all industry is now working on zero carbon strategies.....read on    https://newclimate.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/five_major_shifts_since_the_paris_agreement_nov2023.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_climatecoach&wpisrc=nl_climatecoach              

Canada Revives Wartime Home Strategy to Address Housing Crisis. Thousands of simple ‘Victory Houses’ built starting in the ‘40s. New program to add dense homes such as multiplexes, mid-rises. The government is moving forward with a catalog of pre-approved home designs to reduce the cost and time it takes to build housing. The idea dates back to the 1940s when thousands of soldiers returned from the Second World War and needed a place to live.“We are living in a housing crisis, but it’s not the first time Canada’s been here,” said Housing Minister Sean Fraser at a news conference on Tuesday.  The new program will differ from the wartime strategy in some key ways, however. Between the 1940s and 1960s, a catalog of simple designs allowed for as many as a million wood-frame detached homes — known as “Victory Houses” or “Strawberry Box” homes — to be built across the country. Fraser said his government is seeking designs that add density, such as multiplexes, mid-rises, seniors’ homes, student housing, garden suites and lane-way homes. The catalog will feature multiple designs in each category to give communities flexibility, he added. Back in the wartime era, the government also created a federal agency to construct the homes, which eventually became the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It administers federal housing programs but does not directly build homes. That won’t change as the catalog of designs is aimed at developers, from large-scale builders to nonprofits, to cut red tape and costs. “We expect there will be significant space for modular home designs, for panelization, for mass timber and potentially even 3D printing, depending on what the consultation tells us,” Fraser added. Consultations will begin in January. It’s the latest announcement from the Trudeau government in response to a fiercepublic backlashover the cost of living. Home prices and rents have soared in part because housing starts have not kept pace with record immigration, and CMHC estimates that 3.5 million more units will be needed by 2030 to restore affordability.      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-12/canada-revives-wartime-home-strategy-to-address-housing-crisis?cmpid=BBD121323_CITYLAB&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=231213&utm_campaign=citylabdaily   

Here's a great route map- Scientists lay out a sweeping roadmap for transitioning the US off fossil fuels. A 600-plus-page report from the National Academies of Science includes 80 recommendations for how the U.S. can achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine made 80 recommendations for how the United States can justly and equitably pursue decarbonization policies. It includes recommendations for everything from establishing a carbon tax to phasing out subsidies for high-emissions animal agriculture and codifying environmental justice goals. “This report addresses how the nation can best overcome the barriers that will slow or prevent a just energy transition,” said Stephen Pacala, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University and chair of the committee that authored the latest findings, which build on an earlier report released in 2021. He added that only about a quarter of the recommendations require congressional action, with many being targets at private institutions and federal agencies. There is also a recognition that some changes are unlikely to happen immediately.     https://grist.org/energy/us-scientists-lay-out-a-sweeping-roadmap-for-decarbonization/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=weekly   

What is humanity? From the Latin word "humanitas" we find the definition "human nature" and, within that, our unique and innate ability to love, have compassion and be creative. If you look at the state of the planet, it is easy to feel like we've lost "our humanity" and our ability to love the place we collectively inhabit. From man-made conflicts to our inability to rebuild after natural disasters, it appears we spend more time justifying destruction than investing in tangible solutions. Our future depends on how compassionate we are to our environment and how creative we are at successfully adapting to the changes that are happening all around us. The world desperately needs thoughtful and impassioned builders who believe in construction, not destruction. We need to train and empower a cadre of humanitarian designers and architects. We will see more frequent and ever-stronger natural disasters. These cataclysmic events take only a few moments to tear apart a community, but generations to recover from. How we respond to disasters tells us a lot about our future. The true disaster is often not the consequence of the natural destruction, but the man-made mistakes that can happen in the process of trying to rebuild communities. With climate collapse inevitable, we have allowed a bitterly divided public discourse and politics to dictate our future as a sustainable species on the planet. Let's be perfectly clear: the planet will not end, we will. We are ill-equipped to deal with the coming design challenges........Our world is changing due to the impact of our species upon the fragile ecosystems of our once-thriving planet. Instead of confronting this new world, we are distracted by rapidly accelerating technology and are addicted to digital and alternative realities. The more we disconnect from our humanity, the more we ignore the real-world changes facing our planet. We are in a moment of absolute urgency and we must work together to design a way forward.It is imperative we create an alternative.....one that goes beyond manifestos and ideation, but tangible solutions and new systems to implement projects. One that is willing to take on the politics of stagnation and hold our leaders accountable – not with protests but with solutions. With the world at the precipice, there is no time to beg; we need a revolution. For the future of our species, our choice is clear: design or die.https://www.dezeen.com/2023/11/02/cameron-sinclair-designing-for-disaster-opinion/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dezeen%20Agenda%2086&utm_content=Dezeen%20Agenda%2086+CID_0bae71fd73a0e5697517c08b95a9831f&utm_source=Dezeen%20Mail&utm_term=Read%20more