After nearly two weeks of intense negotiations, that’s a wrap on COP28.
Going down in Dubai, UAE, from Nov. 30 and going into extra time on Dec. 13, quite a bit was using on the 2023 UN Local weather Change Convention, often known as COP28.
The local weather disaster has been exhausting at work all through 2023 with UN Secretary Common, António Guterres warning in September that: “Humanity has opened the gates of hell.” Wildfires in Argentina and Canada. Flooding in India, Cameroon, and Libya. Excessive warmth throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. A cyclone in Myanmar. A tropical storm hitting Japan, Guam, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The record goes on.
This yr’s COP was a big milestone: the primary evaluation of how nations are faring towards emissions-cutting commitments made at Paris in 2015 (often called the Paris settlement). This course of is thought because the “international stocktake.”
However what truly occurred? Right here’s what you actually need to know in regards to the good, the dangerous, and the greenwash of COP28.
1. COP28 Agreed a Landmark Deal to ‘Transition Away’ From Fossil Fuels
After 30 years of ready, COP28 lastly handled the elephant within the room: fossil fuels.
Greater than 190 nations accepted a textual content on Wednesday morning that calls on the world to “transition away” from fossil fuels. This may not sound like an enormous milestone, but it surely’s the primary time ever {that a} COP textual content has been so forthright about the necessity to finish fossil fuels.
But, “transition away” shouldn’t be fairly the “phase-out” wording that 137 nations together with Canada, Chile, Norway, and Tuvalu amongst others had been pushing for.
Certainly, activists and campaigners stay skeptical. Responding to the announcement, Might Boeve, government director at 350.org stated: “It’s irritating that 30 years of campaigning managed to get ‘transition from fossil fuels’ within the COP28 textual content, however it’s surrounded by so many loopholes that it has been rendered weak and ineffectual.”
Omar Elmawi, from Africa Motion Constructing Area, was much more damning: “Proposing a transition away from fossil fuels might sound like a step in the suitable route, a glimmer of hope amidst chaos. Nonetheless, allow us to not underestimate the crafty ways of fossil gas giants and petrostates. They are going to cleverly disguise their merchandise as ‘transitional’ fuels, particularly in essentially the most susceptible corners of our world. But, we should acknowledge how far we now have come. Even the as soon as unyielding fossil gas giants and petrostates are actually witnessing the inevitable – a world that’s freed from their poisonous grip.”
🌍🔚 #COP28 is over! However what was the ultimate end result? For the primary time ever, the settlement mentions the necessity to “transition away” from fossil fuels by 2050. But, the presidency lacked readability & urgency, introducing loopholes on transition fuels & carbon seize tech.
— International Citizen Impression (@GlblCtznImpact) December 13, 2023
2. 12-Yr-Outdated Activist Storms the COP28 Stage
Within the remaining hours of the local weather talks, a draft COP28 settlement textual content was launched that eliminated any point out of the necessity to phase-out fossil fuels. Activists condemned it as so watered-down that it might not cease the local weather disaster.
Licypriya Kangujam, a 12-year-old Indian local weather activist, stormed the stage with an indication that learn: “Finish fossil gas, save our planet and our future.”
Local weather activists and civil society organizations attending the local weather talks this yr say that the chance to have their voices heard at COPs has shrunk yr on yr.
“There’s at all times been numerous restriction on civic house within COPs, however we’re actually seeing a development of it rising,” Lise Masson, campaigner with Associates of the Earth Worldwide, instructed AP Information. “Now we have to say how loud we’re going to be, what’s going to be written on the banners. We’re not allowed to call nations and firms. So it’s actually a really sanitized house.”
Right here is the complete video of my protest right now disrupting the UN Excessive Degree Plenary Session of #COP28UAE. They detained me for over half-hour after this protest. My solely crime- Asking to Part Out Fossil Fuels, the highest explanation for local weather disaster right now. Now they kicked me out of COP28. pic.twitter.com/ToPIJ3K9zM
— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 11, 2023
3. Local weather Loss and Harm Fund Agreed — However the Cash Doesn’t Add Up
On the primary day of COP28, leaders hit the bottom operating with a breakthrough deal on the loss and injury fund. It’s the world’s first fund aimed toward paying for the irreversible impacts of local weather disasters in poor and susceptible nations.
A number of rich nations — who’re traditionally liable for the local weather disaster — such because the UK, the US, and Germany, introduced their contributions, totalling $700M.
This vital local weather win is thanks partially to the advocacy work of the Loss and Harm Youth Coalition, a coalition of younger folks from the worldwide North and South, who’ve been tirelessly campaigning on this concern for years. In actual fact, over 27,000 International Residents pledged their assist for a core LYDC demand urging world leaders to comply with by way of on their promise to assist nations and communities hit the toughest by the local weather disaster.
However the work isn’t accomplished. We’d like billions, not tens of millions. The loss and injury in growing nations is already estimated by some research to be better than $400B yearly. The contributions to the fund thus far cowl lower than 0.2% of what’s wanted.
Within the two weeks that COP28 went on, the oil and gasoline trade remodeled $95B in income. Simply 1% of that whole is greater than what’s been pledged to loss and injury funding thus far.
4. Document Variety of Fossil Gasoline Lobbyists at COP28
An unprecedented variety of lobbyists with ties to the fossil gas trade had been granted entry to COP28, based on evaluation by Kick Large Polluters Out.
Not less than 2,456 fossil gas representatives had been current, up from 636 finally yr’s summit, greater than nearly each nation’s delegation.
In response, Marta Schaaf, Amnesty Worldwide’s Programme Director of Local weather, Financial and Social Justice and Company Accountability stated: “Arms sellers are usually not requested to peace talks, so it’s warped to ask local weather wreckers for his or her view on the best way to repair the injury they’ve prompted when most of them are planning to develop manufacturing of fossil fuels, additional warming our overheating world, and threatening the rights of billions of individuals.”
5. Colombia Makes Daring Strikes to Cease Fossil Fuels
Colombia made historical past as the primary Latin American nation to formally be a part of the worldwide alliance of countries calling for a Fossil Gasoline Non-Proliferation Treaty to forestall the “omnicide of planet Earth.”
Following in Colombia’s footsteps, Palau, Samoa, and Nauru all additionally signed on, indicating that the treaty is gaining increasingly floor on the worldwide local weather stage.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS FROM #COP28! 🚨 #Colombia simply turned the tenth nation to affix the decision for a #FossilFuelTreaty! 🇨🇴
“I’ve little question which place to take: between fossil capital and life, we select the aspect of life.” 🔥 – @petrogustavohttps://t.co/FHvP8tecYA🧵 pic.twitter.com/g5Q4d5N2ic
— Fossil Gasoline Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative (@fossiltreaty) December 2, 2023
6. Smoke and Mirrors on Local weather Finance
The factor about local weather finance is there’s numerous smoke and mirrors — a bit like when retailers spend the month earlier than Black Friday steadily inflating their costs to make their offers on the day appear far more beneficiant than they’re.
Behind the headlines lauding nations for his or her billion-dollar commitments to local weather finance, the cash pledged is usually recycled from outdated (and sometimes unkept) guarantees.
As an illustration, financing for local weather adaptation — a key a part of local weather finance — dropped by 14% in 2021. So, sure, $133.6 million was introduced towards the Adaptation Fund at COP28 however that doesn’t even cowl the 14% drop.
The US pledged a historic $3B to the Inexperienced Local weather Fund (GCF) for lowering emissions and adapting to local weather change in growing nations.
However earlier than the celebrations begin, this chunk of money wants approval from Congress — and that’s not wanting promising. US President Joe Biden‘s administration must persuade Republicans in Congress to approve the cash or take management of Congress by profitable elections.
What’s extra, ActionAid USA’s Kelly Stone stated it was a “far cry from what is required” and identified that the US nonetheless owed the GCF $1B from a $3B Obama-era pledge in 2014. “In actuality, they’re solely pledging $2B in new cash,” she stated.
Regardless of what the COP presidency desires us to imagine, with their dedication tracker now at $83B, most of those pledges are tough to decipher, some are merely repackaging of outdated cash, and plenty of of them are personal financing.
7. Tax Job Power Launched That May Unlock Billions in Local weather Finance
The primary-ever job drive on worldwide taxation launched at COP28, with Kenya, France, Spain, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, AU, and the EU Fee becoming a member of. Their mission: tax polluting industries resembling transport and aviation and use these funds to combat the local weather disaster. That is large as a result of it has the potential to unlock billions.
Via such a tax, the thought is that we might do two issues. First, it might make it dearer for polluters to pollute, and therefore encourage them to transition to inexperienced options. Second, we’d be capable to construct a fund that helps nations — particularly these which are disproportionately experiencing the unequal results of local weather change — take care of the impacts of local weather change.
8. COP28’s Host Nation Indicators a Large Test
The UAE pledged $200M to assist susceptible nations combat local weather change within the type of Particular Drawing Rights (SDRs) — coupons that nations can then purchase or promote with different nations for exhausting forex resembling {dollars}, kilos, or euros, once they want instant funds to accumulate important provides and assist their economies.
However whereas $200M may appear like quite a bit on paper, it’s simply 7% of what they might have pledged — and minuscule in comparison with Spain’s 50% pledge.
9. 130 Nations Agreed to Triple Renewable Vitality
Some 130 nations agreed to triple renewables, whereas 50 oil and gasoline corporations agreed to chop out emissions from methane — a potent greenhouse gasoline.
Nonetheless, evaluation by the Worldwide Vitality Company (IEA) reveals that such emissions-cutting pledges will nonetheless go away the world far off monitor in limiting international warming to 1.5 levels Celsius above pre-industrial ranges.
In actual fact, based on the IEA’s calculations, such measures will solely scale back the energy-related emissions hole between the present trajectory and a 1.5 Celsius situation by a couple of third.