COP26: Assessing avoided emissions and 1.5 C compatibility of solution providers and enablers

During of the launch of the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, Mission Innovation’s Net-Zero Compatibility Initiative held a session at the UNFCCC Pavilion during COP26 in Glasgow on how to identify and assess innovations in an expanded solution agenda. As the focus shifts from only approaching stakeholders as sources of emissions and using existing sectors as the reference point for strategies, to viewing stakeholders as providers of solutions and using human needs as the reference point for strategies, there is a need to assess and categorize solution providers and enablers in relation to 1.5 °C compatibility. Currently many existing processes have developed methodologies and datasets to allow for different kinds of assessments, but no guiding framework exists. The panel included stakeholders and organisations in the forefront exploring how to assess innovations in accordance with a 1.5 °C compatible scenario, with the goal of establishing support for a framework and platform to classify and assess tools and initiatives that calculate avoided emissions and assesses 1.5 °C compatibility. Speakers at the event were: Sarah Kearney, Founder & Executive Director, Crane; Bram van der Grinten, CEO, Impact Forecast; Gabriela Herculano, CEO, iClima; Roberta Benedetti, Independent Consultant, Just Climate; Luis Neves, CEO, GeSI and founder Digital with Purpose; Dennis Pamlin, Head/Senior Advisor, Mission Innovation’s Net-Zero Compatibility Initiative/RISE