At the DEAL presentation, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that ensuring access to global environmental data is the key to successfully achieving global climate and environmental goals. “DEAL, the new initiative within the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme, aims to promote equality and equal access to data and knowledge. Many countries have already joined our efforts. I encourage everyone to join this programme to improve data management around the world.”
The initiative, which supports the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in developing a global environmental data strategy by 2025, was also presented in Glasgow by Kaja Tael, Estonian Ambassador at Large for Climate and Energy Policy, and representatives of UNEP and Kenya. “Environmental data must be reliable and accessible. And most importantly: people need to be able to use the data. This is what DEAL strives for,” said Kaja Tael.
Although the initiative is scheduled to be officially launched at the UN Environment Assembly in February 2022, Estonia decided to support the first cooperation projects within the framework of DEAL in developing countries already this year. One project will be launched in Kenya, which has expressed its support for the DEAL initiative. One possible area of cooperation is the fight against illegal logging. In Estonia, high-quality data on forests is obtained by means of satellite images and airborne laser scanning. This enables to assess the species and height of trees in the forest and monitor felling to manage the forest more efficiently. This solution could be used elsewhere in the world, including in Kenya.
On Tuesday morning, Kallas also participated in the summit of the countries that have joined the Declaration on Forest and Land Use. The declaration is considered one of the greatest achievements of COP26 and an important step in the protection of rainforests. Parties to the declaration include more than 100 countries, which own 85% of the world’s forests, including Brazil, China, and Russia. “Estonia is a forest country – about half of our land area is covered with forest; therefore, we fully understand the importance of forests and the preservation of species diversity, and we decided to support the Declaration on Forest and Land Use,” said Kaja Kallas.
Today, the prime minister also participated in the high-level discussion on women’s leadership regarding climate change and signed the statement of women leaders in support of gender equality in the fight against climate change. The statement calls for greater involvement of women in leading the fight against climate change. In her speech, the prime minister emphasised that the problems related to climate change are not gender-neutral. “Research confirms that climate change and extreme weather events disproportionately affect women and girls. They are also the biggest victims of conflicts caused by climate change. At the same time, there are few women among decision-makers on climate issues – for example, only about a dozen women leaders participate in the COP. We need to take more account of the needs and experiences of women in solving global problems. We also consider it extremely important to reduce the gender gap in the availability of information and technology,” said Kallas.
Today, the prime minister also participated in the launch of the EU–US Global Methane Pledge. The countries that joined the pledge are ready to work together to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030.
