By Yoo Yeon-chul
The new year has come. The first global event of this year was the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022, held from Jan. 5 to 7 in Las Vegas. As the world's largest electronics show, CES showcases technologies that signal important overarching themes for the future.
The show's 2,300 exhibitors, including more than 800 startups, demonstrated technologies that will drive the way we live, work and do business in the future. Along with themes revolving around the metaverse, cars and wellness, a large focus of this year's CES was on eco-friendly technology.
More than 400 exhibitors from Korea have participated in CES 2022. They showcased new technologies in line with the global drive to cut carbon emissions so as to ultimately adapt to the new normal of net zero emissions.
Most Korean companies' Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions and Virtual Reality (VR)-inspired mobility solutions showed ways to reduce carbon footprints. In this context, 2022 CES could be called the Consumer "Environment" Show. There is no doubt that cost-competitive electrification is a climate solution which helps reduce the need for fossil fuel. It can be said that decarbonization and electrification will be the dominant themes of the coming decade.
"Climate Outlook 2022: Making climate action matter," was the main theme of CES 2022.
At the 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference last November, most countries set out ambitious targets of mitigating their own emissions. Not only countries but also companies are expected to make net-zero targets the norm and this trend will continue through 2022.
Now is the time to move from target-setting to integrating climate action into strategy. The world will no longer want to hear about net-zero plans in isolation, and will want proof that countries and companies are taking climate action.
2022 will be an important year for climate action as the world picks up the pace against climate change and moves forward from the 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference. There will be a wide range of significant global events and agendas in 2022 for climate change and sustainable development.
First, starting from February to September, three consecutive sessions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be held. The IPCC will eventually launch its first comprehensive report, called the 6th Assessment Report (AR6), since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The AR6 is expected to contribute to climate action by providing ways and means for net zero emissions to be achieved.
Secondly, three main U.N. Environment Conferences of Parties (COPs) are planned throughout 2022. In April, the U.N. Conference on Biodiversity (CBD) will take place in Kunming, China. In May, the U.N. Conference on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in Cote d'Ivoire. In November, Egypt will host the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Thirdly, the U.N. Ocean Conference will be convened in Lisbon, Portugal, at the end of June, in an effort to address the climate emergency. Our oceans generate 50 percent of the oxygen we need and absorb 25 percent of all carbon dioxide, which is a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change. In addition, the 15th World Forest Congress will take place in early May in Seoul under the theme of "Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests."
Finally, 2022 is an important anniversary year for global environmental conferences, which paved the way for climate debates and sustainable development. 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, which resulted in the establishment of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). These anniversaries will be celebrated in April and June.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. This anniversary is expected to be celebrated around September, with the initiative of the U.N. Secretary General who made the proposal of "Our Common Agenda." This agenda is a set of 90 ways to realize a "greener, safer, better" future.
Through these celebrated conferences, we can examine how global environmental governance has evolved and where we stand heading into the next 50 years. In this way, 2022 will bring us twice as many meetings of environmental treaty governing bodies as we would expect during non-COVID times. Indeed, 2022 will matter for climate action.
Yoo Yeon-chul (ycyoo87@gmail.com) was the ambassador for climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is now serving as the vice chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also served as Korea's ambassador to Kuwait.
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The show's 2,300 exhibitors, including more than 800 startups, demonstrated technologies that will drive the way we live, work and do business in the future. Along with themes revolving around the metaverse, cars and wellness, a large focus of this year's CES was on eco-friendly technology.
More than 400 exhibitors from Korea have participated in CES 2022. They showcased new technologies in line with the global drive to cut carbon emissions so as to ultimately adapt to the new normal of net zero emissions.
Most Korean companies' Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions and Virtual Reality (VR)-inspired mobility solutions showed ways to reduce carbon footprints. In this context, 2022 CES could be called the Consumer "Environment" Show. There is no doubt that cost-competitive electrification is a climate solution which helps reduce the need for fossil fuel. It can be said that decarbonization and electrification will be the dominant themes of the coming decade.
"Climate Outlook 2022: Making climate action matter," was the main theme of CES 2022.
At the 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference last November, most countries set out ambitious targets of mitigating their own emissions. Not only countries but also companies are expected to make net-zero targets the norm and this trend will continue through 2022.
Now is the time to move from target-setting to integrating climate action into strategy. The world will no longer want to hear about net-zero plans in isolation, and will want proof that countries and companies are taking climate action.
2022 will be an important year for climate action as the world picks up the pace against climate change and moves forward from the 2021 Glasgow Climate Change Conference. There will be a wide range of significant global events and agendas in 2022 for climate change and sustainable development.
First, starting from February to September, three consecutive sessions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be held. The IPCC will eventually launch its first comprehensive report, called the 6th Assessment Report (AR6), since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The AR6 is expected to contribute to climate action by providing ways and means for net zero emissions to be achieved.
Secondly, three main U.N. Environment Conferences of Parties (COPs) are planned throughout 2022. In April, the U.N. Conference on Biodiversity (CBD) will take place in Kunming, China. In May, the U.N. Conference on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in Cote d'Ivoire. In November, Egypt will host the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Thirdly, the U.N. Ocean Conference will be convened in Lisbon, Portugal, at the end of June, in an effort to address the climate emergency. Our oceans generate 50 percent of the oxygen we need and absorb 25 percent of all carbon dioxide, which is a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change. In addition, the 15th World Forest Congress will take place in early May in Seoul under the theme of "Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests."
Finally, 2022 is an important anniversary year for global environmental conferences, which paved the way for climate debates and sustainable development. 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, which resulted in the establishment of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). These anniversaries will be celebrated in April and June.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. This anniversary is expected to be celebrated around September, with the initiative of the U.N. Secretary General who made the proposal of "Our Common Agenda." This agenda is a set of 90 ways to realize a "greener, safer, better" future.
Through these celebrated conferences, we can examine how global environmental governance has evolved and where we stand heading into the next 50 years. In this way, 2022 will bring us twice as many meetings of environmental treaty governing bodies as we would expect during non-COVID times. Indeed, 2022 will matter for climate action.
Yoo Yeon-chul (ycyoo87@gmail.com) was the ambassador for climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is now serving as the vice chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also served as Korea's ambassador to Kuwait.
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