Running out of gas?
The COP29 negotiators are now up against the clock – four days to nail a deal!
But what are they trying to achieve?
1. Money: this “finance COP” is apparently focused on delivering climate finance of at least $1 trillion to help adaptation and low-carbon development. In a nod to the “polluter pays principle”, this should be a transfer of support from economically developed nations to the developing world.
2. Consensus: the Azerbaijanis have restarted work to turn the consensus agreement that the world needs to “transition away from fossil fuels” into tangible action. Inside reports suggest that the Saudis are trying roll back on this statement, agreed at COP28, and the term “wrecking ball” has been used.
Yesterday’s G20 “leaders’ statement” contains lines that speak to both of these. The G20 said that they “would transition away from fossil fuels” and commit to climate finance in principle – although actual action seems harder to deliver than words.
I got gas – food waste and why it matters
The Azerbaijani COP presidency signaled a new drive to cut methane emissions from waste dumps (methane being 28x more warming than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period).
They’ve done this in the classic COP way by ... yup ... making a declaration for everyone to sign. Around 30 countries have already signed, which obligates nations to incorporate food waste-reduction targets into their national plans.
Rotting food waste in landfills causes about 20% of the human-related emissions of methane, with more than 1,000 huge landfill leaks since 2019.
“Reducing methane emissions this decade is our emergency brake in the climate emergency,” said Martina Otto, of the UN Environment Programme, earlier this year.
We cannot let this be a distraction to addressing methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure.
Remember DENIAL, DISTRACT, DELAY. We need to work on all sources of GHG emissions.
What is a developing nation?
The terms ‘developing’ vs ‘developed’ are always awkward, cumbersome and potentially offensive. Of course, such terms do not refer to culture, society or complexity but are mere reference to economic affluence.
For the purposes of the COP negotiations, who is developed vs who is developing was defined in 1992 by agreement. Thirty two years on, some nations are questioning whether China and India should be on the ‘poor’ list and should bear more financial responsibility in funding climate equity.
Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Nigeria’s environment minister, said: “China and India cannot be classified in the same category as Nigeria and other African countries. I think they are developing but they are in a faster phase than states like Nigeria.”
Susana Muhamad, the environment minister of Colombia, added: “The developed and developing country categories are obsolete. These categories should be changed. The problem is that the Paris agreement and the UNFCCC are negotiated on these categories.”
No incentives for oil and gas?
The UK, New Zealand and Colombia have joined a coalition pledging to phase out fossil fuel incentives and subsidies, which stood at a record US$1.2 trillion in 2022.
The snappily named Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies (COFFIS) now has 16 members including Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. They’ve said they are committed to coming to COP30 with a national plan for phasing out subsidies.
But then again, none of these countries is a major fossil fuel producer on the world stage and so this is very low-hanging fruit.
Cash from down under
The Australian climate change minister has pledged $50 million AUS to the loss and damage fund. And initial advice by the Australian Climate Change Authority suggests they could cut 75% of domestic emissions by 2035 (against a 2005 baseline). Nice!