This year’s COP28, the global summit hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was a landmark event in the global fight against climate change, featuring a record-breaking number of attendees from over 190 countries, including high-profile speakers and industry leaders—among them, many Climate Pledge signatories.

Conversation focused on the importance of collective action and innovation with business leaders, policymakers, and national and sub-national governments working together to reduce global emissions and deliver a just energy transition. There was a tangible, positive energy among many we spoke to on the ground. 

While there’s still much to be done, we did see a lot of positive news come out of COP28: For the first time ever 134 countries, covering 70% of the world’s land, have committed to integrate food into their climate plans by 2025. Moreover, new commitments to protect and conserve oceans, and shift from discussions to implementation seem to be in the cards. There was recognition of the essential role that women play in tackling climate change and the subsequent commitment to providing 50% of the population with the platform and tools needed to avert the climate crisis—from both top-down and bottom-up routes. And in the final hours of COP28 the drive, passion, and energy of those at the conference—and the many more supporting around the world—was recognized in a bold deal to deliver action on the climate crisis: nearly 200 countries agreed to move away from fossil fuels.

This year’s COP was brimming with captivating panel discussions, groundbreaking announcements, and Climate Pledge signatories. Here are just a few of the notable moments: 

CLIMATE PLEDGE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Climate Gender Equity Fund Grants Support Women-Led Climate Solutions in Africa

On December 4th, during COP28’s Gender Day, Amazon announced, in collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), that the Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) will award its first grants to several women-led climate and gender organizations from Africa. More here. 

The CGEF and grantee news was highlighted at several panels and events, including a COP plenary mainstage discussion on gender equity with former U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Amazon’s VP of Worldwide Sustainability, Kara Hurst, and a panel hosted by Amazon about the Climate Gender Equity Fund that included panelists from Pledge signatories Reckitt and Visa, as well as the UPS Foundation. 

Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) Welcomes Four Additional Companies

United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, joined Kara Hurst (VP of Worldwide Sustainability, Amazon), Ingrid Irgoyen (President and CEO of ZEMBA), Gilles Vermot Desroches (Senior Vice President for Corporate Citizenship, Schneider Electric), and Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld (Global Sustainability Manager, IKEA) on stage to announce that four additional companies (Mondelēz International, Pledge, Reckitt, and REI Co-Op) have joined Amazon, the Aspen Institute, Patagonia, and Tchibo to fast-track the commercial deployment of zero-emissions shipping services. 

Kerry emphasized the importance of maritime decarbonization and the need for private sector collaboration and ambitious policy and regulations to accelerate the early phases of the clean energy transition in shipping. 

THE CLIMATE PLEDGE PROGRAMMING

Leveraging Data to Reduce Scope 3 Emissions

While Scope 3 emissions typically constitute 70% of a company’s footprint, complex value chains and a lack of data make these hard to tackle. Chris Roe (Director of Worldwide Carbon, Amazon) welcomed Pledge signatory representatives, John Powers (VP of Global Cleantech and Renewables, Schneider Electric), Daniel Schmid (Chief Sustainability Officer, SAP), and Jon Creyts (Chief Executive Officer, RMI) to the stage to discuss how their businesses are leveraging new methods to measure and manage Scope 3 emissions. 

Accelerating Logistics Decarbonization and Greening Corporate Fleets

Global logistics emissions are set to increase 42% by 2050 and logistics actors across the supply chain have an important role to play in the transition to a decarbonized future. Chris Atkins (Director of Worldwide Operations, Sustainability, Amazon) joined Vivianne Heijnen (Minister for the Environment, Netherlands), Huiming Gong (Senior Program Director, Transportation Program, Energy Foundation China), and Joanna Shanmugalingam (Second Permanent Secretary, UK Dept of Transportation) to highlight efforts to develop and deliver a solutions hub that uses tools and resources to help inform corporations on how to best decarbonize their freight operations. 

Freight to Zero

Demand for urban last-mile delivery is expected to grow 78% by 2030, resulting in a 36% increase in delivery vehicles in the world’s largest 100 cities. An expected tripling in the demand for freight by 2050 could double its 8% share of global GHG emissions. Transitioning to electric freight vehicles is among the key ways to lower these emissions. Sarah Dimson-Tararuj (Head of Programs & Strategic Partnerships, The Climate Pledge, Amazon), Tom Rivett-Carnac (Co-founder, Global Optimism), and Mark Watts (C40 Cities Executive Director), united with leaders from Latin America (Carolina Urrutia, Secretary for the Environment for Bogota and Santiago Sandoval, Secretary of Environment for Quito, Ecuador) and Africa (Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone and Yasmine Basta, Just Transition Coordinator at the General Union of Algerian Workers) to talk about the importance of public-private sector partnerships to catalyze decarbonization efforts. One example is Laneshift, the partnership between The Climate Pledge and C40 Cities to tackle carbon emissions through zero-emission freight by reimagining medium- and heavy-duty shipping vehicles and the routes they travel.

Pat Hinton is a videographer and content creator for Empower Agency and was on the ground at COP28 on behalf of The Climate Pledge.