Watch sessions from day five of ZESC at COP26

The 2021 Zero Emissions Solutions Conference brings together leaders and scientists from businesses, governments, and academia from around the world. Happening on the sidelines of COP26, the ZESC hosts up to fifteen sessions across the first week of COP featuring distinguished speakers who will showcase solutions relevant to the high-level champions thematic days including policy technology solutions for: finance, energy, youth, and nature.

  • 5A. Building on the Blue COP - Priorities in Oceans-Climate Inclusion

    COP25 was heralded as the Blue COP with the first ever inclusion of oceans in the output document. Beyond this however there has been very little consideration of the ocean-climate nexus, even though without the oceans the 1.5 degree goal is unlikely to be achievable. This session contemplated a way forward to achieving improved integration between ocean and climate governance. It included considerations such as the risks, needs and opportunities for SIDS, the potential of nature based solutions, and the role of blue carbon and market based mechanisms. It sought to unpack ways to overcome impediments to oceans being a core consideration in the climate regime’s operation, goals and action.

  • 5B. The Land-Water-Energy Nexus of Biofuels

    Experts of land-use, energy, water, and biofuel technologies, scientists, engineers and professionals from around the world were convened in 2020 to make up a world class consortium to discuss, debate, and refine the potential for biofuels to be incorporated into national and sectoral decarbonization strategies. In a recently released report, Roadmap to 2050: The Land-Water-Energy Nexus of Biofuels, these researchers attempt to better understand the intricacies of the global biofuel market, the evolution of key technologies, and the intersection of biofuel production on the land, water, and the local economies from which they are derived. This session shared the results of this effort in trying to better understand the feasibility of scaling biofuels to replace liquid fossil fuels in emissions reduction efforts, with a focus on the impacts to land, water and local economies.

  • 5C. Emory Climate Talks on Food Waste and Anaerobic Digestion

    One third of the food production in the world is estimated to end up being wasted. By wasting food, we waste energy and water to grow food and produce methane. Reducing food waste and turning them into energy is one mitigation option that we need to seriously consider. In this panel, we discussed this issue of how to tackle food waste and also do so with an “equity by design” mindset. We brought in people from academia, business, NGOs from both Global South and North to consider solutions and opportunities related to energy and food. Instead of creating another landfill in an environmental justice community, we seek an alternative solution and propose to mitigate climate change and demand climate justice.