COP29 Day 12
DAY 12 13 Shenanigans
Numbers- Climate Finance deal
Developing countries want $1.3 trillion by 2035
Developed countries proposed to pay $250 billion.
I trillion is x1000 billion £1000000000000
That is a shortfall of: 1.05 trillion.
To put this in context there are only 8 billion people in the world so everyone in the world would have to contribute $162.50 which is more than a years wage for some.
BREAKING NEWS: The deal was agreed at $300 million after extending conference by 24 hours
The countries of the world that have signed up to do something about Climate Change are arranged in blocks.
EU is one block of countries
G77+China another block of countries
Least Developed Countries (LDC)
Alliance Of Small Island States (AOSIS)
The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) block and Alliance Of Small Island States (AOSIS) walked out on day 12 because they didn’t want to engage with the rough draft which reportedly contained a new core figure of only $300 billion a year.
(In fact, much to their disgust, this is what was eventually agreed on.)
Developed country: richer industrialised country such as US and UK
Developing country: poorer country such as many African and Asian countries. This definition was set in 1992 with the original UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992.
Developed countries have to pay up, developing countries get the money. At the moment the Gulf States and China are classified as developing countries and there is quite a lot of arguing from developed countries that China pays and not be paid.
- Breaking NEWS: China has agreed voluntarily to pay. It was unclear however, if China will receive any money from the fund since it is still classed as a developing country.
Quorum
This is the minimum number of countries present for a vote to count. In the case of COP29 it needs to have 2/3 of the countries there who have signed the UN climate convention but quite a lot have walked out saying no deal is better than a poor deal.
Why are the developing countries annoyed at the deal – after all the current amount is $100 billion dollars and it has now been raised to $300 billion?
- It is a mixture of private and public money and the developing countries are worried that the private money will end up as expensive loan and not grants.
- 75% of the growth for carbon emission has come from developed countries so if we want to get a grip on climate change change then it is in the interest of developed countries to pay a generous cash settlement.
- This has been described as the worst COP in decades set in a country built on oil and gas exports, in an authoritarian state where the main players describe oil as a ‘gift from God’. Half way through several senior climate leaders wrote a public letter saying COP was not fit for purpose.
Carbon Markets.
An agreement on Carbon Markets has been reached. This will allow big carbon emitter countries to keep polluting whilst they pay poorer countries money for growing trees for example.
1 carbon credit offsets 1 tonne of carbon emissions.
Let’s say your factory emits 1000 tonnes of carbon then you would need to buy 1000 carbon credits to offset.
1 carbon credit cost about £25 in the UK. It does vary across the world and you can find cheaper carbon credits in other countries.
COP30 BEKEM, BraziL - try a bit harder please world
Belém, capital of the state of Pará, is a port city and gateway to Brazil’s lower Amazon region.
It is quite a poor city with over 2 million people based in the slums.Three new hotels are being built but that will not be enough so cruise ships are being brought in.
Baku are considered to be weak leaders so the expectation is that there will be no deal like COP6 in 2000. However Brazil is more powerful so there hopes for a deal. Next year all countries will be expected to bring an updated climate plan.
Breaking news: In fact there was a deal but it is fairly weak and is the minimum possible and many countries and NGOs walked out and protested in disgust.
This year it was noticeable that many NGOs were loud, and in your face, protesting very vocally.
In Bekem, we will know the effect of the climate sceptic Trump and it is anyone’s guess what he will do to renege on the various treaties signed today.
