At more than half way through the UN’s climate change conference, it’s fair to say that global leaders meeting in Azerbaijan are struggling to make progress on key issues of focus in these important climate negotiations.
Climate security
There were some early promising signs from the first week of the conference…
The UK and Brazil presented new and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions three months ahead of the deadline. British PM Keir Starmer stated; “There is no national security, there is no economic security, there is no global security without climate security.” Starmer and the UK have been widely praised for their political leadership.
The endorsement of a global carbon market framework under Article 6 was achieved quickly. It aims to establish clearer standards for trading carbon credits and ensuring accountability in climate finance. However, it was adopted without discussion or negotiations, prompting criticism of the transparency and governance around the action.
Climate finance
Meanwhile, discussions on climate finance seem to have stalled…
The number one item on the COP29 agenda is climate finance. Parties must agree how much more funding to distribute to developing countries, above what is currently agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Aside from the amount, who must contribute is also disputed, in what time frame, and using what financial instruments. Developing countries are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, but the least culpable. They also have the power to make massive contributions to climate mitigation, but lack the resources to do so. There are estimates that more than $1 trillion is needed per year, to assist developing countries.
Negotiations around finance were reported to have reached a deadlock on Saturday morning. UN climate executive Simon Stiell said it was time to “Cut the theatrics and get down to real business.”
It’s hoped that with the arrival of more key ministers to the negotiation table in coming days, more progress will be made. Similarly, the community is looking to the G20 summit, being held in Brazil this week, to send signals of political leadership in favour of reaching an agreement around climate finance at this year’s negotiations.
COP29 closes on 22 November. The world will be watching with bated breath, to see where negotiations end up.
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