COP29 – The Green Tau

Counting on … day 215

15th November 2024

How much climate finance is needed?

“This year’s UN climate summit, being held in Azerbaijan, is focused on finance, and specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance, required under the 2015 Paris agreement. Rich countries are bound under the agreement to provide climate finance to help developing nations cut their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. The current finance goal, of providing $100bn a year to poor countries, is widely acknowledged to be inadequate, and most rich countries agree the figure needs to be several times higher.

Poor countries are asking for finance of about $1tn a year by 2035, based on widely accepted estimates of their needs. Rich countries are likely to agree to a considerably smaller sum, perhaps about half that amount, to be paid from their exchequers and through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank.

The gap could be met from a variety of means, including new taxes on fossil fuels or the diversion of existing subsidies to cleaner ends. These “innovative sources of finance” will not be fully articulated or agreed at Cop29 and will need further work.” (1)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/08/cop29-climate-talks-what-would-a-good-outcome-look-like?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on day 212

12th November 2024

Even if we stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, the CO2 that is already there will not immediately diminish. It will be there for decades to come, meaning that the higher global temperatures that we are already experiencing will also not diminish any time soon. And this means that the extreme weather events that we are now experiencing – floods, droughts, heatwaves, wild fires etc – are not going to diminish either. We therefore need to count on the world leaders at COP29 to agree measures to help us adapt to the changes in the climate that we have already caused – improved flood defences, developing new farming models, conserving water, expanding early weather warning systems, heat proofing buildings etc.

What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?

“Climate change mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures. Climate change adaptation means altering our behaviour, systems, and—in some cases—ways of life to protect our families, our economies, and the environment in which we live from the impacts of climate change. The more we reduce emissions right now, the easier it will be to adapt to the changes we can no longer avoid.” https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-s-the-difference-between-climate-change-mitigation-and-adaptation

Counting on day 211

11th November 2024

Over the next two weeks we hope that we can count on the world leaders agree and enact radical policies that will curb the inexorable rise of the climate crisis. At last year’s COP28 they agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in what was a very woolly agreement. This year, with conviction, they need to agree to not just phase out but end our use of fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels are the biggest source of CO2 emissions which drive climate change. Currently carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at 423.58 ppm (parts per million) – and rising. This is way above the safe level of 350ppm which was passed in 1990.

Click to access co2_trend_all_gl.pdf

Counting on … day 197

22nd October 2024

The United Nations Climate Change COP29 starts on 11th November in Baku, Azerbaijan. Like the Biodiversity COP, the discussions of this gathering of global delegates should be really important, but the fear is that, as with previous COPs, placatory words are easy, following through with both funding and actions is harder – but essential.

How can we as individuals make any impact?

Not everyone approves of the actions taken by groups such as Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, but if nothing else their actions have lifted the profile of the climate crisis in the media.

What we can all do is talk about the crisis, engage our neighbours in the conversation and make the subject newsworthy.