COP29
Photo by Evans Dims on Unsplash
Embedded Files
To keep it simple I have posted a short summary of the 'Daily Talking Points' of COP29. These short inserts will be supplemented by links to others resources, reports and commentaries for those who would like to delve a little further.
There are four pages to this small site on COP29
Day 1
According to the World Meteorological Office the world is already becoming dangerously overheated.
The science is clear and we need to follow this evidence just as we took seriously the science that informed us during covid times.
The Global Temperature has already increased by 1.3C.
We are witnessing unprecedented sea surface temperatures. We have seen the melting ice-caps and the severe droughts and flooding.
We are not prepared!
It doesn't matter what country is emitting - it's affecting everyone.
The Theme for this COP, A COP of Peace... "must be some kind of dark joke. This Summit, like those before, is a mere act of green-washing." Greta Thunberg in the Guardian
By Monday evening the Agenda had been agreed.
All are told that every fraction of a degree matters.
Climate disinformation is on the rise, the fossil fuel industry is spending vasts amounts on social media to spin their version of climate change and climate action.
Since 2015 1,500 Climate Activists and Human Rights Defenders have been murdered. Many of them are women and indigenous peoples.
Increasingly Civil Society Space is being restricted.
Antonio Gutteres to the youth: - "My message to young climate activists at COP29. I count on you and you can count on me."
Drought Photo by Maud CORREA on Unsplash
Day 2
Climate Finance is not charity it is investment!
The Climate Emergency is a story of avoidable justice.
The rich cause the problem and the poor pay the price.
Climate Action is not optional, it is an imperative.
The Climate Crisis is here!
Only 6 of the delegations that are attending COP29 are led by women!
There was a breakthrough on the issue of carbon markets (what are carbon markets?)
Trading in carbon credits allows the big polluters to continue emitting.
1 Carbon Credit = 1 Tonne of CO2
In 2023 the EU reduced their emissions by 30% - but this is way off their announced target if they are fulfill their 2050 promise.
Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash
Day 3
The Albanian premier, went off script when he asked - "What's the point of climate talks if the big polluters continue as usual?"
24 World Leaders in attendance spoke of their first hand experiences of climate catastrophes.
Brazil announces their intention to reduce their emissions by 67% by 2035!
"Paying to prevent less flooding is a no-brainer."
The Small Island Development States (SIDS) cannot accept that survival is their only option.
"If we leave Climate Action to the whims of the political cycles, our planet's future becomes precarious, very precarious," said the Premier from the Bahamas.
The PM from Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, described how his country suffered 15 months of drought that was bookended by Hurricane Beryl.
"We have little time. In too many countries, the costs of Climate Change are already overtaking the investment in prevention." Statement by the High Ambition Coalition.
"The Climate Crisis has a disproportionate impact on women and girls and they must be at the heart of all solutions."
Only 2 of the leaders of the G7 are in attendance Kier Starmer (UK) and Giorgia Meloni (Italy)
Day 4
There has been no progress on the issue of finance.
Should it be the case that the poorest countries are reduced to the humiliation of begging for funds to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change when they didn't cause it?
Neither the Chinese nor the US are in attendance!
Christian Aid report that the countries most affected by Climate Change 2000- 2019 receive less than 29% of the finance needed to be able to make necessary changes.
Day 5
The graph above shows the decline in pledges despite the acceleration of climate change. It is perhaps indicative of the COP29 up to this point.
Is the end in sight for the COP meetings being hosted by the Petrostates?
The COP process is in need of serious reform!
This year there are 1800 lobbyists in attendance, that is 700 less than last year. Most lobbyists attend with observer status however, Japan, the UK and Canada worryingly have lobbyists as part of their official delegation.
President Aliyev of Azerbaijan in a speech to the gathered delegates spoke of "fossil fuels as a gift from God," and that we must be "realistic about energy transition", bringing into question the COP being hosted by a petrostate.
The theme for Day 5 is "Energy, Peace, Relief and Recovery."
There are 50 conflicts around the world and the COP did try to coordinate a worldwide pause to hostilities, to no avail.
Indeed Azerbaijan is still in conflict with Armenia!
Thus far the Adaptation fund as $61m pledged out of the $300m needed.
"The missing millions are lives taken, harvests lost and development denied," said Antonio Gutteres Sec. Gen. UN.
Day 6
Science Technology and Innovation was the theme of the day where meetings went on well after midnight.
Consideration is being given to the possibility that 'AI' can be a tool that will help in the future.
However, we must also consider that an 'AI' search on Chatgpt uses 10 times the electricity that an ordinary Google search uses.
"We have found as many as 89 data centres believed to be operational (in Ireland), the vast majority of which are located in the Greater Dublin area, with at least 13 data centres in the capital each using as much power as Kilkenny City", - the Journal.
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Day 7
There is a real need to find common ground. The youth delegates are rallying the older leaders. COP watchers are watching the G20 which kicked off in Brazil today.
The message of the day..'today we are not ready to talk about numbers' COP President Mukhtar Babyev.
Day 8
The EU calls on China 🇨🇳 and Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 to step up and commit. There is a reminder that with affluence comes responsibility. There is much discussion around voluntary funding and this is being seen as a step back.
The award for 'dodo' (fossil) of the day goes to South Korea who have adopted an intransigent negotiating stance and also to Finland for fudging on their finance commitments.
Much discussion centres of Trumps nomination of Chris Wright as Enegry Secretary to the next US administration.
There are growing calls for a Nuclear revival though with some scepticism from the NGOs.
Simon Stiell, the UNCC secretary - 'let's cut the theatrics and get down to business'.
The word is the day is 'frustration' among the developing nations.
There is a G20 communique (from Brazil) backing new climate finance but is lacking a concrete steer. The rich counties are looking to expand the base by asking the poorer nations to contribute. The obfuscates their responsibility and delays meaningful discussions.
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 is standing firm against the language of transitioning from fossil fuels. The G20 declaration can also be read in such a way as to allow the continued development of the fossil fuel industries.
Despite being hosts Azerbaijan have yet to announce their 2035 emissions reductions in the form of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Today marks 1000 days of war in Ukraine 🇺🇦. The Ukrainian Delegation accused Russia of $71 Billion of damage to the environment in one year by committing 6500 crimes against the environment emitting upwards of 180,000,000 tonnes of CO2.
The waste methane pact was signed by over 30 counties and this includes 7 out of the 10 worst methane emitters.
Day 9.
The developing nations chastise the wealthy nations for the paltry amounts of $200 billion being suggested. 'It represents a clear lack of ambition! It is a joke!', said Diego Pacheco of Bolivia 🇧🇴. The African nations are calling out the radio silence from developed countries. There is still, after almost two weeks, an obvious lack of urgency.
'All we are hearing is mitigation mitigation mitigation' said Pacheco. The non-constructive stance of the Saudi government is deliberately unhelpful.
This COP must build on the promises of the last COP and not seek to renegotiate that which is already agreed. It is clear that the message from the last COP is that we must transition away from fossil fuels.
The G20 intervention offered that 'if we are not all walking at the same speed we can all take another step in the same direction'. - whatever that means!
The adaptation talks have stalled given the unwillingness of the developed countries to commit in numbers to the finance fund. 'Adaptation is Africa's lifeline,' African group chair Ali Mohammed. 'We need to shift from loans to grants, financing Adaptation should not be about the generation of a return.
25 countries have pledged to build no more coal fired power stations.
Significantly there is a pledge of up to $15 million to counter climate disinformation which is on the rise. (NEW)
Day 10.
The published text thus far on finance has no numbers! The text is all about 'what will be done' at a future date and less about the 'now' and immediate commitments. To fund some of these promises there will be a move to impose a flight tax on frequent flyers and a financial transaction tax but this is way off being a deliverable.
It has been agreed that the developing countries must be the beneficiaries of funds without strings and that we must prioritise the SIDS and LDCs.
Labeling carbon credits as Climate Finance, which they are unreservedly not, must be removed from the text as they create a dangerous escape route for the big polluters.
Antonio Guterres speaks of the 'COP29 negotiations going down to the wire.' The Ugandan 🇺🇬 delegation offered that 'we are very very clear that we could not leave Baku without a number.'
The poorer countries demand to see a number or at least a roadmap and there is a real worry that very little of COP28 is being carried forward.
Gender and data disaggregation have thankfully been added to the final text.
Mexico 🇲🇽 promises to be fossil free by 2050.
COP29 CLOSES WITH AN AGREED TEXT
There was distress and upset that the amount of $300 billion had been kept under wraps until the last minute and also that it is very far from the agreed $1.3 trillion that will be needed to make a real difference.
Every country must describe in detail how they will cut they carbon emissions by the Spring of 2025.
What is being offered is a roadmap to scale up from the current amount to $300 billion by 2035. Whilst this number is small it represents three times the current promise and so many see it as a significant commitment and improvement.
Ireland currently pays $220 million p.a. into climate finance and this is significantly more than others. However our climate debt is twice this.
The money raised must be easily accessible and not in the form of complicated loans. The African countries announce that this amount is 'too little too late'.
Our own Minister Eamonn Ryan announces that this year's COP29 outcomes as a good starting point.
Leaders approved the bitterly negotiated agreement. The document has been described as an 'optical illusion', 'far from perfect'.
At various points the talks looked set to collapse with the poorer nations walking out but despite this they did not veto the agreement, even though they promised to do so.
The poorer nations have been vocal in describing the agreement as a 'betrayal of people and planet by the wealthy countries.'
No country got all they wanted. The Saudis continue to try to water down the text of the Summit of Dubai where there was planned agreement to phase down our reliance on fossil fuels!
Stop Climate Chaos - Trócaire at COP29 - A Webinar!
On Finance
Trocaire are asking for grants, not loans, to be made to the most affected countries.
Those countries worst off, the most indebted countries are the most impacted by climate change.
And countries servicing large debt are already spending significantly to adapt and mitigate Climate Change as opposed to spending on health and education.
(2 Main Messages) Move from the millions to the Billions!
And the big polluter must pay!
On girls and women in Afica
Women are disproportionately impacted economically, socially, physically and emotionally by Climate Change because of the impact that drought and floods have had on the livelihoods of women who end up in extreme poverty. Indeed the climate catastrophes can be so severe that there is loss of life. There is also an increase in debt for women and again vulnerable women may have to move from where they live and this can bring a whole new raft of problems. There is also the damage to property, attendance at school, and it also restricts the ability of women to access services for themselves and for their children. Boys are given priority when it comes to education and when there is a problem and very often the girls are married off young. What would help at COP29 is streamed funding that would be charged to the big polluters. But we can see that they are holding their ground. The interests of the Global South are not being voiced with the urgency that there now needs to be. The interests and agreements around carbon credits is always bad news for the Global South as it diverts attention from even more issues and offers a get out clause to the big polluters.
News from Kenya! Lilian Abuoro is a first time attendee at the COP Process. The Developing countries, although being listened to are on the back foot from the get-go. They were serious about the negotiation for loss and damage funding and also campaigning for a serious fund (One trillion dollars+) for Adaptation and Mitigation. The difference between the asks of the Global North (Carbon Credit Agreements) and the Global South (Adaptation and Mitigation Fund) are indicative of sectional interests and there will be little progress without a serious shift in the attitude of the Global North.
To Ireland and Leinster House.
Aaron Downey FOE Global Citizenship Education: What are FOE calling for the Irish Government to do: Ireland is now a newly developed country with a lot of money flowing through it. The Key questions are below:
E- action on the FOE website https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/act/invite-general-election-candidates-to-sign-friends-of-the-ea/
How to speak to the Candidates: Sibéal Devilly from Trócaire:
Firstly we should engage and in Ireland we have access to candidates and politicians in ways that others countries envy.
Our candidate will personally canvas you for your vote, this is not the case in other countries!
When talking to a politician there are three things that get attention, what your problem is, what you care about and how they can help!
Don't expect politicians to know everything about your issue and indeed you don't need to be an expert yourself. Climate Change is coming up on the doorstep but not in the media. Climate Justice needs to be front and centre.
It's particularly important to engage with candidates you mightn't agree with. No real point in tackling those who you know to be in agreement with you.
Ireland has a lot to do to be compliant and are following the EU line as laggards in funding when we could do so much more given the fact that we are considered to be the 2nd wealthiest country in the world.
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