PARIS REINFORCE at COP26!

Our project had the opportunity to attend this year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, UK.

On Monday, 1 November 2021, PARIS REINFORCE co-organised an event with fellow H2020 research projects, as part of the European Union's side events at the COP26 summit. In particular, projects NAVIGATE represented by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), PARIS REINFORCE represented by National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), LOCOMOTION represented by European Environmental Bureau (EEB), and VERIFY represented by Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE) together organised the virtual side event "Towards an emission neutral society: challenges and opportunities". The projects discussed challenges and opportunities on the way to an emission neutral society. These include the implications of the EU recovery funds on emissions and employment, social and resource implications of a fair renewable energy transition, transformative mitigation measures on the supply and demand side, and the need for independent verification of country emissions accounts. More information can be found here (link).

On Friday, 5 November 2021, at the Central Asia pavilion (blue zone) of COP26, PARIS REINFORCE had the opportunity to discuss the role of regional and international cooperation in the framework of the “net-zero emissions vision to 2060” for Kazakhstan. Organised as a multiplayer strategic game (with Kazakhstan as a “centroid” of the game), the presentation illustrated the possible space for synergies and cooperation with relevant actors (Central Asian region, Russia, China, and the EU) that can ease or trigger the climate neutrality ambition of Kazakhstan. More information, including a video and the presentation, can be found here (link).

PARIS REINFORCE also contributed to the COP26 European Commission's Policy Publication, "Climate Action in the Post-COVID-19 World", with its brief on "Investigating Optimal Allocations for Green Recovery Funds". Our contribution focused on the dramatic economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis in Europe. Despite significant public interventions, more than 1.8 million jobs were lost in the EU up to September 2020. As fiscal stimulus measures continue to be announced, policymakers have an opportunity to ensure that the short-term stimulus points the economic recovery in a sustainable direction in the long term, considering the trade-off between these goals. The project brief investigated this trade-off between short-term economic gains, in the form of employment, and longer-term CO2 emissions reductions from fiscal stimulus packages. Analysis was performed to identify the optimal energy investment mix of proposed fiscal programmes in terms of new energy sector jobs and CO2 emissions cuts compared with a current policy baseline. More information, along with the entire policy publication, can be found here (link).

Finally, researchers in the PARIS REINFORCE consortium physically attended COP26 and followed climate talks closely. Among various project activities and presentations in targeted virtual and physical events, they had the opportunity to communicate the project's aims and disseminate its findings, also sharing dissemination material with COP26 attendees. More information can be found here (link).

15 November 2021

PARIS REINFORCE