The Accountability Framework initiative at COP27

The Accountability Framework initiative at COP27

Last year’s UN Climate Change conference in Glasgow highlighted the urgency of climate action on forest protection and agricultural supply chains, as well as the important role of companies and financial institutions that work in this sector. To build on this momentum, the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) is headed to Egypt for the 2022 conference, COP27.

Read on to learn about our priorities and COP27 events to support effective climate action.

Land use change & climate goals at COP27

In 2021, almost 200 countries contributed to the formation of the Glasgow Climate Pact, building on the primary goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which sought to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

COP26 brought into focus the key role of forests and other ecosystems in meeting global climate goals. The IPCC estimates that agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) accounts for 23% of anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, this sector has the potential to provide 30% of the potential climate mitigation need to ensure warming stays below 1.5 degrees.

Emissions from land use change – such as deforestation and ecosystem conversion – make up half of land sector emissions. Moreover, this wedge of the global emissions pie is among the most feasible to address in the short term. As a result of this outsized impact and opportunity for short-term mitigation, it is essential that land use change is eliminated from agricultural and forestry production and trade before 2030 to fulfil the goals of the Paris Agreement.

To address this, many of the pledges made at COP26 focused on preventing further deforestation and conversion, including explicit commitments from both the finance sector and traders of agricultural commodities to address land-use change within the scope of their businesses.

Scaling up with the Accountability Framework at COP27

As governments, companies, and civil society work to translate the Glasgow pledges and corporate emissions reductions goals into effective and scalable near-term climate action, the AFi offers a tangible solution.

The AFi is a coalition of more than 25 leading NGOs, formed in 2016 to provide a single clarion voice to guide companies and other stakeholders on how to address key impacts of agriculture and forestry supply chains on natural ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions, and human rights.

The AFi’s flagship resource is the Accountability Framework, a guideline created with the input and expertise of world-leading organizations on how to set goals, take action, monitor and report on progress towards eliminating deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and human rights violations within their supply chains.

Building on this resource, the AFi has recently worked with the Science Based Targets initiative and Greenhouse Gas Protocol to develop new guidance designed to support companies in integrated target setting, accounting, and disclosure for land use change and related GHG emissions.

During COP27, it is essential that action take precedence over talk. The Accountability Framework and its supporting tools provide a clear pathway to address the significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from land-use change. Following this pathway is essential to achieving a 1.5 degree world.

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AFi Coalition events at COP27

COP27 events on the role of nature in safeguarding climate

• The Future of Climate: Energy, Agriculture & Nature-Based Solutions (WWF) Tuesday 08 November, 13:00-14:00 EET – Auditorium A, Business Pavilion
• What action is needed across systems by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5°C? (World Resources Institute) Wednesday, 09 November, 09:00-10:00 EET – Auditorium B, Business Pavilion
• Forest climate mitigation until 2030: Tracking progress, informing action (Climate Focus) Wednesday, 09 November, 16:45-18:15 EET – Akhenaten Room
• Bringing Forests Forward: Scaling corporate action for nature, climate and people (WWF)
  Thursday, 10 November, 16:00-17:00 EET – WWF Pavilion, P80, Block D
• Why Zero Deforestation and Conversion is Critical to a Credible 1.5 pathway? Evidences and solutions (WWF) Thursday, 10 November 2022, 17:30-18:30 EET – WWF Pavilion & Livestream on Youtube
• Eyes on Net-Zero: the importance of a science-based approach to decarbonisation (CDP & WWF) Tuesday, 15 November 2022, 15:00-16:00 GMT – Virtual

COP27 events on monitoring

• How to Better Track, Measure and Reduce Your Supply Chain Emissions (CDP) Wednesday, 09 November, 15:00-15:45 EET — Mövenpick Resort Sharm El Sheikh
• Unlocking Finance for Nature: Towards Scalable Carbon Monitoring Solutions (World Resources Institute) Monday, 14 November, 11:00-12:00 EET – Nature Pavilion & Livestream

COP27 events on finance

• The Investor Agenda: Scaling Up Investor Climate Actions to Achieve Net Zero (CDP) Thursday, 10 November, 16:45-18:15 EET – Tutankhamun Room & Livestream
• Why direct and local climate financing for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities is urgent now (Forest Peoples Programme & Forest Trends) Monday, 14 November, 11:30-13:00 EET – Thebes Room

COP27 events on reporting and disclosure

• Steering the role of ESG data providers (CDP) Wednesday, 09 November, 10:30-11:30 EET – Business Pavilion
• Building investor confidence for enhancing climate finance by leveraging global and national frameworks on sustainability reporting (CDP) Wednesday, 09 November, 13:30-14:30 EET – Business Pavilion
• Overarching disclosure trends that signal global transformation toward a 1.5-degree aligned world (CDP) Tuesday, 15 November, 10:00-11:00 EET – Business Pavilion & Livestream