COP29: Time for Real Climate Finance and Fossil Fuel Phaseout – Center for International Environmental Law

Revealed November 7, 2024

By Erika Lennon, Senior Legal professional for the Local weather and Power Program on the Heart for Worldwide Environmental Regulation, and Rossella Recupero, Communications Marketing campaign Specialist on the Heart for Worldwide Environmental Regulation.

The stakes are as soon as once more excessive because the world heads to the twenty ninth Convention of the Events on Local weather Change (COP29) November 11-22 in Baku, which takes place in a yr of record-breaking temperatures, unprecedented climate occasions throughout the globe, off-the-rails local weather insurance policies, lacking local weather finance, and simply days after the election of Donald Trump as president of the USA.  

This yr’s focus, local weather finance, underscores the urgency of delivering funding at a scale and ambition enough to confront the local weather disaster and assist with a quick and honest power transition within the World South. But, if governments’ failure to handle the important thing driver of the disaster — fossil gasoline manufacturing and use — persists, even probably the most bold finance measures will fall quick.

No local weather finance could be sufficient with out a full, quick, and honest phase-out of fossil fuels. Regardless of a long time of discussions and the largely absent point out of fossil fuels, governments are approach off observe on their commitments to maintain world warming under the 1.5°C restrict and to avert probably the most catastrophic impacts on human rights. 

As world leaders convene in Baku, they face a pivotal second: COP29 is anticipated to achieve an settlement on carbon markets — a harmful distraction permitting nations to commerce greenhouse gasoline emissions “credit” slightly than cut back emissions to assist obtain local weather objectives — and to sign how they may strengthen their nationwide local weather plans (NDCs) due in early 2025 (trace: committing to an pressing, full, and timebound fossil gasoline phaseout, with out loopholes or limitations, is vital).

Delivering on Local weather Finance

Dubbed the “Finance COP,” COP29 will focus closely on adopting a brand new local weather finance goal, marking the primary time in 15 years that nations will reevaluate the quantity and kind of finance creating nations obtain to pay for local weather motion because the $100 billion annual goal was set in 2009. This can be a goal that the world’s developed and wealthiest nations have persistently failed to fulfill, because the $100 billion by 2020 aim was reached two years too late, breaking belief with creating nations and people most susceptible to local weather change and hampering world local weather progress.

After years of unmet commitments and, extra lately, technical dialogues about each the amount and high quality of the finance, nations will decide to a brand new collective quantified aim (NCQG) on local weather finance — an opportunity to decide to local weather finance that matches the dimensions of at this time’s crises. The NCQG just isn’t supposed to unravel all local weather finance points, however it’s a essential piece of the puzzle. 

The monetary aim just isn’t symbolic or optionally available: setting and delivering it’s a authorized obligation

The finance aim just isn’t merely symbolic. Committing to and truly offering satisfactory and essential funding is crucial and important to serving to nations susceptible to local weather change pursue clear power and different low-carbon options, construct local weather resilience, and fulfill or strengthen their nationwide local weather pledges. Nations in susceptible areas want dependable assets to transition pretty, undertake clear power, and put together for worsening local weather impacts. 

The magnitude, type, and supply of the financing

In Baku, negotiators and political leaders face key choices, together with the last word NCQG top-line greenback determine — in billions or trillions — and whether or not separate targets might be established for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and harm. Different key concerns embody which nations might be included as those that present finance underneath this aim, whether or not sure monetary devices (resembling grants or concessional loans) might be favored, and the way they may guarantee transparency. 

Local weather finance should embody cash for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and harm

Along with finance for mitigation and adaptation, rich nations have an obligation to offer local weather finance to creating nations for loss and harm slightly than persevering with their years of delay and obstruction to keep away from remedying the harms they’ve triggered. 

 It’s previous time for empty guarantees and failing to ship. We want actual finance, and we’d like it now.

Carbon Markets Are Not Local weather Finance 

With elevated consideration to the huge funding hole for local weather mitigation, adaptation and loss and harm, rising numbers of carbon market proponents are fashioning carbon buying and selling as local weather finance. However buying carbon credit to acquire a free go to proceed polluting, mainly via fossil gasoline manufacturing and use, can’t be thought-about true local weather finance. Carbon offsets that permit polluters to purchase emissions reductions from different nations as an alternative of lowering their very own emissions don’t improve general ranges of local weather mitigation or adaptation — which is the very defining characteristic of local weather finance. They need to not be used as an escape hatch or excuse for developed nations to keep away from their authorized obligations to offer financing for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and harm, significantly within the World South. 

Rich nations that bear the best cumulative duty for the local weather disaster are overdue on their fee of predictable, new, and extra grants-based local weather finance, they usually should comply with put actual cash on the desk — not conceal behind harmful schemes like carbon markets and offsets that could be generated from illusory applied sciences for CO2 “removing” and geoengineering. These carbon markets primarily serve to delay efficient local weather motion and produce dangers to peoples and the setting. World South nations and communities on the entrance line of the local weather disaster want actual local weather finance and shouldn’t be pressured to simply accept carbon markets and the stress to generate offsets to permit World North polluters to proceed enterprise as standard as a result of World North nations proceed to fail to dwell as much as their obligations. Solely providing a type of financing that finally undermines ambition and world local weather motion and sure will increase the price of mitigation measures World South nations should take now and sooner or later to fulfill their local weather objectives just isn’t in step with local weather justice.

One of many thorniest points at COP29

Article 6 of the Paris Settlement permits nations to commerce carbon credit towards reaching their nationwide local weather objectives. For instance, a rustic wealthy in tropical rainforests may promote credit calculated on the premise of deforestation averted or CO2 absorbed by forests to generate funds for forest safety (carbon offsets). Nonetheless, that nation wouldn’t get to depend these emissions reductions or removals towards their very own local weather mitigation targets; as an alternative, the nations buying the credit would depend the ensuing emissions reductions or removals towards their very own nationwide local weather targets. It’s basically flawed — these World South credit-generating nations are successfully buying and selling away the most affordable local weather motion. Guidelines for these carbon markets have been on the agenda of the local weather talks for years, and whereas a primary rubric was adopted at COP26, totally operationalizing the carbon markets has lagged behind lots of the different guidelines for implementing the Paris Settlement. They usually need to be ironed out earlier than buying and selling can start. 

Many carbon market mechanisms create loopholes for polluters whereas posing important dangers to human rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the setting. In addition they function a harmful distraction from the true local weather motion that’s wanted. The elemental flaws make it all of the extra crucial that, if markets are for use, the fitting guidelines for buying and selling carbon credit are agreed to earlier than any exercise takes place. It’s exceedingly essential to reduce the environmental harm of worldwide carbon markets and mitigate the danger as they undermine world emission cuts or influence the rights and livelihoods of communities worldwide.

Since failing to achieve a full settlement on the Article 6 guidelines at COP28, Events have tried to search out widespread floor. Notably, the Supervisory Physique for the newly named Paris Settlement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), which entails carbon crediting between nations and numerous different entities, has reached conclusions on a flawed grievance mechanism and a Sustainable Improvement Instrument. The Supervisory Physique has additionally tried once more to achieve an settlement on two requirements (methodology necessities and actions involving removals) that present the technical underpinnings for carbon crediting and that haven’t been accepted by the Events of their earlier iterations at COP27 and COP28 Concerningly, this time, the Supervisory Physique has taken a special method. Reasonably than presenting the suggestions to the COP as in years previous, the Supervisory Physique claims these requirements are totally operational and simply must be famous by the Events in Baku. This try to avoid oversight may set a harmful precedent and it undermines the integrity of the PACM from the start. 

Reasonably than specializing in this false answer to fossil gasoline phaseout and finance, Events ought to step up and take the local weather motion wanted and put actual cash on the desk to assist the ambition required to deal with the local weather disaster. 

CIEL at COP29: Watching the Ambition Hole

A robust monetary consequence with out loopholes in Baku will assist make sure that all nations have the assets they should pursue a simply transition to a climate-safe, fossil-free future centered on human rights and on the wants and calls for of the poorest nations in probably the most susceptible contexts. 

At a second when nations are reevaluating their local weather commitments, COP29 additionally gives an opportunity for main emitting nations to exhibit stronger management, placing ahead extra bold local weather plans and recommitting to ship on these.

CIEL consultants might be on the Local weather Convention from November 11 to 22. They are going to be becoming a member of the negotiations and monitoring the ambition hole between what States have promised and what’s essential to handle the local weather emergency. 

A Finance COP might be meaningless if leaders fail to take clear, actionable steps to decide to actual finance and to finish all fossil fuels, quick, pretty, and perpetually.