Here’s What Was – And Wasn’t – Achieved at COP29
Source: The Conversation
PHOTO CREDIT: © UNEP/Ahmed Nayim Yussuf
The petroleum-laden dust has settled on this year’s United Nations climate summit, COP29, held over the past fortnight in Baku, Azerbaijan. Climate scientists, leaders, lobbyists and delegates are heading for home.
The meeting achieved incremental progress. Negotiators agreed on a new climate finance target of at least US$300 billion a year by 2035 (A$460 billion), up from US$100 billion now. These funds would help developing nations shift away from fossil fuels, adapt to the warming climate and respond to loss and damage from climate disasters.
Nations also agreed on the essential rules for a global carbon trading market, the last agreement needed to make the 2015 Paris Agreement fully operational.
As UN climate chief Simon Stiell said in the final session, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) meeting showed the Paris Agreement was delivering on climate action, but national governments “still need to pick up the pace”.
I attended COP29 as an expert in international climate law and litigation. I observed the finance negotiations firsthand and represented a new alliance of Australian and Pacific universities supporting international climate cooperation.
At the outset, expectations for the conference were low. The United States had just voted for the return of climate denier Donald Trump. And Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared oil and gas a “gift of God” at an opening event.
But even with these considerable headwinds, progress was made.COP29 showed the Paris Agreement was delivering on climate action, but more is needed. Anatoly Maltsev/EPA
Progress on climate finance
The world’s rich countries currently contribute US$100 billion a year to climate finance for developing nations. It pays for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change by making systems more resilient.
Two years ago, countries agreed to create a new “loss and damage” fund for nations dealing with climate disasters, launched at the summit in Dubai last year.
At these COP29 talks, Australia announced it would contribute A$50 million (US$32 million) to this fund. Climate change is already costing developing countries huge sums, estimated at US$100-$500 billion a year.
These flows of funding from rich countries are essential for developing nations to increase their emissions reduction, as well as respond to climate damage.
The COP29 deal sets a target of at least US$300 billion per year by 2035, with richer countries leading delivery.
While this goal represents a tripling of the previous target, it falls far short of the $400-$900 billion many developing countries had called for in finance from rich governments.
Disappointed developing country representatives labelled it “a paltry sum” and a “joke”. It also falls short of what experts say is needed by 2035 to meet global climate finance needs.
Recognising this gap, the text calls on “all actors to work together” to scale up finance from all public and private sources to at least US$1.3 trillion per year by 2035. Ways this might be achieved will be presented at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, a year from now.Developing nations need climate finance to withstand the effects of climate change. Mick Tsikas/AAP
Making the international carbon market a reality
COP29 also reached an agreement that settles longstanding disputes about making the international carbon market a reality. This hard-won deal delivered global standards for carbon trading, opening up new ways for developing countries to boost their renewable energy capacity.
These rules will pave the way for country-to-country trading of carbon credits. Each credit represents a tonne of carbon dioxide either removed from the atmosphere or not emitted. The deal will give countries more flexibility in how they meet their emissions targets.
It’s not perfect. Concerns linger on whether the rules will ensure trades reflect real projects and how transparent and accountable the market will be.
But the agreement will boost the importance of carbon credits and could increase incentives to protect carbon “sinks” – such as rainforests, seagrass meadows and mangroves – with flow-on nature benefits.
New national climate goals
By February 2025, all 195 Paris signatories have to announce more ambitious emission targets. Some countries announced their new plans at COP29.
The most ambitious was the United Kingdom, which upped its 2030 goal of a 68% cut to reducing 81% below 1990 emissions by 2035.
Next year’s host, Brazil, released new targets for a 59%–67% drop below 2005 levels by 2035.
But Brazil didn’t amend its 2030 ambitions and plans to boost oil and gas production 36% by 2035.
The United Arab Emirates announced target cuts of 47% before 2035, ahead of net zero by 2050. But this pledge was criticised by climate campaigners because the UAE is projected to boost oil and gas production 34% by by 2035.
The host, Azerbaijan, did not release its goals. Many other countries, including Australia, also held off from announcing new targets in Baku.
Indecision on fossil fuels
Fossil fuels were the elephant in the room. At last year’s COP in Dubai, nations finally agreed to include wording on:
transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science
But at this year’s COP, there was no decision on how, exactly, to begin this transition – and fossil fuels are not explicitly mentioned in the outcome documents.
Delegates from oil giant Saudi Arabia repeatedly tried to block mention of fossil fuels across all of the negotiating streams.Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry, with oil refineries running since 1859. Rasul Guliyev/Shutterstock
Trump’s return wasn’t a deal-breaker
The consequences of Trump’s re-election for climate action were much discussed. But I observed a surprising amount of acceptance and even optimism for climate cooperation.
The US is the world’s second-largest emitter, after China. Trump has promised to ramp up the country’s oil and gas production, and pull the US from the Paris Agreement as he did during his first term.
But climate action continued regardless – especially in renewables giant China, which hit its 2030 renewable target this year. The US is no longer the main player in climate negotiations, and many countries are much further down the road of cutting emissions. Few show signs of backtracking.
As the US bows out, it creates a vacuum. At COP29, middle powers such as Canada, the UK and Australia stepped up.
Negotiators from a progressive High Ambition Coalition – including small island states, the European Union and Latin American countries such as Columbia – played an important role in pushing to urgently increase finance for climate action.
China, for its part, is clearly eyeing off the position of climate leader about to be vacated by the US. And leaders of progressive US states attended COP29 to show parts of the US are still on board with climate action.Passing the baton? US deputy envoy Rick Duke talks to China’s climate envoy Liu Zhenmin at the Chinese pavilion in Baku. Peter DeJong/AP
Australia’s hosting bid for 2026 talks in limbo
Australia’s bid to host COP31 in 2026 alongside Pacific nations was tipped to win, given it had the support from nearly all of the 29 “Western European and Other States” group of nations which will decide the host this time. Many observers expected an announcement at the end of COP29.
But no decision was made, as the rival bidder, Türkiye, did not withdraw its bid.
An announcement is now likely in mid-2025 – after Australia’s next federal election.
What now?
Many people are disappointed by COP29. It did not bring transformative change. The huge jump in climate finance called for by developing countries, and many in civil society, didn’t eventuate.
It came as 2024 is on track to be the hottest on record, and the costs of extreme weather have risen to more than US$2 trillion over the last decade.
But this year’s talks were still a step forward, affirming international climate cooperation at a time of significant geopolitical tensions globally. As the UN’s Simon Stiell said:
the UN Paris Agreement is humanity’s life-raft; there is nothing else […] We are taking that journey forward together.
World approves UN rules for carbon trading between nations at COP29
By AFP
November 23, 2024
Carbon credits are generated by activities that reduce or avoid planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, like planting trees or replacing polluting coal with renewable energy - Copyright AFP STRINGER
Nathalie ALONSO, with Kelly MACNAMARA in Paris
New rules allowing wealthy polluting countries to buy carbon-cutting “offsets” from developing nations were agreed at UN climate talks Saturday, in a move already raising fears they will be used to greenwash climate targets.
This decision, taken during extra time at the COP29 conference, is a major step forward in a thorny debate that has dragged through climate talks for years, and diplomats broke into applause when the decision was gavelled.
Supporters say a UN-backed framework for carbon trading could direct investment to developing nations where many credits are generated.
Critics fear if set up poorly, these schemes could undermine the world’s efforts to curb global warming.
Carbon credits are generated by activities that reduce or avoid planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, like planting trees, protecting existing carbon sinks or replacing polluting coal with clean-energy alternatives.
Until now, these credits have mainly been traded by companies on an unregulated market dogged by scandal.
But the 2015 Paris climate deal envisaged that countries could also take part in a cross-border trade of carbon reductions.
The broad idea is that countries — mainly wealthy polluters — can buy carbon credits from other nations that are doing better on their own emissions-cutting targets.
– Article 6 –
The initiative, known as Article 6, includes both direct country-to-country trading and a separate UN-backed marketplace.
It has proved popular with both developing countries looking for international financing, and wealthier nations eager to find new ways to meet steep emissions reduction targets.
The European Union and the United States pushed for an agreement at COP29 in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, while many developing nations particularly in Asia and Africa have already signed up for projects.
But experts fear that the systems could allow countries to trade dubious emissions reductions that cover up their failure to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As of earlier this month, more than 90 deals have already been agreed between nations for over 140 pilot projects, according to the UN.
But so far only one trade has happened between countries, involving Switzerland buying credits linked to a new fleet of electric buses in Thailand’s capital Bangkok.
Switzerland has other agreements lined up with Vanuatu and Ghana, while other buyer countries include Singapore, Japan and Norway.
– ‘Biggest threat to Paris agreement’ –
The Climate Action Tracker project has warned that Switzerland’s lack of transparency over its own emissions cuts risks “setting a bad precedent”.
Niklas Hohne of NewClimate Institute, one of the groups behind the project, warned there was a concern that the market will create an incentive for developing countries to underpromise emission cuts in their own national plans so that they can sell credits from any reductions that go above this level.
“There’s big motivation on both sides to do it wrong,” he said.
Injy Johnstone, a researcher specialising in carbon neutrality at Oxford University, told AFP that the fact that nations can set their own standards in these country-to-country deals was a major concern.
She said overall the risk of greenwashing makes Article 6 “the biggest threat to the Paris agreement”.
Alongside this decentralised, state-to-state system, there will be another UN-run system for trading carbon credits, open to both states and companies.
On the opening day of COP29, nations agreed a number of crucial ground rules for setting this UN-administered market in motion after nearly a decade of complex discussions.
“There are many projects waiting” for the market, Andrea Bonzanni of the IETA International Emissions Trading Association, which has more than 300 members including energy giants such as BP, told AFP.
Despite these positive signs, some experts expressed doubt that the quality of the carbon credits traded on the regulated market would be much better than those that came before.
Erika Lennon of the Center for International Environmental Law said it would be necessary to make sure these markets do not create “even more problems and more scandals than the voluntary carbon markets”.
These “voluntary” markets have been rocked by scandals in recent years amid accusations that some credits sold did not reduce emissions as promised, or that projects exploited local communities.
At climate talks, painstaking diplomacy and then anger
By AFP
November 24, 2024
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev speaks as he closes the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan - Copyright AFP STRINGER
Shaun TANDON
After three sleepless nights of back and forth among negotiators, all it took to seal a contentious global deal on climate finance was the hammering of a gavel. And just as quickly, the denunciations began.
In a year expected to be the hottest on record, the fate of the fight against climate change was haggled over for two weeks inside Azerbaijan’s Olympic Stadium, which has never held the Olympics but was transformed into a cavernous, windowless maze of conference rooms.
The key issues showed no sign of resolution by the scheduled closing time of 6:00 pm on Friday, with Azerbaijan only convening a final session after midnight more than a day afterwards.
But at nearly 3:00 am on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s stoic, silver-haired COP president Mukhtar Babayev raised the gavel. The deal, he announced, had been adopted.
Most of the delegates took to the floor, some applauding loudly and others — such as those from oil producer Saudi Arabia — just watching politely.
But no sooner was word of the deal out than countries were lining up to lodge complaints.
Cuba and India both took to the floor to denounce it, as did Chile and typically amenable Switzerland.
In a fiery address, India’s representative said the figure agreed in the deal — $300 billion a year to be paid by wealthy countries to poorer ones worst affected by climate change — was “abysmally low”.
Chandni Raina accused Babayev of ignoring objections and going ahead to announce the agreement by consensus — a tactic repeatedly used at UN climate talks.
“This has been stage-managed and we are extremely, extremely disappointed with this incident,” she said as she looked at him, while climate activists in the back of the room roared and pounded their desks in approval.
Babayev, unflinching, responded, “Thank you for your statement.”
– Down-to-wire talks –
India is known for its fierce independence and criticism of Western climate policies, but it had not been as visible as some other countries, both rich and poor, in the breakneck diplomacy to reach the COP29 deal.
During a pause in the closing session, John Podesta, a close adviser to outgoing US President Joe Biden, smiled broadly as he shook hands and chatted with his Chinese counterpart, who in turn was seen speaking to Saudi officials who then passed around a telephone.
Panama’s negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, a recognisable presence in Baku with his national hat and outspoken criticism of rich nations — which hours earlier he said had been offering “crumbs” — told AFP as the closing session got underway, “We are beginning to see the light.”
Mindful of the lessons of the troubled 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, the Azerbaijani hosts made sure to attend to practicalities, with a coffee stand remaining open late into the night for bleary-eyed participants.
But as the clock ticked, some delegates came to the plenary hall with hulking suitcases as they rushed to catch their flights, with one activist dozing off on a desk next to a plastic bag full of nuts and potato chips.
Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, had come under heavy criticism for its handling of COP29.
Its president, Ilham Aliyev, opened the conference in an unusually confrontational way by attacking Western nations that have criticised his rights record and praising fossil fuels as a divine gift.
But after pounding the gavel on a deal, in a plenary room named after Azerbaijan’s national poet, the usually taciturn Babayev took a short victory lap.
“Since the beginning of this journey, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both.”
By AFP
November 24, 2024
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev speaks as he closes the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan - Copyright AFP STRINGER
Shaun TANDON
After three sleepless nights of back and forth among negotiators, all it took to seal a contentious global deal on climate finance was the hammering of a gavel. And just as quickly, the denunciations began.
In a year expected to be the hottest on record, the fate of the fight against climate change was haggled over for two weeks inside Azerbaijan’s Olympic Stadium, which has never held the Olympics but was transformed into a cavernous, windowless maze of conference rooms.
The key issues showed no sign of resolution by the scheduled closing time of 6:00 pm on Friday, with Azerbaijan only convening a final session after midnight more than a day afterwards.
But at nearly 3:00 am on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s stoic, silver-haired COP president Mukhtar Babayev raised the gavel. The deal, he announced, had been adopted.
Most of the delegates took to the floor, some applauding loudly and others — such as those from oil producer Saudi Arabia — just watching politely.
But no sooner was word of the deal out than countries were lining up to lodge complaints.
Cuba and India both took to the floor to denounce it, as did Chile and typically amenable Switzerland.
In a fiery address, India’s representative said the figure agreed in the deal — $300 billion a year to be paid by wealthy countries to poorer ones worst affected by climate change — was “abysmally low”.
Chandni Raina accused Babayev of ignoring objections and going ahead to announce the agreement by consensus — a tactic repeatedly used at UN climate talks.
“This has been stage-managed and we are extremely, extremely disappointed with this incident,” she said as she looked at him, while climate activists in the back of the room roared and pounded their desks in approval.
Babayev, unflinching, responded, “Thank you for your statement.”
– Down-to-wire talks –
India is known for its fierce independence and criticism of Western climate policies, but it had not been as visible as some other countries, both rich and poor, in the breakneck diplomacy to reach the COP29 deal.
During a pause in the closing session, John Podesta, a close adviser to outgoing US President Joe Biden, smiled broadly as he shook hands and chatted with his Chinese counterpart, who in turn was seen speaking to Saudi officials who then passed around a telephone.
Panama’s negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, a recognisable presence in Baku with his national hat and outspoken criticism of rich nations — which hours earlier he said had been offering “crumbs” — told AFP as the closing session got underway, “We are beginning to see the light.”
Mindful of the lessons of the troubled 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, the Azerbaijani hosts made sure to attend to practicalities, with a coffee stand remaining open late into the night for bleary-eyed participants.
But as the clock ticked, some delegates came to the plenary hall with hulking suitcases as they rushed to catch their flights, with one activist dozing off on a desk next to a plastic bag full of nuts and potato chips.
Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, had come under heavy criticism for its handling of COP29.
Its president, Ilham Aliyev, opened the conference in an unusually confrontational way by attacking Western nations that have criticised his rights record and praising fossil fuels as a divine gift.
But after pounding the gavel on a deal, in a plenary room named after Azerbaijan’s national poet, the usually taciturn Babayev took a short victory lap.
“Since the beginning of this journey, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both.”
“A Great Swindle”: Activists Slam Draft Climate Plan Reducing How Much Rich Polluting Countries Owe
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Yes, this is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We’re broadcasting from U.N. climate summit here in Baku, Azerbaijan, this year expected to be the hottest year on record. Negotiations at COP29, known as the finance COP, are also very heated.
The COP29 presidency has released new text for the finance part of the deal that calls for a finance target of $1.3 trillion by 2035, but only calls for wealthier and more polluting countries to pay $250 billion per year to poorer nations who bear the brunt of the crisis but are least responsible for it. Oil Change International calls the text an “absolute embarrassment,” saying it’s the equivalent of handing the keys to the fire truck to the arsonist. Talks to reach a final agreement appear likely to extend past today, the final official day of the summit.
We’re joined now by two guests. Mohamed Adow, founding director of Power Shift Africa, which he formed in 2018 to mobilize climate action in Africa and shift climate and energy policies to zero carbon, he’s based in Nairobi, Kenya. And we’re joined from Brazil by Claudio Angelo. He’s head of international policy at the Climate Observatory, civil society network in Brazil, which is a member of Climate Action Network Latin America. He’s usually based in Brasília but joins us now here in Baku.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! I mean, between you, you have almost 30 years of going to these COPs. Me and you, Mohamed, have been going since Copenhagen, and, Claudio, you went even before that to Bali. Let’s start with you, Mohamed. You have called this the worst COP ever. And for people to understand, ”COP” stands for “conference of parties.” And you can explain why you think this is such a catastrophe here.
MOHAMED ADOW: This is the worst COP in recent memory. COPs are usually very delicate and requires a lot of diplomacy to get countries to agree to tackle climate change, reduce emissions. But the agenda for this year’s COP is to mobilize climate finance so that we can help developing countries, who have contributed the least to the climate problem, to be able to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change, both by way of emissions reductions but also to help them adapt to the inevitable impact of climate change and deal with the residual adverse impact of climate change.
The presidency, instead of allowing an eye-to-eye negotiations between the parties, has actually been covering for the rich world and not forcing them to put forward figures. So, the developing countries have called for $1.3 trillion per year to help them deal with climate change. Developing countries have been doing this from day one. And up to today, we haven’t had a number in a text. Before I come to the number, the rich world have actually done everything to avoid to put forward a number. On the other hand, developing countries have been calling them to engage them in good faith and in a negotiation that allows us to actually have a compromise and a successful deal. Now, instead of facilitating a negotiation between parties, the presidency has done everything to avoid that and has actually given an excellent cover to the rich world. Of course, the responsibility is on the rich world, and the rich world have shucked their responsibility to provide climate finance.
On the text that you’ve just referenced, the rich world are now required to provide $250 billion per year, but from 2035. Let’s understand what this means. This is a 30% reduction from the $100 billion that they promised the developing countries, once you account for inflation. So, what they promised the developing countries is $100 billion per year from 2020. So, they made that promise 15 years ago and failed to honor it. Now they’re making another promise 10 years down the line, in 2035. So, once you actually factor a very conservative 5% inflation, that is a 70% reduction to the $100 billion, and it’s just 20% of what developing countries have asked for. And so, it’s actually a slap in the face of developing countries and doesn’t get us to where we need to be.
AMY GOODMAN: And what does it mean? What would the money be used for? Why does this, at this point, still possible to avert total catastrophe, if the developing world can adapt, can deal with climate change, and the most polluting countries in the world — the U.S. historically the greatest greenhouse gas emitter — phases out fossil fuels?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, what we need to be able to tackle climate change effectively is massive reductions in emissions and to also afford the vulnerable countries the opportunity to adapt to the inevitable impact of climate change and deal with loss and damage. Developing countries, out of an assessment that was done by the U.N., have said they require at least $1.3 trillion per year to be able to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change. What the rich world are now offering is just 20% of that, which effectively is a reduction of the promise they made 15 years ago.
Now, if we’re truly serious about emissions reductions and if we’re serious about providing solidarity to the vulnerable countries to be able to adapt, we should provide them the support that they require. There was a very objective, independent needs determination report, and that report said developing countries require $1.3 trillion to be able to do that. We wouldn’t expect the developing countries to provide 20% of the ambition that is needed, so why can’t we provide them the money to help them do it? This is a great swindle, and we must call that out.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about how climate change affects your country, Kenya, your continent, Africa, Mohamed.
MOHAMED ADOW: So, the continent of Africa is home to 18% of the global population and contributes less than 4% of emissions on an annual basis. But if you were to account for emissions from 1850, when we started emitting, the continent of Africa has contributed less than 0.5% of the historic emission.
This is a continent that is also most vulnerable to climate change because of our geographic location, but also because of our low adaptive capacity. We are ravaged by extreme weather events. We are now paying for, you know, the harms that have been caused by the historic emissions by the rich world. And instead of providing us support, what the rich world is doing is actually telling us to pay for those harms, so that we can be able to pay out of our own national budgets without actually them paying for their liability.
So, you’re vulnerable. You’re least responsible. But you also have incredible potential to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change. Sixty percent of the renewable energy resources, especially solar, is in Africa. Forty percent of the critical minerals that are needed to help the world decarbonize are in Africa.
But you know what? Africa attracts 2% of the total global renewable energy investment. So, the continent with 600 million people without electricity, a billion people without clean cooking, instead of the rich world providing them the support so that we can be able to develop in a climate-compatible manner, they are hoarding that and not sharing the resources, both by way of finance but also technology.
Let’s remember, we’re in a climate negotiation. And climate justice has to guide us on how we respond to the climate crisis. Those with the broadest shoulders, who have emitted the bulk of the emissions and, in the process, accumulated a lot of wealth, in part by polluting without facing the costs of doing so, should shoulder the greatest burden.
AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed, you’re following these very closely. What is the role of the United States?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, United States is the biggest historic polluter. A third of the historic emissions have come from the U.S. And this is the wealthiest country, that has the greatest financial and technological wherewithal. Instead of playing by the rulebook, the U.S. is tearing it apart. They’re not stepping up. They’re not committing to sufficient emissions reductions. They’re not providing finance. And using the excuse of Trump, the U.S., instead of helping the world arrive at a good deal, they’re forcing the poor countries to accept a bad deal because of the fear of a Trump administration.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you mean, “because the fear of a Trump administration”? What is — well, John Podesta is the climate envoy. He followed John Kerry. What is the U.S. doing?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, because of the threat of the Trump administration to pull out of the Paris Agreement, they want to force developing countries to actually compromise. They’re holding developing countries hostage to accept a deal that is not good enough. And here we are as civil society saying, instead of accepting a bad deal, a no deal is actually better. It’s better to actually walk towards a deal that meets the requirements of the world. There is no point accepting a climate finance goal if it’s not going to adapt to help us get the job done.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Mohamed Adow is from Kenya, and he’s the director Power Shift Africa. We’re going to go to Brazil right now with Claudio Angelo. He’s a former journalist, head of international policy at Climate Observatory, civil society network in Brazil, member of Climate Action Network. Interestingly, next year, the COP30 will take place in Brazil right on the edge of the rainforest. And you were just recently there in Belém. If you can talk about the state of these negotiations? Because it’s not done yet. I mean, we’re sitting here on Friday, late afternoon, around 5:00. Some say it might go ’til Monday, go ’til tomorrow. So the draft agreements can change based on how much people learn has been compromised, Claudio.
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Yeah, this is likely drag way overtime, because the text, as it is, is totally unacceptable right now. In fact, the text looks as if it was made on purpose for trolling purposes, because it’s obvious that no developing country could ever accept what is at the table right now. So it’s likely that we will have a few more iterations of this text. And if we don’t or if the language doesn’t change, this COP could end in a deadlock.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the position of President Lula, of Brazil? I mean, we just interviewed the Colombian negotiator, Susana Muhamad. President Petro — interesting name for a climate summit — even though he’s something like the sixth-largest oil-producing nation in the world, is committing to phasing out fossil fuels. What about Lula?
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Lula is pushing for massive expansion of fossil fuels in Brazil. One thing, however, is the situation within Brazil, and the other thing is the positions Brazilian diplomats are taking here and there actually being constructive. Brazil is willing to debate the implementation of the phaseout of fossil fuels provided for in the Dubai decision last year. Brazil even put that in the NDC, that it would welcome a debate for a calendar for phasing out of fossil fuels, as long, of course, that rich countries go first. So, we might expect to see some of that happening in Belém. We might even hope we’ll have a calendar, or at least a process aiming towards a calendar, established at COP30. But as Brazilian diplomats have been saying here very clearly, before COP30, we have to sort out COP29. And COP29 right now is not going to a nice place.
AMY GOODMAN: Agriculture is an important sector in Brazil, with agribusiness making up something like half the country’s exports. The sector also accounts for a quarter of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions each year. How will this be addressed? And then talk about where we’re headed next, next year, COP30, what it means to be in the Amazon rainforest.
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Right. Well, if you look at Brazil’s emissions curve, the agribusiness activities, if you account for deforestation, it’s actually 75% of our emissions every year, because 46% of Brazilian emissions are just deforestation, most of it in the Amazon and in the Cerrado, the central Brazilian savanna. So, agriculture is tremendously important for Brazil.
I wouldn’t expect COP30 to be a COP about agriculture or about forests. It’s going to be a climate conference in the Amazon, not necessarily about the Amazon. Of course, Brazil has its own ideas about how to handle money for forest conservation and for reducing deforestation. It’s actually doing a good job on tackling deforestation right now in the Lula administration. But COP30 should really be about the elephant in the room, and that’s fossil fuels.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to continue to cover this on Monday, even when we’re not here, not clear if it will be over by the time of our broadcast then. But I wanted to ask you one more question, about Brazil’s federal police force recommending criminal charges against the far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup as he tried to cling to power in the wake of the 2022 presidential election. The recommended charges against Bolsonaro, along with 36 former aides and Cabinet members, came as CNN Brazil reported Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of a plot to assassinate then-President-elect Lula. Five people, including a former adviser to Bolsonaro, were arrested over the alleged conspiracy this week. This is what President Lula said about the plot for the first time.
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] I can assure you that I am a man who has much more to be thankful for because I am alive. The attempt to poison me and Vice President Alckmin did not work, and we are still here.
AMY GOODMAN: As we wrap up, Claudio, the significance of this, of the former president, the allegations that he was involved with the coup and had knowledge of the attempted assassination?
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Well, the indiction of Bolsonaro and some of his former aides is, of course, very serious. But I will spare my celebration for when he’s in jail.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there but continue, of course, to cover all of these issues. Claudio Angelo is head of international policy at Brazil’s Climate Observatory. He’s based in Brasília usually. Mohamed Adow is director of Power Shift Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. But we’re all here in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29, the U.N. climate summit that’s being held here.
November 23, 2024
Source: Democracy Now!
Broadcasting from Baku, Azerbaijan, on the final official day of this year’s finance-themed United Nations climate summit, we look at how climate justice activists are outraged at how little money is being offered by the most polluting nations to countries most severely affected by climate change. We speak with Mohamed Adow, founding director of Power Shift Africa, and Claudio Angelo, head of international policy at the Brazilian Observatório do Clima (Climate Observatory), who describe the latest text as “a great swindle” and “totally unacceptable.”
Broadcasting from Baku, Azerbaijan, on the final official day of this year’s finance-themed United Nations climate summit, we look at how climate justice activists are outraged at how little money is being offered by the most polluting nations to countries most severely affected by climate change. We speak with Mohamed Adow, founding director of Power Shift Africa, and Claudio Angelo, head of international policy at the Brazilian Observatório do Clima (Climate Observatory), who describe the latest text as “a great swindle” and “totally unacceptable.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Yes, this is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We’re broadcasting from U.N. climate summit here in Baku, Azerbaijan, this year expected to be the hottest year on record. Negotiations at COP29, known as the finance COP, are also very heated.
The COP29 presidency has released new text for the finance part of the deal that calls for a finance target of $1.3 trillion by 2035, but only calls for wealthier and more polluting countries to pay $250 billion per year to poorer nations who bear the brunt of the crisis but are least responsible for it. Oil Change International calls the text an “absolute embarrassment,” saying it’s the equivalent of handing the keys to the fire truck to the arsonist. Talks to reach a final agreement appear likely to extend past today, the final official day of the summit.
We’re joined now by two guests. Mohamed Adow, founding director of Power Shift Africa, which he formed in 2018 to mobilize climate action in Africa and shift climate and energy policies to zero carbon, he’s based in Nairobi, Kenya. And we’re joined from Brazil by Claudio Angelo. He’s head of international policy at the Climate Observatory, civil society network in Brazil, which is a member of Climate Action Network Latin America. He’s usually based in Brasília but joins us now here in Baku.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! I mean, between you, you have almost 30 years of going to these COPs. Me and you, Mohamed, have been going since Copenhagen, and, Claudio, you went even before that to Bali. Let’s start with you, Mohamed. You have called this the worst COP ever. And for people to understand, ”COP” stands for “conference of parties.” And you can explain why you think this is such a catastrophe here.
MOHAMED ADOW: This is the worst COP in recent memory. COPs are usually very delicate and requires a lot of diplomacy to get countries to agree to tackle climate change, reduce emissions. But the agenda for this year’s COP is to mobilize climate finance so that we can help developing countries, who have contributed the least to the climate problem, to be able to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change, both by way of emissions reductions but also to help them adapt to the inevitable impact of climate change and deal with the residual adverse impact of climate change.
The presidency, instead of allowing an eye-to-eye negotiations between the parties, has actually been covering for the rich world and not forcing them to put forward figures. So, the developing countries have called for $1.3 trillion per year to help them deal with climate change. Developing countries have been doing this from day one. And up to today, we haven’t had a number in a text. Before I come to the number, the rich world have actually done everything to avoid to put forward a number. On the other hand, developing countries have been calling them to engage them in good faith and in a negotiation that allows us to actually have a compromise and a successful deal. Now, instead of facilitating a negotiation between parties, the presidency has done everything to avoid that and has actually given an excellent cover to the rich world. Of course, the responsibility is on the rich world, and the rich world have shucked their responsibility to provide climate finance.
On the text that you’ve just referenced, the rich world are now required to provide $250 billion per year, but from 2035. Let’s understand what this means. This is a 30% reduction from the $100 billion that they promised the developing countries, once you account for inflation. So, what they promised the developing countries is $100 billion per year from 2020. So, they made that promise 15 years ago and failed to honor it. Now they’re making another promise 10 years down the line, in 2035. So, once you actually factor a very conservative 5% inflation, that is a 70% reduction to the $100 billion, and it’s just 20% of what developing countries have asked for. And so, it’s actually a slap in the face of developing countries and doesn’t get us to where we need to be.
AMY GOODMAN: And what does it mean? What would the money be used for? Why does this, at this point, still possible to avert total catastrophe, if the developing world can adapt, can deal with climate change, and the most polluting countries in the world — the U.S. historically the greatest greenhouse gas emitter — phases out fossil fuels?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, what we need to be able to tackle climate change effectively is massive reductions in emissions and to also afford the vulnerable countries the opportunity to adapt to the inevitable impact of climate change and deal with loss and damage. Developing countries, out of an assessment that was done by the U.N., have said they require at least $1.3 trillion per year to be able to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change. What the rich world are now offering is just 20% of that, which effectively is a reduction of the promise they made 15 years ago.
Now, if we’re truly serious about emissions reductions and if we’re serious about providing solidarity to the vulnerable countries to be able to adapt, we should provide them the support that they require. There was a very objective, independent needs determination report, and that report said developing countries require $1.3 trillion to be able to do that. We wouldn’t expect the developing countries to provide 20% of the ambition that is needed, so why can’t we provide them the money to help them do it? This is a great swindle, and we must call that out.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about how climate change affects your country, Kenya, your continent, Africa, Mohamed.
MOHAMED ADOW: So, the continent of Africa is home to 18% of the global population and contributes less than 4% of emissions on an annual basis. But if you were to account for emissions from 1850, when we started emitting, the continent of Africa has contributed less than 0.5% of the historic emission.
This is a continent that is also most vulnerable to climate change because of our geographic location, but also because of our low adaptive capacity. We are ravaged by extreme weather events. We are now paying for, you know, the harms that have been caused by the historic emissions by the rich world. And instead of providing us support, what the rich world is doing is actually telling us to pay for those harms, so that we can be able to pay out of our own national budgets without actually them paying for their liability.
So, you’re vulnerable. You’re least responsible. But you also have incredible potential to contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change. Sixty percent of the renewable energy resources, especially solar, is in Africa. Forty percent of the critical minerals that are needed to help the world decarbonize are in Africa.
But you know what? Africa attracts 2% of the total global renewable energy investment. So, the continent with 600 million people without electricity, a billion people without clean cooking, instead of the rich world providing them the support so that we can be able to develop in a climate-compatible manner, they are hoarding that and not sharing the resources, both by way of finance but also technology.
Let’s remember, we’re in a climate negotiation. And climate justice has to guide us on how we respond to the climate crisis. Those with the broadest shoulders, who have emitted the bulk of the emissions and, in the process, accumulated a lot of wealth, in part by polluting without facing the costs of doing so, should shoulder the greatest burden.
AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed, you’re following these very closely. What is the role of the United States?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, United States is the biggest historic polluter. A third of the historic emissions have come from the U.S. And this is the wealthiest country, that has the greatest financial and technological wherewithal. Instead of playing by the rulebook, the U.S. is tearing it apart. They’re not stepping up. They’re not committing to sufficient emissions reductions. They’re not providing finance. And using the excuse of Trump, the U.S., instead of helping the world arrive at a good deal, they’re forcing the poor countries to accept a bad deal because of the fear of a Trump administration.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you mean, “because the fear of a Trump administration”? What is — well, John Podesta is the climate envoy. He followed John Kerry. What is the U.S. doing?
MOHAMED ADOW: So, because of the threat of the Trump administration to pull out of the Paris Agreement, they want to force developing countries to actually compromise. They’re holding developing countries hostage to accept a deal that is not good enough. And here we are as civil society saying, instead of accepting a bad deal, a no deal is actually better. It’s better to actually walk towards a deal that meets the requirements of the world. There is no point accepting a climate finance goal if it’s not going to adapt to help us get the job done.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Mohamed Adow is from Kenya, and he’s the director Power Shift Africa. We’re going to go to Brazil right now with Claudio Angelo. He’s a former journalist, head of international policy at Climate Observatory, civil society network in Brazil, member of Climate Action Network. Interestingly, next year, the COP30 will take place in Brazil right on the edge of the rainforest. And you were just recently there in Belém. If you can talk about the state of these negotiations? Because it’s not done yet. I mean, we’re sitting here on Friday, late afternoon, around 5:00. Some say it might go ’til Monday, go ’til tomorrow. So the draft agreements can change based on how much people learn has been compromised, Claudio.
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Yeah, this is likely drag way overtime, because the text, as it is, is totally unacceptable right now. In fact, the text looks as if it was made on purpose for trolling purposes, because it’s obvious that no developing country could ever accept what is at the table right now. So it’s likely that we will have a few more iterations of this text. And if we don’t or if the language doesn’t change, this COP could end in a deadlock.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the position of President Lula, of Brazil? I mean, we just interviewed the Colombian negotiator, Susana Muhamad. President Petro — interesting name for a climate summit — even though he’s something like the sixth-largest oil-producing nation in the world, is committing to phasing out fossil fuels. What about Lula?
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Lula is pushing for massive expansion of fossil fuels in Brazil. One thing, however, is the situation within Brazil, and the other thing is the positions Brazilian diplomats are taking here and there actually being constructive. Brazil is willing to debate the implementation of the phaseout of fossil fuels provided for in the Dubai decision last year. Brazil even put that in the NDC, that it would welcome a debate for a calendar for phasing out of fossil fuels, as long, of course, that rich countries go first. So, we might expect to see some of that happening in Belém. We might even hope we’ll have a calendar, or at least a process aiming towards a calendar, established at COP30. But as Brazilian diplomats have been saying here very clearly, before COP30, we have to sort out COP29. And COP29 right now is not going to a nice place.
AMY GOODMAN: Agriculture is an important sector in Brazil, with agribusiness making up something like half the country’s exports. The sector also accounts for a quarter of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions each year. How will this be addressed? And then talk about where we’re headed next, next year, COP30, what it means to be in the Amazon rainforest.
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Right. Well, if you look at Brazil’s emissions curve, the agribusiness activities, if you account for deforestation, it’s actually 75% of our emissions every year, because 46% of Brazilian emissions are just deforestation, most of it in the Amazon and in the Cerrado, the central Brazilian savanna. So, agriculture is tremendously important for Brazil.
I wouldn’t expect COP30 to be a COP about agriculture or about forests. It’s going to be a climate conference in the Amazon, not necessarily about the Amazon. Of course, Brazil has its own ideas about how to handle money for forest conservation and for reducing deforestation. It’s actually doing a good job on tackling deforestation right now in the Lula administration. But COP30 should really be about the elephant in the room, and that’s fossil fuels.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to continue to cover this on Monday, even when we’re not here, not clear if it will be over by the time of our broadcast then. But I wanted to ask you one more question, about Brazil’s federal police force recommending criminal charges against the far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup as he tried to cling to power in the wake of the 2022 presidential election. The recommended charges against Bolsonaro, along with 36 former aides and Cabinet members, came as CNN Brazil reported Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of a plot to assassinate then-President-elect Lula. Five people, including a former adviser to Bolsonaro, were arrested over the alleged conspiracy this week. This is what President Lula said about the plot for the first time.
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] I can assure you that I am a man who has much more to be thankful for because I am alive. The attempt to poison me and Vice President Alckmin did not work, and we are still here.
AMY GOODMAN: As we wrap up, Claudio, the significance of this, of the former president, the allegations that he was involved with the coup and had knowledge of the attempted assassination?
CLAUDIO ANGELO: Well, the indiction of Bolsonaro and some of his former aides is, of course, very serious. But I will spare my celebration for when he’s in jail.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there but continue, of course, to cover all of these issues. Claudio Angelo is head of international policy at Brazil’s Climate Observatory. He’s based in Brasília usually. Mohamed Adow is director of Power Shift Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. But we’re all here in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29, the U.N. climate summit that’s being held here.
COP29 negotiators agree on funding deal for poor nations facing climate crises
Nov. 23, 2024
Negotiators at the COP29 climate conference reached an agreement on a financing deal for poor nations bearing the brunt of climate change on Sunday, two days after the conference was scheduled to adjourn in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo by COP29 Azerbaijan/EPA-EFE
Nov. 23 (UPI) -- United Nations climate negotiators agreed on a funding formula to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change early Sunday in Azerbaijan after two weeks of intense negotiations.
In a compromise reached after the COP29 climate conference in Baku ran well past its Friday adjournment deadline, wealthy countries pledged to provide at least $300 billion a year to the global fight against climate change, the UN announced.
The agreement sets an overall climate financing target to reach at least $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Developing countries, however, had been seeking more than $1 trillion annually in support. They called the final figure an "insult" which failed to provide sufficient backing for them to deal with the ravages of a rapidly heating climate and to fund their own transitions away from fossil fuels.
Related
UN talks in disarray as developing nations reject a rough draft deal for climate cashNov. 23, 2024
Negotiators at the COP29 climate conference reached an agreement on a financing deal for poor nations bearing the brunt of climate change on Sunday, two days after the conference was scheduled to adjourn in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo by COP29 Azerbaijan/EPA-EFE
Nov. 23 (UPI) -- United Nations climate negotiators agreed on a funding formula to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change early Sunday in Azerbaijan after two weeks of intense negotiations.
In a compromise reached after the COP29 climate conference in Baku ran well past its Friday adjournment deadline, wealthy countries pledged to provide at least $300 billion a year to the global fight against climate change, the UN announced.
The agreement sets an overall climate financing target to reach at least $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Developing countries, however, had been seeking more than $1 trillion annually in support. They called the final figure an "insult" which failed to provide sufficient backing for them to deal with the ravages of a rapidly heating climate and to fund their own transitions away from fossil fuels.
Related
Developing nations, climate groups oppose COP29 $250B-a-year offer from rich countries
Air pollution in India's capital of Delhi is now at 'extreme' and 'toxic' level
Biden visits Amazon rainforest, calls on future generations to protect wildlife
At one point on Saturday, delegates from small island states and the least developed countries walked out of the negotiations in protest.
Member nations, meanwhile, also agreed on the rules for a new global carbon market, which would be used to incentivizing countries to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly projects through the trading of carbon credits.
The deal comes as scientists have warned that greenhouse gases reached record observed levels in 2023 and are continuing to rise this year. For 16 consecutive months through September, the global mean temperature exceeded anything recorded before 2023, with carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all setting record-high levels.
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the financing deal a hopeful sign amid a year "seared by record temperatures and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise."
"An agreement at COP29 was absolutely essential to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive. And countries have delivered," he said. "I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome -- on both finance and mitigation - to meet the great challenge we face.
"But this agreement provides a base on which to build," Guterres said, adding that it is now imperative for individual nations to adhere to their fossil fuel phase-out plans.
"The end of the fossil fuel age is an economic inevitability," he said. "New national plans must accelerate the shift, and help to ensure it comes with justice."
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev acknowledged the disappointment of the poorer nations but called the Baku finance goal "the best possible deal we could reach. In a year of geopolitical fragmentation, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both counts."
Reactions by some environmental groups to the final $300 billion figure were scathing.
"The world has been let down by this weak climate finance deal," said WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead and former COP20 President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal. "At this pivotal moment for the planet, this failure threatens to set back global efforts to tackle the climate crisis. And it risks leaving vulnerable communities exposed to an onslaught of escalating climate catastrophes.
"This is a serious blow to climate action, but it must not stall the solutions that are desperately needed around the world."
"The $300 billion per year committed by 2035 by rich countries at COP29 falls $90 billion short of the amount needed to implement the Paris Agreement," said Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and chair of The Elders, a group of world leaders working to address global human rights issues and abuses.
"This is nowhere near enough to support the developing countries that have not caused the climate crisis yet are experiencing its worst impacts. But the intention in the deal to generate at least $1.3 trillion from a wider range of sources is right. This is an investment, not a hand-out."
COP29, Robinson said, "was weak in transitioning away from fossil fuels. Oil-rich countries must see that their efforts to delay the inevitable will fail. The green energy transition has gained unstoppable momentum, driven by competitive prices and market demand."
Air pollution in India's capital of Delhi is now at 'extreme' and 'toxic' level
Biden visits Amazon rainforest, calls on future generations to protect wildlife
At one point on Saturday, delegates from small island states and the least developed countries walked out of the negotiations in protest.
Member nations, meanwhile, also agreed on the rules for a new global carbon market, which would be used to incentivizing countries to reduce emissions and invest in climate-friendly projects through the trading of carbon credits.
The deal comes as scientists have warned that greenhouse gases reached record observed levels in 2023 and are continuing to rise this year. For 16 consecutive months through September, the global mean temperature exceeded anything recorded before 2023, with carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all setting record-high levels.
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the financing deal a hopeful sign amid a year "seared by record temperatures and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise."
"An agreement at COP29 was absolutely essential to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive. And countries have delivered," he said. "I had hoped for a more ambitious outcome -- on both finance and mitigation - to meet the great challenge we face.
"But this agreement provides a base on which to build," Guterres said, adding that it is now imperative for individual nations to adhere to their fossil fuel phase-out plans.
"The end of the fossil fuel age is an economic inevitability," he said. "New national plans must accelerate the shift, and help to ensure it comes with justice."
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev acknowledged the disappointment of the poorer nations but called the Baku finance goal "the best possible deal we could reach. In a year of geopolitical fragmentation, people doubted that Azerbaijan could deliver. They doubted that everyone could agree. They were wrong on both counts."
Reactions by some environmental groups to the final $300 billion figure were scathing.
"The world has been let down by this weak climate finance deal," said WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead and former COP20 President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal. "At this pivotal moment for the planet, this failure threatens to set back global efforts to tackle the climate crisis. And it risks leaving vulnerable communities exposed to an onslaught of escalating climate catastrophes.
"This is a serious blow to climate action, but it must not stall the solutions that are desperately needed around the world."
"The $300 billion per year committed by 2035 by rich countries at COP29 falls $90 billion short of the amount needed to implement the Paris Agreement," said Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and chair of The Elders, a group of world leaders working to address global human rights issues and abuses.
"This is nowhere near enough to support the developing countries that have not caused the climate crisis yet are experiencing its worst impacts. But the intention in the deal to generate at least $1.3 trillion from a wider range of sources is right. This is an investment, not a hand-out."
COP29, Robinson said, "was weak in transitioning away from fossil fuels. Oil-rich countries must see that their efforts to delay the inevitable will fail. The green energy transition has gained unstoppable momentum, driven by competitive prices and market demand."
COP29 finance target must still deliver on trillions of dollars in debt-free commitments for meaningful climate action
BAKU, Azerbaijan - Several draft texts released early this morning in Baku are capturing the attention of civil society observers at COP29 who have been holding out to see an ambitious and fair new climate finance goal, two days before the negotiations come to a close.
The new finance goal and the Mitigation Working Group texts in their current form currently fail to provide a global roadmap for alignment with a 1.5 degree future, which requires urgent and quality funding in the scale of trillions in order to replace fossil fuels with clean renewable energy.
Andreas Sieber, 350.org Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns said:
“The new climate finance and mitigation draft texts presented at COP29 today fail to deliver what is needed to transform the lives of those most impacted by the climate crisis and have done the least to cause it. Will governments recall this moment too, when the next climate disaster hits their country? A fast, fairly funded fossil fuel phase out is what we need reflected in these texts. We demand this is corrected, the world is watching.
By the end of the UN climate talks, we must see at least a trillion dollars in public finance on the table. This historic debt that rich countries owe will enable all nations to take action on climate at home and meet the collective goal agreed last year at COP28 – to triple renewable energy, and transition away from fossil fuels. Right now, we only see cowardice and a void in leadership, ignoring the undeniable science that we can’t keep polluting our planet with dirty oil, gas and coal.
The time to course correct is now – the European Union and other rich countries must stop playing poker with the planet and humankind’s future at stake. It’s time to put their cards on the table and commit real, transformative funding – no more excuses, no more delays, it’s time.”
Joseph Sikulu, 350.org Pacific Director and Pacific Climate Warrior said:
“We hoped to see a draft text today that would show rich nations putting their money where their mouth is and responding to the demands from the Global South. What we got is a text with no clear grant based core money. Nothing less than one trillion dollars in grants per year will be enough to see those most impacted by climate change on a just transition towards a safe, equitable future. Rich countries must stop dithering, and start delivering – this is not charity, it’s time for them to pay their debt.
The new climate finance goal isn’t just an arbitrary number, it’s a lifeline for climate vulnerable nations like mine that are drowning – literally – due to a crisis we did not cause. But despite it all, we are fighting. Rich countries need to start doing the same – be the first ones to commit to the rapid phase out of fossil fuels agreed upon at last year’s climate talks in Dubai. Financial commitments must also be paired with ambitious goals to transition to a renewable economy. There is still time for this COP to deliver, do not leave us behind once again.”
COP29 must deliver more than “threadbare promises”: Oxfam
BAKU - In response to the latest climate finance draft text at COP29, Oxfam International's Climate Justice Lead, Safa’ Al Jayoussi, said:
“COP29 must do more than simply repeat the same threadbare promises. Rich countries have spent decades now stalling and blocking genuine progress on climate finance. This has left the Global South suffering the most catastrophic consequences of a climate crisis they did not create. The draft text scandalously misses the crucial element of declaring a clear public commitment to a new climate finance goal.
“Rich countries, those most responsible for climate chaos, owe $5 trillion in annual climate debt and reparations. This funding must come as grants-based public financing to help communities that need it the most mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and recover from loss and damage. Anything less will simply be a failure.“This is not charity – it is an established obligation under international law. It is the bare minimum needed to shield frontline communities from devastation, allow them to rebuild after disasters pass, and ensure their just transition to a sustainable future. The next few days are a credibility test for these climate negotiations and for COP itself. The time for stalling is over. If rich countries don’t deliver, they will go down in history as having chosen profit over people and complacency over courage.”
BAKU, Azerbaijan - Several draft texts released early this morning in Baku are capturing the attention of civil society observers at COP29 who have been holding out to see an ambitious and fair new climate finance goal, two days before the negotiations come to a close.
The new finance goal and the Mitigation Working Group texts in their current form currently fail to provide a global roadmap for alignment with a 1.5 degree future, which requires urgent and quality funding in the scale of trillions in order to replace fossil fuels with clean renewable energy.
Andreas Sieber, 350.org Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns said:
“The new climate finance and mitigation draft texts presented at COP29 today fail to deliver what is needed to transform the lives of those most impacted by the climate crisis and have done the least to cause it. Will governments recall this moment too, when the next climate disaster hits their country? A fast, fairly funded fossil fuel phase out is what we need reflected in these texts. We demand this is corrected, the world is watching.
By the end of the UN climate talks, we must see at least a trillion dollars in public finance on the table. This historic debt that rich countries owe will enable all nations to take action on climate at home and meet the collective goal agreed last year at COP28 – to triple renewable energy, and transition away from fossil fuels. Right now, we only see cowardice and a void in leadership, ignoring the undeniable science that we can’t keep polluting our planet with dirty oil, gas and coal.
The time to course correct is now – the European Union and other rich countries must stop playing poker with the planet and humankind’s future at stake. It’s time to put their cards on the table and commit real, transformative funding – no more excuses, no more delays, it’s time.”
Joseph Sikulu, 350.org Pacific Director and Pacific Climate Warrior said:
“We hoped to see a draft text today that would show rich nations putting their money where their mouth is and responding to the demands from the Global South. What we got is a text with no clear grant based core money. Nothing less than one trillion dollars in grants per year will be enough to see those most impacted by climate change on a just transition towards a safe, equitable future. Rich countries must stop dithering, and start delivering – this is not charity, it’s time for them to pay their debt.
The new climate finance goal isn’t just an arbitrary number, it’s a lifeline for climate vulnerable nations like mine that are drowning – literally – due to a crisis we did not cause. But despite it all, we are fighting. Rich countries need to start doing the same – be the first ones to commit to the rapid phase out of fossil fuels agreed upon at last year’s climate talks in Dubai. Financial commitments must also be paired with ambitious goals to transition to a renewable economy. There is still time for this COP to deliver, do not leave us behind once again.”
COP29 must deliver more than “threadbare promises”: Oxfam
BAKU - In response to the latest climate finance draft text at COP29, Oxfam International's Climate Justice Lead, Safa’ Al Jayoussi, said:
“COP29 must do more than simply repeat the same threadbare promises. Rich countries have spent decades now stalling and blocking genuine progress on climate finance. This has left the Global South suffering the most catastrophic consequences of a climate crisis they did not create. The draft text scandalously misses the crucial element of declaring a clear public commitment to a new climate finance goal.
“Rich countries, those most responsible for climate chaos, owe $5 trillion in annual climate debt and reparations. This funding must come as grants-based public financing to help communities that need it the most mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and recover from loss and damage. Anything less will simply be a failure.“This is not charity – it is an established obligation under international law. It is the bare minimum needed to shield frontline communities from devastation, allow them to rebuild after disasters pass, and ensure their just transition to a sustainable future. The next few days are a credibility test for these climate negotiations and for COP itself. The time for stalling is over. If rich countries don’t deliver, they will go down in history as having chosen profit over people and complacency over courage.”
Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday. Associated Press
Splintered and rudderless after developing nations rejected what they called too little money to deal with climate change, United Nations talks dissolved into factions on Saturday.
As workers began to dismantle the furnishings of the climate conference called COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, negotiators went from one big room where everyone tried to hash out a deal together into several separate huddles of upset nations.
Hallway talk oscillated between hope for shuttle diplomacy to bridge the gap and kicking the can down the road to sometime next year.
Negotiators and analysts had mostly given up hope that the host presidency would get the job done.
It's a fight about big money, but the question dividing them is: Is it big enough?
Developing nations and United Nations reports say there's a need for $1.3 trillion to help adapt to droughts, floods, rising seas and extreme heat, pay for losses and damages caused by extreme weather, and transition their energy systems away from planet-warming fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
The number would replace an $100 billion-a-year deal for climate cash that's expiring.
After an initial proposal of $250 billion a year was soundly rejected, the Azerbaijan presidency brewed up a new rough draft of $300 billion, that was never formally presented, but also dismissed roundly by African nations and small island states, according to messages relayed from inside. Then a group of negotiators from the Least Developed Countries bloc and the Alliance of Small Island States left the room.
The "current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” Evans Njewa, the chair of the LDC group, said.
When asked if the walkout was a protest, Colombia environment minister Susana Mohamed told The Associated Press: "I would call this dissatisfaction, (we are) highly dissatisfied."
With tensions high, climate activists heckled United States climate envoy John Podesta as he left the meeting room. They accused the U.S. of not paying its fair share and having "a legacy of burning up the planet.”
The one thing uniting the separate rooms was unhappiness with the way the presidency was running the conference, especially developing nations who said they felt ignored.
There's "incredible anger and frustration toward the presidency and the way it behaved,” said longtime conference veteran analyst Alden Meyer of the European think tank E3G.
The meeting is already one day past its scheduled end date and the longer it goes the higher the chance that enough delegates will leave that it will not have a quorum to continue, which happened to the biodiversity COP last month in Cali, Colombia.
Meyer said there is still hope that someone can bridge the gap between the separate parties, find common ground and then hand the presidency a compromise on a sliver platter.
If not, there's two possibilities, Meyer said. One is that the meeting could be adjourned temporarily until next January - before Donald Trump takes power in the United States. And the other is that some kind of small agreement - not on finance - could be made and everything financial gets pushed to next year's COP in Belem, Brazil.
But that meeting is already jam-packed with importance because it's when the world is supposed to increase its carbon pollution-cutting efforts.
Teresa Anderson, the global lead on climate justice at Action Aid, said that in order to get a deal, "the presidency has to put something far better on the table.”
Adonia Ayebare, the chair of the G77 and China negotiating bloc, said the group was still consulting.
"The process is in the hands of the presidency,” he said.
Developing countries accused the rich of trying to get their way - and a small financial aid package - via a war of attrition.
After bidding one of his suitcase-lugging delegation colleagues goodbye and watching the contingent of about 20 enter the meeting room for the European Union, Panama chief negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez had enough.
"Every minute that passes we are going to just keep getting weaker and weaker and weaker. They don’t have that issue. They have massive delegations,” Gomez said. "This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave. Until we’re tired, until we’re delusional from not eating, from not sleeping.”
With developing nations' ministers and delegation chiefs having to catch flights home, desperation sets in, said Power Shift Africa's Mohamed Adow.
"The risk is if developing countries don’t hold the line, they will likely be forced to compromise and accept a goal that doesn’t add up to get the job done," he said.
Monterrey Gomez said the developing world has since asked for finance deal of $500 billion up to 2030 - a shortened timeframe than the 2035 date.
"We’re still yet to hear reaction from the developed side,” he said.
Ali Mohamed, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators said the bloc "are prepared to reach agreement here in Baku ... but we are not prepared to accept things that cross our red lines.”
But despite the fractures between nations, several still held out hopes for the talks. "We remain optimistic,” said Nabeel Munir of Pakistan, who chairs one of the talks' standing negotiating committees.
The Alliance of Small Island States said in a statement that they want to continue to engage in the talks, as long as the process is inclusive. "If this cannot be the case, it becomes very difficult for us to continue our involvement," the statement said.
"A lot of countries and delegates, they are preparing for a bad outcome,” said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, adding that he doesn’t want to prejudge the outcome. "There is indeed a great sense of uncertainty and anxiety in the corridors.”
Monterrey Gomez said there needs to be a deal.
"If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” he said.
Associated Press
UN climate talks in disarray as developing nations stage walkout
Small islands and least-developed nations say their climate finance interests were ignored.
People protest against the restrictions climate CSOs have been facing at COP and around the world, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
AL JAZEERA
23 Nov 2024
Negotiators from small island states and the least-developed nations have walked out of negotiations during overtime United Nations climate talks, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored.
Nerves frayed on Saturday as negotiators from rich and poor nations huddled in a room at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan to try to hash out an elusive deal on finance for developing countries to curb and adapt to climate change.
23 Nov 2024
Negotiators from small island states and the least-developed nations have walked out of negotiations during overtime United Nations climate talks, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored.
Nerves frayed on Saturday as negotiators from rich and poor nations huddled in a room at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan to try to hash out an elusive deal on finance for developing countries to curb and adapt to climate change.
But the rough draft of a new proposal was soundly rejected, especially by African nations and small island states, according to messages relayed from inside.
“We’ve just walked out. We came here to this COP for a fair deal. We feel that we haven’t been heard,” said Cedric Schuster, the Samoan chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States, a coalition of nations threatened by rising seas.
“[The] current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, said.
With tensions high, climate activists also heckled United States climate envoy John Podesta as he left the meeting room.
They accused the US of not paying its fair share and having “a legacy of burning up the planet”.
Developing countries have accused the rich of trying to get their way – and a smaller financial aid package – via a war of attrition. And small island nations, particularly vulnerable to climate change’s worsening effects, accused the host country presidency of ignoring them throughout the talks.
Panama’s chief negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said he has had enough.
“Every minute that passes, we are going to just keep getting weaker and weaker and weaker. They don’t have that issue. They have massive delegations,” Gomez said.
“This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave. Until we’re tired, until we’re delusional from not eating, from not sleeping.”
The last official draft on Friday pledged $250bn annually by 2035, more than double the previous goal of $100bn set 15 years ago, but far short of the annual $1 trillion-plus that experts say is needed.
Developing nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to help adapt to droughts, floods, rising seas and extreme heat, pay for losses and damage caused by extreme weather, and transition their energy systems away from planet-warming fossil fuels and towards clean energy.
Wealthy nations are obligated to pay vulnerable countries under an agreement reached at COP talks in Paris in 2015.
Nazanine Moshiri, senior climate and environment analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that rich countries were being restricted by economic conditions.
“Wealthy nations are constrained by tight domestic budgets, by the Gaza war, by Ukraine and also other conflicts, for example in Sudan, and [other] economic issues,” she said.
“This is at odds with what developing countries are grappling with: the mounting costs of storms, floods and droughts, which are being fuelled by climate change.”
Teresa Anderson, the global lead on climate justice at Action Aid, said, to get a deal, “the presidency has to put something far better on the table”.
“The US in particular, and rich countries, need to do far more to show that they’re willing for real money to come forward,” she told the AP. “And if they don’t, then LDCs are unlikely to find that there’s anything here for them.”
Despite the fractures between nations, some still held out hopes for the talks. “We remain optimistic,” said Nabeel Munir of Pakistan, who chairs one of the talks’ standing negotiating committees.
Panama’s Monterrey Gomez highlighted that there needs to be a deal.
“If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” he said.
United Nations Climate Talks On Verge Of Failure Amid Walkout
Activists hold a silent protest inside the venue for the COP29 UN climate change conference to demand that rich nations provide climate finance to developing countries.
November 23, 2024
By RFE/RL
Developing nations staged a walkout at the United Nations climate talks in Baku, demanding wealthy emitter nations step up financial aid to combat the effects of global warming.
Host nation Azerbaijan urged delegates to seek consensus as COP29, already extended into an extra day, verged on the brink of failure.
“I know that none of us wants to leave Baku without a good outcome,” COP President Mukhtar Babayev told climate officials from around the world on November 23, urging them to “bridge the remaining divide.”
Small island states and the least developed nations walked out of negotiations on a funding package for poor countries to curb and adapt to climate change, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored.
“[The] current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” said Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries group.
Developing countries have been pushing rich countries for years to finance their attempts to battle the impact of climate change, saying that the extreme weather and rising seas hurting them is the result of greenhouse gas emitted by the wealthy nations decades ago.
In 2009, rich countries pledged $100 billion a year in annual climate aid by the early 2020s but some have been struggling to meet their commitments.
The last official draft on November 22 pledged $250 billion annually by 2035, more than double the previous goal, but far short of the annual $1 trillion-plus that experts say is needed.
Experts said that rich countries like the United States and Europe are facing budget constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic and now wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The United States has allocated $174 billion to Ukraine and billions more to Israel to help bolster their defenses. European nations have also allocated well north of $100 billion for Ukraine.
In a bid to save COP29, representatives from the European Union, the United States, and other wealthy countries met directly with those of developing nations to work out an agreement.
“If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” Panama’s special representative for climate change, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said.
By RFE/RL
Developing nations staged a walkout at the United Nations climate talks in Baku, demanding wealthy emitter nations step up financial aid to combat the effects of global warming.
Host nation Azerbaijan urged delegates to seek consensus as COP29, already extended into an extra day, verged on the brink of failure.
“I know that none of us wants to leave Baku without a good outcome,” COP President Mukhtar Babayev told climate officials from around the world on November 23, urging them to “bridge the remaining divide.”
Small island states and the least developed nations walked out of negotiations on a funding package for poor countries to curb and adapt to climate change, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored.
“[The] current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” said Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries group.
Developing countries have been pushing rich countries for years to finance their attempts to battle the impact of climate change, saying that the extreme weather and rising seas hurting them is the result of greenhouse gas emitted by the wealthy nations decades ago.
In 2009, rich countries pledged $100 billion a year in annual climate aid by the early 2020s but some have been struggling to meet their commitments.
The last official draft on November 22 pledged $250 billion annually by 2035, more than double the previous goal, but far short of the annual $1 trillion-plus that experts say is needed.
Experts said that rich countries like the United States and Europe are facing budget constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic and now wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The United States has allocated $174 billion to Ukraine and billions more to Israel to help bolster their defenses. European nations have also allocated well north of $100 billion for Ukraine.
In a bid to save COP29, representatives from the European Union, the United States, and other wealthy countries met directly with those of developing nations to work out an agreement.
“If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” Panama’s special representative for climate change, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said.
With reporting by Al Jazeera and AP
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